Podcast
Cavs: the Podcast
Hosted by Cavs: The Podcast · EN
The folks who brought you Cavs: The Blog bring you Cavs: the Podcast. Here you’ll find the most in-depth Cavs analysis in our audacious game recaps. We boast an insightful, clever, and civil commentariat – the best you’ll ever come across.
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
318: California Schemin'
Jul 15, 202501:05:17Tap to summarizeAt the almost midpoint of summer, Nate, Chris, and Eli hopped in the CtB podcast booth to dig deep into the Cavs Summer League so far, opine over the news from around the association, and divine whether Rich Paul and LeBron are scheming to get the King out of L.A. and back to the land of his birth. It's a tight 60 that also features Eli's tour of the Cavs' premises, Chris and Nate fighting over the portent of Jalen Tyson's turnovers, and all of us gushing over Nae'Qwin Tomlin's very high ceiling.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →317: Go *avs
Jul 1, 202501:36:52Tap to summarizeEpisode 317 found us on the first night of free agency (you know, BEFORE the Shamsbombs about Lillard's buyout and Myles Turner becoming Buck). To start it off, Late bemoaned the Cavs' decision to keep Sam Merrill over Ty Jerome (or both), a decision that was originally about money, that became less so when we figured out that Merrill got four 4/38 years instead of Jerome's 3/28. The Cavs' decision to sign Isaac Okoro to a multi-year deal last year ended up backfiring as it made the luxury tax payments very difficult when it came to keeping both. Chris talked me off the ledge with some salient counterpoints, but I still contend that Lonzo Ball isn't going to play any meaningful playoff minutes for the Cavs.Eli Kim joined us for the second session, and we rode my stalking horse for 6/30: a Darius Garland for LeBron James trade before the 2024 fiscal year ended. Obviously that didn't happen, and there was a lot of meditation on LeBron's weirdness and the mess of the Lakers. The general tone of the pod was muted frustration and reluctant patience before we went around the rest of the moves in free agency and their impact on the Cavs. Oh, and Eli tried to trade for Giannis again (another thing that is obviously not happening).Finally we figured out who could be out there for the Cavs, busted a whole lot of chops, asked Eli what was for dinner, explored the details of his impending move, and discovered who his favorite hockey team is. It was a pretty fun 100 that saw us return to the podcast quality you've come to know and love.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →316: Amateur Hour
Jun 16, 202501:27:07Tap to summarizeHope you all had a happy Father's Day, Cavalier fans. With the NBA finals in full swing, last week, Nate, Eli, and Chris Francis constructed an impromptu podcast booth in an abandoned culvert underneath I-80, and exorcised the demons of the Cavs' 2025 playoff exit. Full warning, this one might have the worst audio engineering in the history of CtB, and it's almost a week old now. I've been burning it at both ends at work and this was the soonest I could post. So it's Amateur Hour from us as we flexed our dormant podcast muscles. To kick it off we got into why the Cavs lost highlighted by some major criticisms for Kenny Atkinson, the Cavs' perpetually injury mismanagement, the Cavs' lack of punch, and the NBA officials. Up next we got into slop season with no one off the table in our discussion of how to reconstruct this Cavs roster. The conversation revolved around a few key points key points: the Cavs have one last shot to make a major move before the end of June, before they're locked in salary cap purgatory, above the dreaded luxury tax apron; there are no perfect deals out there, and there aren't any clear paths for improving the roster; the Cavs might be stuck with what they have; Cleveland desperately needs some longer wings, better secondary ball-handling, and a guard set that complements both each other and Cleveland's bigs; and finally, the luxury tax apron is going to act as a hard cap and make it very hard for teams over it to operate.After that we got into the finals, celebrated a big birthday, and looked forward to the summer. It was an entertaining podcast, even if it was a little rough around the edges.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →315: Awards Season
