Browns Make Changes. That Can’t Be Bad.

The Cleveland Browns make a lot of news for an 0-16 football team. It’s bad enough the ownership decided to bring back a head coach that has won a single game in two seasons, so if they were totally standing pat, it would be a greater concern.

Since John Dorsey was appointed the GM, the Browns have added more executives well respected in the football industry to their front office, hiring Alonzo Highsmith and Eliot Wolf away from Green Bay.

Although we thought Sashi Brown got a raw deal from Jimmy Haslam, we cannot complain about bringing people with solid credentials in.

Some in the media have been critical that more people from the past regime have not been let go, but that’s just silly. Why wouldn’t you want as many qualified people as you can involved with building a team that has reached depths in terms of losing that no team in NFL history has seen.

Our guess is Dorsey came in, and much to Hue Jackson’s chagrin, didn’t find a bunch of idiots in the front office, so he kept them around. We believe the reporter spouting this opinion is echoing the comments of the head coach.

As for the coaching staff, Jackson has yet to give up play calling duties, but he has brought in Adam Henry (who worked on his staff in Oakland) as wide receivers coach, and Ken Zampese (who worked with him in Cincinnati and was fired two games into the 2017 season) as quarterbacks coach.

Running game coordinator Kirby Wilson was let go, but the way the head coach eschews the running game, this position could be considered superfluous.

Rumors emerged yesterday that Mike Mularkey, just let go as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, may come aboard as offensive coordinator.

Mularkey liked to run the ball as head coach of the Titans, especially the last two seasons, but in eight years as a coordinator, his offense finished in the top ten in rushing offense just three times (2001 and 2002 in Pittsburgh, and 2008 in Atlanta).

He did finish in the top ten in scoring offense five times in those eight years.

It would be interesting if Mularkey comes aboard if he can get Jackson to run the ball more often. In 10 of his 14 years as head coach or offensive coordinator, his teams have been in the top half of the league in running attempts.

The game plan should not be changing, though. We would go out and get a competent veteran quarterback, one that takes care of the football. That was DeShone Kizer’s biggest weakness this past season, and he really didn’t progress in that area as the season went on.

Then draft your future franchise guy with the first overall pick. You have the guy who has been rated the best QB since he came out of high school in Josh Rosen. You have the guy who was the darling of the college football world after last season in Sam Darnold.

And you have the Heisman Trophy winner in Baker Mayfield.

Don’t overthink it, take one of them and let them learn behind the veteran for at least a season.

Bringing in good front office people is great. Making changes to the coaching staff is fine. However, until they start winning football games, it’s all a bunch of noise.

Lue Reaching The Loyalty Vs. Stubbornness Line

One of the toughest things for someone in charge of a sports team is recognizing when it is time to replace a veteran player.

Likewise, it is difficult to see when a plan of attack you have used for years needs to be changed.

The greatest coaches/manager understand that. They see what kind of talent they have on the roster, and use it to the best advantage.

Bill Belichick famously released Bernie Kosar when he was coaching the Browns because he saw that the quarterback was not the same player as he was when he took the team to three AFC title games in four seasons.

The great coaches think totally with their head and take emotion out of the equation.

That’s what Tyronn Lue seems to be facing right now.

Since he was elevated to the head coaching position in 2015-16, the Cavaliers defensive rating has slowly decreased. The wine and gold are currently 29th (out of 30) in defense in the NBA.

Lue was in charge of the defense during the first run to The Finals for the Cavs (2014-15), but when he got promoted, he brought Mike Longabardi in to run the defense.

Longabardi has good credentials. He was on the Boston Celtics’ staff with Lue under Doc Rivers from 2007-13, and the Celts were one of the league’s best defensive teams.

He went to Phoenix from there, and initially the Suns improved dramatically too, but they got worse from there, although to be fair, the Suns got younger in that three year span.

With the Cavs, the defense has never been as good as it was when Lue was running the show, and it has been reported that Lue provides more input once the playoffs start.

Whatever they are doing on that end of the floor, it isn’t working very well. Yes, the Cavs are an older team, but over the years, younger players seem to have more of an issue on the defensive end than veterans.

Cleveland struggles in transition for sure, and we have said for the past two years that no team depends more on their offense for their defense than the Cavs.

However, the defensive issues have now gone on for two years. Look at Jae Crowder, who was considered a solid defender with Boston in Brad Stevens’ system, which by the way, has also made Kyrie Irving better than he’s been in his career.

Crowder looks lost in Cleveland. Did he forget to play defense as soon as he put on a Cavalier jersey? We doubt it. It’s just that the scheme the wine and gold is using is not effective.

Lue faces the same situation with players like JR Smith and Tristan Thompson. Both were important cogs in the championship team of 2015-16, but they don’t look like the same players now.

Smith has dropped offensively and defensively from the past two seasons, and the changing game appears to be hurting Thompson, who isn’t as effective guarding smaller players on the pick and roll, and hasn’t been able to handle bigger players near the basket.

Right now, Lue seems reluctant to make changes in his playing rotation. Cedi Osman seems to do well in limited minutes, but there are nights he doesn’t even play.

Smith and Crowder are two of the reasons the starting lineup is struggling.

Right now, Lue is being stubborn. This isn’t a one week slump, the Cavs fortunes seemed to have changed when Thompson came back, and that’s been almost a month.

Luckily, there are still three months for the coach to turn things around.

Cavs Need An Aggressive JR Smith

When you are the Cleveland Cavaliers and your best player is the best in the sport, the scrutiny is unbearable.

The wine and gold have lost five of their last seven, and seven of their last nine, yet still have the sixth best record in the NBA. But, if you listen to people talk about Tyronn Lue’s squad, you would think they may miss the playoffs.

When you figure in eight of the last ten contests have been on the road, with the next two also away from Quicken Loans Arena, you could almost understand the mini-slump.

Lue is working Isaiah Thomas back in the lineup, and he is bringing some added scoring to a starting lineup that really had only LeBron James and Kevin Love as scoring threats.

When Love isn’t making shots, which has happen in two of the last three games, the starters struggle to score and the Cavs fall behind early in games.

Unfortunately, Jae Crowder and more specifically, JR Smith haven’t stepped up when needed. So, should Lue start pondering shaking up the starting lineup?

It’s trickier than you think. First, the second unit has been so good, you have to think he doesn’t want to do anything to upset the apple cart with them.

Second, if you make a move with Smith, do you risk losing him as a contributor down the road.

Smith is second on the Cavs in minutes (29.8), trailing just James, playing about the same amount of time per game as he has since arriving in Cleveland.

His number of shots taken has dropped from 11 per game in his first two years here to just 7.1 this season. And his defensive rating is the lowest it has been too.

Smith turned 32 last fall, and you have to remember not everyone ages like James, who is in his 15th season. This is Smith’s 14th year in the NBA, so perhaps age is starting to take its toll.

Before making any changes in terms of who plays, we would like to see Smith start looking for his shot more often. He seems to be looking to drive more often and his assist numbers are the highest since he arrived in Cleveland.

But that hasn’t been Smith game since he came to the NBA. He’s a sniper, a shoot first guard with the ability to make tough long range shots, and when he gets going, he’s unstoppable.

He was the reason the Cavs took game one of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2015, hitting eight threes, scoring 28 points as Cleveland stole home court advantage with a 97-89 win.

If he can’t regain that form and that style of play, perhaps Lue should try Channing Frye with the first unit, providing another three point shooter at the start of games.

After all, when the veteran big man has played ten or more minutes in a game this season, the Cavs are 16-3.

Ironically, Frye’s three point shooting is down, from 40% to 31% this season, but he is making 68% of his attempts inside the arc. His defensive rating is behind just James, Love, and Dwyane Wade on the Cavs.

Since, Frye’s time has diminished since Tristan Thompson’s return to health, moving him into the starting five could be a big benefit.

The other player we would consider is rookie Cedi Osman, who could provide length, hustle, and his defensive rating is just behind Frye’s.

It has been reported that instead of another big man, GM Koby Altman may be looking to upgrade at the #2 guard spot, which would mean the organization would like Smith to step it up.

The trading deadline isn’t that far away, so the time for Smith to step up is now. He needs to be more aggressive on both ends of the floor.

Kipnis Back To Second Makes Sense

The news didn’t make a lot of headlines, but the Cleveland Indians announced over the weekend that Jason Kipnis would likely be the Opening Day second baseman in 2018.

That puts the infield alignment, save for newcomer Yonder Alonso at first base the same as the one the Tribe used in the 2016 World Series, with Jose Ramirez moving back to third, and of course, Francisco Lindor at second.

It does weaken Cleveland’s up the middle defense. Ramirez is a far better defender at the keystone than Kipnis, including turning the double play.

However, we never liked the idea of trading Kipnis after last season’s injury plagued season in which he hit .232 with 12 home runs and 35 runs batted in (705 OPS).

We understand the veteran’s salary takes a huge jump this season, going from $9.2 million last year to $13.7 million in ’18, making him a candidate to be moved if Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff wanted to create payroll space for another player.

And another off-season would make Kipnis virtually untradeable going into the 2019 season, with his salary jumping again to $14.7 million.

But, the second baseman should be a good candidate for a bounce back season coming up, if he remains healthy. Keep in mind he suffered a shoulder issue during spring training and then had hamstring woes as the season came to a close.

Although Kipnis turns 31 in April, last season saw him have the lowest OPS of his career (640 in 2014). Three of his five full campaigns have resulted in OPS over 800 for the season.

You would have to figure he would come close, if not surpass, that mark again in 2018.

This move also clears up one of the question marks the Indians still had as spring training approaches, who will play third?

So, the biggest question now becomes whether or not Michael Brantley can open the season in left field, and if he can’t who plays there? Also, how does Yandy Diaz fit on the roster?

Our guess is the organization will take it slow with Brantley, so as to not cause any setbacks with the ankle, and they would be fine with a debut around May 1st.

As for Diaz, who really needs and deserves a chance to get extended playing time in the big leagues (after all he hit .350 with a 914 OPS in AAA last season), perhaps he fits in as a platoon partner at first base, as Alonso has struggled vs. southpaws, or in the outfield.

Remember, the Indians still have Brandon Guyer and Abraham Almonte on the roster too.

Don’t forget Guyer has an 828 OPS for his six year career vs. left-handers.

Even with Kipnis moving back to second, the Indians are still missing a power bat in the lineup.

Santana has been replaced by Alonso, but who replaces Jay Bruce? Lonnie Chisenhall had an 881 OPS in half a season with the Tribe, compared to Bruce’s 808 figure. But Chisenhall isn’t a guy who gets pitched around often.

We would classify the Opening Day lineup for the Cleveland Indians right now as still fluid. However, deciding Jason Kipnis is returning to second clears it up a little bit.

Even if they stand pat on position players for the rest of the winter, there will still be tough decisions for Terry Francona, particularly in the outfield.

Dorsey-Jackson Combo Raises Draft Questions.

This Sunday is the first without angst since the end of summer without angst for fans of the Cleveland Browns.

No worries about can the team win their first game, no concerns if the coach will ever use the running game, no wondering if DeShone Kizer can keep himself from throwing passes to the other team.

Now, the parades are over, and it is time to start focusing on the “Super Bowl” for Browns’ supporters seemingly every year…the NFL Draft.

Between now and April 26th, when Cleveland will kickoff the selection process with pick #1 (we assume), there will be plenty of speculation what GM John Dorsey will do with all of the selections his organization has.

The big question is how does Dorsey look at the process. Does he select the players with the best potential to be NFL stars, or does he take players who fit the style of play coach Hue Jackson prefers.

One thing we have learned about Jackson in his two years at the helm is he will try to fit a square peg into a round hole. We have extreme doubts that the head coach wants to change what he wants to do offensively.

Jackson has said he wants to hire an offensively coordinator, but since he is apparently doing the hiring, he is going to bring in someone who runs the same offensive style he favors, which is going downfield.

The Browns led the NFL is the average distance of their passing attempts at 9.7. The only playoff team averaging over nine yards per throw was the Panthers. Three other playoff teams (Falcons, Titans, Bills) were 8th-10th.

Two things come to mind here. First, throwing downfield was clearly not working for Kizer, but Jackson didn’t care about that.

Second, it appears most successful teams mix in shorter throws as well. The four teams in the top ten in this stat also rank in the top half of the league in rushing attempts, Cleveland ranked 28th.

We would take this to mean Carolina, Atlanta, Tennessee, and Buffalo throw downfield off of play action. The Browns rarely do because teams don’t respect Jackson will run the football.

Getting defensive help is clearer because we believe defensive coordinator wants to pressure the quarterback, but didn’t have the secondary to do it in the style he prefers.

Getting Minkah Fitzpatrick would seem to be an ideal fit. He can play both cornerback and safety and is considered the best defensive player in the draft. To get that guy two years in a row (Myles Garrett) would help.

It has been reported that Dorsey wants to make a splash in free agency, and that’s fine as long as he isn’t bringing in aging players with a year or two left.

No matter what you feel about the past regime, there are plenty of good, young players here to build around and we would hate to see some of them let go to bring players on their last legs to the roster.

This is the asinine system set up by owner Jimmy Haslam when he decided Jackson would continue to be head coach of the team in 2018.

Our guess is Dorsey will bring in his guys, but then we can expect another season, at least at the beginning, of not utilizing people to the best of their abilities.

That’s why it is still frustrating to ponder.

Slow Moving Player Market Frustrating Tribe Fans

Spring training opens in about six weeks for the Cleveland Indians, and there are still questions surrounding the roster of the defending American League Central Division champs.

Off-season transactions throughout the sport are moving at a snail’s pace, except for relief pitchers, and the Tribe has lost two of them, Bryan Shaw to Colorado and Joe Smith to Houston.

A third, southpaw Boone Logan is rumored to be heading to Milwaukee, although the Indians probably believe they have filled that spot late last season with Tyler Olson.

So, the front office needs to find some bullpen help for a manager who loves plenty of arms in the ‘pen in Terry Francona.

There are still some options on the free agent market, but none are as accomplished as Shaw and Smith. So, creativity may be needed by GM Mike Chernoff and president Chris Antonetti.

The bigger hit to date may be offensively with the loss of Carlos Santana to the Phillies, and an impending departure of late season hero, Jay Bruce.

Will the slow market allow the Indians to retain Bruce? The longer he stays unsigned, you have to believe his demands will come down. Will they come down to an area where the Tribe is comfortable?

When you are a contending team, you can’t have a lot of unproven players in your everyday lineup.

Right now, third base is a question mark and so is centerfield, despite Bradley Zimmer’s debut a year ago. Zimmer has no track record, and had some swing and miss issues in 2017, so to say the team doesn’t need a back up plan is a big mistake.

We would like to think Yandy Diaz is the frontrunner at the hot corner, but the skipper frequently makes comments about his glove (despite good defensive metrics in the minor leagues), and he loves the defense of Giovanny Urshela, whose bat is suspect.

Right now, the lineup just isn’t long enough, but there is still a long way to go before the players start arriving in Goodyear.

We understand fans don’t like the inactivity, but really, outside of the bullpen movement and the Yankees trading for Giancarlo Stanton, what teams in the AL have done anything?

That’s right. Nobody else has made a significant move, at least among the upper echelon of the Junior Circuit, and that’s where the Indians live right now.

Even though the Tribe has Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Edwin Encarnacion, besides the questions we already listed, they still have Jason Kipnis coming off an injury plagued, off year for him.

Michael Brantley didn’t play for much of the second half, and is coming off surgery on his ankle.

Lonnie Chisenhall missed a good portion of the season after the All Star Game, and Brandon Guyer was pretty much a non-factor either.

And don’t forget last year’s big surprise, Austin Jackson, is a free agent, and may not be back with the team.

Remember, this winter, player movement is moving at a glacial pace. At some point between now and the middle of February, that will pick up.

With the slow movement could come bargains, which is to the advantage of the Cleveland Indians. Something to keep an eye on in the next six weeks.

Cavs Need A Thomas Boost

Isaiah Thomas makes his much awaited debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Cavs have lost four of their last five and appears to be in a bit of a holiday malaise following a tough loss to Golden State on Christmas Day.

The bench has struggled a bit since Tristan Thompson’s return and his replacement of Channing Frye with the second unit. Dwyane Wade and his crew have lost the floor spacing that the latter provided with his three point shooting.

Thompson needs to be near the basket and if he’s away from the rim, he doesn’t need to be guarded. That takes away driving lanes for Wade and allows teams to shadow Kyle Korver, making it more difficult for him to get open.

Thomas will start off coming off the bench and will play limited minutes, but the starting lineup is also in need of a shot in the arm.

Jose Calderon did a great job in the starting lineup after Derrick Rose was injured, but he is starting to show that he is, well, Jose Calderon. He’s a guy who should be playing limited minutes, and instead he playing more than he did a year ago.

They also need to get more offense out of their starting lineup. Currently, the only players Tyronn Lue can count on nightly are LeBron James and Kevin Love.

Unfortunately, that’s only two-fifths of the starting five.

JR Smith’s shooting continues to decline from his first two seasons with the Cavaliers, dropping from 39% and 40% in those seasons to the 35% and 36% in the past two campaigns.

Moreso, he has been more inconsistent, at times going several games where he is not a factor on the offensive end. By now, we know James needs to play with three point shooters to open up driving lines. In return, those shooters get wide open looks.

Those snipers have to knock down those looks more often than not. Right now, that’s not a given.

Calderon and Smith’s issues are one reason the bench group is more productive than the starters. There are more of them making nightly contributions.

Once Thomas shakes the rust off his game, he should help provide more scoring from the starting five, and he is a 36.7% career shooter from behind the arc, so opponents have to account for him.

He’s also an 88% lifetime free throw shooter, so if he gets fouled he makes them. Keep in mind, the Cavs already rank second in the NBA in free throw shooting as a team.

No doubt, it will take some time for Thomas to get used to playing with a roster that outside of Jae Crowder, he hasn’t played with before. But, his style does fit more than someone like Thompson.

To start, we can see Thomas taking Calderon’s role, but with more drives and more volume scoring. He also provides the offense with another player who can create his own shot, something that only James and Wade can do right now with regularity.

Thomas’ return to the floor should give the Cavaliers a little boost that is needed right now. It’s not like the team has been playing poorly, but a slight jolt shouldn’t hurt anything.

The March To 0-16 Is Complete.

We are sure that some will find humor in the play that clinched the 0-16 season for the Cleveland Browns was a dropped pass by Corey Coleman, because it goes along with the narrative that the former first round draft pick is a bust.

That’s the state of the Browns these days. Fans are divided, and the ownership seems to be in a world of their own.

That world allows them to be content enough with a coach that has gone 1-31 over a two year span, and put together just the second 0-16 season in NFL history, to bring him back for a third season.

Imagine selling that to your fan base, after the 28-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

To be fair, the Browns fought back from an early 14-0 deficit to tie the game at 21 in the third quarter on a 5 yard touchdown pass from DeShone Kizer to Rashard Higgins, the latter’s second TD catch on the day.

The special teams, coached by zombie apocalypse survivor Chris Tabor, allowed a 96 yard kickoff return by JuJu Smith-Schuster which gave the Steelers a lead they would not relinquish.

The turnover battle, normally a loss for Cleveland, was even today, making Hue Jackson’s crew 0-12-4 for 2017 in that category.

Kizer, as he usually does, made some good throws, such as a 54 yard strike to Josh Gordon, and first TD toss to Higgins on a slant pattern. However, he also spiked several throws throughout the day, and flirted with interceptions several times in the second half before finally throwing one in the fourth quarter.

Consistency is a talent. Great players aren’t the ones who make great plays, they are guys who make positive plays all the time. Kizer is the baseball player who gets four hits in a game, but goes 0 for 18 in five other games. Professional sports is about being consistent.

The rookie quarterback didn’t get any help from his coaches, who failed to protect him all year, by throwing the ball way more than they ran it all season long.

Even today in frigid conditions, the Browns ran the ball with their running backs just 21 times, compared to 42 passing plays (30 passes, six sacks, six runs by Kizer). By contrast, Pittsburgh had 25 running plays and 33 passing plays (27 throws, three sacks, and three bad snaps).

Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin said he thought the Browns should run the ball more to minimize turnovers early in the week. Apparently, everyone realizes this except Hue Jackson.

Besides finishing without a win, the largest kick in the groin Cleveland football fans have to endure is the owner Jimmy Haslam’s stubborn stance in bringing Jackson back.

Jackson maintains there is a devoid of talent here, but several articles have come out recently disputing that. Statistically, the Browns are much better than the ’08 Lions, the only other team that finished 0-16.

And even if Jackson’s claim is true, it simply means he didn’t do a good job coaching. Good coaches get more out of the talent given to them. As was pointed out earlier this week, the New York Jets were said to be tanking this season, but Todd Bowles squeezed five wins out of them.

Look, we and anyone reading this could have coached the Browns to an 0-16 record. Jackson didn’t maximize the talent here, and we believe time will prove that there are good players here.

Hopefully, the owner comes to his senses on this issue and allows new GM John Dorsey to bring in a someone different.

We don’t trust Jackson to be involved with whatever QB Cleveland drafts in the first round this spring, or with a veteran brought in by Dorsey.

Hue Jackson contributed to this mess, he should not get a chance to ruin another football season in Cleveland.

Haslam’s Opinion Seeking Leaves Us Feeling Hopeless.

It just keeps getting better if you are a fan of the Cleveland Browns.

If it isn’t enough to be watching a team that hasn’t won a game this season, a feat accomplished just once before in a 16 game season, and compounding that with just one measly win in the past two seasons, you get the information that came out yesterday.

It has been reported that owner Jimmy Haslam has consulted with national football writers such as Peter King, Chris Mortensen, and Adam Schefter, to ask their opinions on the Browns.

This seems harmless on face value, but when you think about it, it points out many of the problems with the Haslam ownership, and when you add it all up, it seems hopeless for Browns’ fans.

First, those writers mentioned are certainly great writers, and no doubt love the sport of football. No one in their right mind would question their passion.

However, if those guys were so good at judging personnel, both on and off the field, they would be employed by an NFL team. They are information gatherers and reporters.

This isn’t to say media people cannot have a working knowledge of the sport. But can they tell what would make a good defensive end in the pros, or who would make a dynamite head coach without asking around to their many sources around the league?

Second, it seems Haslam likes to talk. And then talk some more.

There are sayings, such as “talk is cheap”, and “actions speak louder than words”. Haslam seems to be a guy who likes to keep talking, but he can’t discern who are the correct people to listen to.

If you talk to “football guys” like Bill Parcells, Bill Polian, and Jon Gruden, you will get three different opinions on what makes a winning team, and quite frankly all of them would be correct.

However, if you put bits and pieces of each plan together, it likely does not work. Here’s another expression…”too many cooks spoil the broth”. The point is the Browns’ owner has too many voices in his head.

And listening to the national media is probably the biggest reason it appears Haslam may bring Hue Jackson back in 2018, despite a probable 1-31 record in two seasons.

The national guys love them some Hue Jackson.

Jackson has two major advocates in Mike Silver and Amy Trask, who speak in glowing terms about the Browns’ head coach pretty much on a weekly basis.

This is not to denigrate either one, they have long relationships with Jackson, and naturally people who like other people talk well about them.

However, because they respect Jackson, they are not objective about him either.

Could it be that in conversations between media people, they share their glowing views of Hue Jackson, and that also colors the opinions of King, Mortensen, and Schefter?

Haslam may have made a good move in hire John Dorsey as his GM. Time will certainly tell, but Dorsey has a solid resume.

But now, Haslam has to trust Dorsey and allow him to build the organization is the way he feels is the best. And if Dorsey wants to bring in a head coach he respects and feels he can work with, then that’s what should happen.

Someone has to be the ultimate decision maker. Whether you like him or not, Haslam needs to let Dorsey be that guy.

Yesterday’s Cavs Loss Makes Us Feel Good.

There are so many ways to look at yesterday’s Christmas Day match up of what is currently the NBA’s hottest rivalry, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.

Yes, the defending champs won at home, 99-92, but this was a tie game with two minutes remaining, and the Warriors got an offensive rebound and Klay Thompson converted a three pointer to put Golden State up for good.

We understand that Stephen Curry did not play for Steve Kerr’s group, but Isaiah Thomas has yet to suit up for Tyronn Lue, and both should be ready for the rematch at Quicken Loans Arena next month.

The Cavs hung in this game despite shooting just 31.8% for the game, and made just 3 of 24 shots in the second quarter.

Yes, the Warriors are good defensively, but they aren’t making a habit of making teams shoot this poorly on a night to night basis. There was a little bad luck for the wine and gold shooting that poorly.

Still, despite this inability to put the ball in the cylinder, the wine and gold were in the game to the end.

From a Cleveland standpoint, it was also the first time several Cavs played in a battle between these two teams, and many of those newbies didn’t do well yesterday, something we expect to change going forward.

The Cavs’ bench, normally one of the league’s best, made just 6 of 26 shots, and Dwyane Wade, a veteran of this kind of intensity, made four of those shots. Jeff Green, who has been solid all season, had a poor game.

However, Jae Crowder responded with a 15 point, six rebound afternoon, and responded well to the physicality during the game.

And of course, no Cavs-Warriors game would be complete without the officiating coming into question. Kevin Durant’s non-called fouls against James down the stretch reminded us of the game five no call in last year’s Finals, when he hit James in the head on a drive, which would have been his third foul (in the second quarter), but it was ignored by the officials.

One decision Lue and his staff have to ponder is the role of Tristan Thompson going forward. Cleveland is 18-3 when Thompson plays less than six minutes in a game this season, and 6-7 when he is on the court longer.

With the emergence of Kevin Love playing center, and the effectiveness of the second unit when Channing Frye is out there, it is tough to see where Thompson fits.

By the way, didn’t Love put to rest the notion he can’t play against Golden State with yesterday’s 31 point, 18 rebound performance?

Back to Thompson, he doesn’t seem to fit with the Cavs anymore. His main strength on defense was being able to switch on pick and rolls, but the team is doing better with that as a whole.

Offensively, with spacing being a huge deal in James and Wade being able to penetrate, Thompson doesn’t have to be guarded, because even after six years in the league, he still cannot knockdown a shot from outside of five feet.

Thompson played just 11 minutes yesterday, getting two points and six boards. Frye did not play. We wonder what he could have brought to the table on a day the Cavs were having problems making shots.

All that aside, yesterday’s game showed the Cavs probably are better suited to handle the Warriors next summer than they were a year ago, which is what management wanted.

Still, by the time next June rolls around, and if the two teams meet for a fourth straight year with the title on the line, it could be a different situation.

Cavs’ fans should continue to enjoy the chase, and long forward to Thomas’ debut, which will probably be this week.