Apr 25, 202501:25:00Tap to summarizeThe Cavs and their fans find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Up 2-0 on the Heat, the Wine and Gold appear to be on the best side of the talent gap between themselves and the Miami Heat. Not to jinx anyone, but Cleveland has dominated at times against Miami and has pulled out just enough to win at other times. The've looked in complete control at all times. The other unfamiliar territory: being in the thick of NBA awards season.To tip off our coverage of the NBA playoffs, we called on our best 3-on-3 squad: Nate Smith, Chris Francis, and Eli Kim (affectionately .known as "The Korean Channing Frye" around these parts). Our trio broke down the series so far and all the latest Cavalier news: Evan Mobley's Ddefensive Player of the Year award, Kenny Atkinson's Coach of the Year from the NBA Coach's Association, and Payton Pritchard's theft of Ty Jerome's 6th man trophy.The guys got into contract talk a bit: discussing who might be a threat to sign Jerome, and the odds of the guys outside of the "core four" being on the team next season. Mostly, though, it was a celebration of the Cavs playoff run so far, with expectations that the best is yet to come.Finally, our guys went around the rest of the playoffs and put our spin on each series with some prognostication all the way to the finals. Affter the first sign-off brought, we brought it back for a little bonus as Eli spun the tale of his and and Chris' experience at Cavs vs. Clippers in the player family section and how much fun they had. I know I was pretty touched by how well they repped CtB, and I think you will be too!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →314: Bored with Success
Mar 18, 202500:59:06Tap to summarizeLet's face it. The Cleveland Cavaliers were due for a stinker. After flirting with losses to the likes of Portland, Charlotte, and Brookly, the Cavs finally dropped one to the Magic. Donovan Mitchell had a bad game with too much hero ball, Okoro had an horrible eight minutes, Sam Merrill couldn't shoot, Ty Jerome effed around and found out, and no one seemed to want to feed Jarrett Allen in a loss to to the Magic that halted the Cavs' win streak at 16. Elijah Kim and Nate Smith manned the podcast booth to break it down, and lament over the dog days of the NBA season.With 15 games left in the next 26 games, to say the Cavs schedule is "back loaded" would be an understatement. The Cavs kick off a five game road trip in a week and have a compressed schedule to close out the year. Everyone right now from the coaches, to the players, to the fans, just want the Cavs to get through the regular season with their focus in tact, and all their players healthy. If it means dropping some games, I think we're here for it. To that end, Nate and Eli talked about managing the rest of the season, how they'd like the Eastern Conference playoffs to stack up, and who's in and out of the Cavs' playoff rotation. Finally the guys asked if there were any more bigs to be had in free agency, and didn't find many answers on that front. Mostly, the guys just rubbed their lucky rabbits feet to make sure the Cavs get through the next four weeks healthy and unbored.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →299: The Cookies Crumbl
Dec 1, 2023Tap to summarizeFull of righteous indignation, Nate Smith and Chris Francis trudged into the podcast booth to write a sternly worded letter (podcast) to the Cavalier organization with one conclusion: this team isn't going anywhere with J.B. Bickerstaff as its head coach. The gents detailed their list of grievances: a near decade long inability to coach NBA offense from this millennium, an insistence on giving minutes to and removing competition from players who he seems to like but simply aren't good, a maddening inability to make good tactical and strategic decisions, a penchant for running guys into the ground and playing short rotations, and most damning of late - an inability to get consistent effort from his players. The last one may not be his fault. Eventually, everyone gets tired of the voice in the locker room, and sometimes teams just need a new one. That seems to be the consensus in the podcast booth and the fan base at large as even the most ride-or-die Cavs fans are turning on him. I hope it doesn't affect J.B.'s cookies.Nate and Chris discussed the interim and longer term options for Cleveland, and whether Koby deserves to stay too. They discussed the future of Donovan Mitchell in a Cavs uniform, the struggles of Darius Garland, re-litigate the Lauri Markkanen trade, and try to find some solace in their pod-ending pitches. There isn't a lot of positivity here, but there is entertainment and humor in vitriol.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →