will!

will got one big break last night--dellavedova was not with the team--and one bad break--once they went to the knockout round, it was back to six fouls instead of ten. will got in foul trouble early and late, and as grizrule has pointed out, had to switch off the uber-quick guard canaan. i agree with grizrule too that this game likely clinched will's stay in the nba. there was a "oh, he's in such a zone!" quality to his breakout game last sunday, but last night you got the feeling this was just will being will, he could repeat this performance regularly.

but cleveland? i have my doubts. incumbency is powerful, and with mike miller on board and ray allen likely to join as well, there is only one point guard slot open on this team, and matthew dellaveturnover seems to have it locked up. in the cleveland plain-dealer this morning, they're blaming the loss on the absence of dellavedova, and the inability of the team to create assists without him--forgetting completely that many of will's great passes led only to teammates getting fouled or missing easy shots, or noting that while dellavedova creates assists, he also creates a lot of turnovers. last night will had two turnovers, and i believe he got one on a dubious charge. so now he has three turnovers in four games. that is sensational for as much as he's handled the ball. i'm just hoping the coaching staff sees it our way.

citay said:

will got one big break last night--dellavedova was not with the team--and one bad break--once they went to the knockout round, it was back to six fouls instead of ten. will got in foul trouble early and late, and as grizrule has pointed out, had to switch off the uber-quick guard canaan. i agree with grizrule too that this game likely clinched will's stay in the nba. there was a "oh, he's in such a zone!" quality to his breakout game last sunday, but last night you got the feeling this was just will being will, he could repeat this performance regularly.

but cleveland? i have my doubts. incumbency is powerful, and with mike miller on board and ray allen likely to join as well, there is only one point guard slot open on this team, and matthew dellaveturnover seems to have it locked up. in the cleveland plain-dealer this morning, they're blaming the loss on the absence of dellavedova, and the inability of the team to create assists without him--forgetting completely that many of will's great passes led only to teammates getting fouled or missing easy shots, or noting that while dellavedova creates assists, he also creates a lot of turnovers. last night will had two turnovers, and i believe he got one on a dubious charge. so now he has three turnovers in four games. that is sensational for as much as he's handled the ball. i'm just hoping the coaching staff sees it our way.

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I've seen Dellavedova being mentioned in some trade packages with Wiggins this morning. Although his salary is not super high (815K I think), perhaps his inclusion is because of the play of Will. Couldn't hurt last night having both the Cavs owner & GM courtside.

ordigger said:

Paytonlives said:

I might be reading something into this but.

Will Started and
Dellavedova was listed as NWT- Coaches Decision (Not With Team?)

I'm I wrong to think that the coach started Cherry and Dellavedove walked out?

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He is on the Australian National Team, went to start practicing with them in advance of the World Cup.

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Must be a hell of an athlete to play soccer too!

Ursa Major said:

ordigger said:

Paytonlives said:

I might be reading something into this but.

Will Started and
Dellavedova was listed as NWT- Coaches Decision (Not With Team?)

I'm I wrong to think that the coach started Cherry and Dellavedove walked out?

Click to expand...

He is on the Australian National Team, went to start practicing with them in advance of the World Cup.

Click to expand...

Must be a hell of an athlete to play soccer too!

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Good post Citay. Ya they didn't lose that game because Delavedova was gone. It was really because of the play of Canaan & a couple others from that team. In fact, even though they lost, Will was really the main reason Cleveland almost came back to win it. Anyone watching should have seen that. I think this game helps Will more than his breakout game. Hopefully he finishes summer league with another solid performance tonight!!

Agent G said:

Good post Citay. Ya they didn't lose that game because Delavedova was gone. It was really because of the play of Canaan & a couple others from that team. In fact, even though they lost, Will was really the main reason Cleveland almost came back to win it. Anyone watching should have seen that. I think this game helps Will more than his breakout game. Hopefully he finishes summer league with another solid performance tonight!!

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I thought the tournament was 1 and done if you lose. What time does he play? I hope you are right, but I think the Cavs are done in this tournament.

Cavs are alive in the consolation bracket. They play Miami @ 8:30 MTN tonight.

well, i was hoping that in his last game will would put an emphatic cherry on the icing of the great cake he has baked for himself in las vegas, but emphatic, cherry was not. will has played a lot of minutes in the heat in las vegas, and he looked tired. his shooting was off--three for nine from the field, one for six on threes. he did hit key free throws down the stretch to wind up with nine points but from the start he seemed content to set up teammates rather than look for his own shot. he wound up with six assists, on only two turnovers. again, as grizrule has mentioned many times, many of his passes were not converted, or his assist total would have been much higher.

but for the first time in five games, will had a negative plus/minus points against the opposition. even in the loss to houston he was plus one, and was much higher than that in the rest of the games. last night a minus eight.

so it wasn't the game we were hoping for but nonetheless, will in one week has totally transformed his basketball career. the announcers last night commented how in all games cherry has taken over games late, as they expected him to do in the fourth quarter last night. no matter it didn't happen, will has changed expectations, from a guy struggling to make it, to a guy who can take over games. he's really comes away from las vegas with a great reputation.

will it translate into a roster spot? i'm with grizrule: it just has to, at some point. if i'm a coach, i can see that will plays much bigger than his size, is a true general on the floor, plays hard steady defense and will only get better with his shot as he matures as a pro. plus everybody raves about his personality, and coachability.

of course, i hope he sticks with the cavs. i'm thinking the love deal is going to happen, which means cleveleland is an instant favorite to win it all, maybe multiple years. if will could be a part of that, it would be an incredible ending for a guy who has worked so hard, and overcome so much adversity.

Nice Q & A article with Will in tomorrow's (7/20/14) Missoulian. Here's the link:

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/mens-basketball/former-griz-cherry-opens-eyes-in-nba-summer-league/article_79634bac-0f9f-11e4-a71b-0019bb2963f4.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great article. I wish I saw the last summer league game. I did get it on dvr though. I cannot bring myself to watch it knowing he struggled with his shot. Watching him play in summer league sure made me remember how damn good he was before his foot injury. That really took away from his game a lot. Good to see him healthy and working hard to live his dream. I have a feeling his dream will come true.

With that said, I'm hoping Dellavadova gets traded to Minnesota. I want more reason to root for the Cavaliers now that Lebron is back. Cherry would give me a big reason. I just want to see him make a NBA team and contribute. Just hope that team Is not the Celtics or Knicks.

The coach actually pulled him aside early on, and asked him to distribute the ball more. He actually looked very good that last game in that role, making some very good passes. Think he finished with 6 assists, and at least 4-5 others loss because of misses by teammates.

I disagree that his last game was all that bad....because much of the mention I was reading about him nationally was shooting guard but to small. Nice to see him play the role of PG much better the last game.

mtgrizrule said:

.... Just hope that team Is not the Celtics or Knicks.

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Would love to see him in green with Boston. Been a fan since the late 60s. Bruins, Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics....doesn't get any better than that.

ordigger said:

The coach actually pulled him aside early on, and asked him to distribute the ball more. He actually looked very good that last game in that role, making some very good passes. Think he finished with 6 assists, and at least 4-5 others loss because of misses by teammates.

I disagree that his last game was all that bad....because much of the mention I was reading about him nationally was shooting guard but to small. Nice to see him play the role of PG much better the last game.

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Now that you posted this, thank you for convincing me to watch the game on my dvr. I have been torn to watch it or not, due to a bad shooting night for him. I am sure he played great defense again. It will be nice to see a game with him focused on ball distribution. As for his lost assists, the prior 4 games I am sure teammates lost him 10 to 12 assists. Then again, that happens to every player. It just seems worse when it is a player you are rooting for and focusing on. :thumb:

So what kinda time frame is Will lookin' at here? When should he receive an offer by if he's going to be invited to a camp? If Cle don't keep him, I'm really hoping Chi gives him a shot. Oh how sweet that would b!

I finally am watching the Cavs last summer league game on DVR. Despite a not so good shooting night, Will did show them and the league something he needed to. He can use his quickness to be more of a creator and distributor. He created a lot of great scoring opportunities for his teammates in the last game, as well as prior games. He is so much better under control when taking the ball to the hole than he was playing for the GRIZ. Then again, the GRIZ needed him scoring more than the NBA will need him to score.

I am sure he will be on a team come fall camps. I hope he takes this summer league experience and builds on it to become an even better true pg, by becoming better at ball distribution. He had 2 magnificent assists in back to back possessions between the 3:00 and 4:00 minute mark of the 3rd quarter. They were very tough passes to his posts in the paint, and he made them look easy. Those are the kind of plays he needs to make consistently.

A little different senerio but has the same feel...

Back in the day a unknown Guard out of Montana played in some pre-draft basketball games that showed the kid could play against the best... later that spring he was drafted #4 in the first round....

Paytonlives said:

A little different senerio but has the same feel...

Back in the day a unknown Guard out of Montana played in some pre-draft basketball games that showed the kid could play against the best... later that spring he was drafted #4 in the first round....

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jeez, payton. how old ARE you?

citay said:

Paytonlives said:

A little different senerio but has the same feel...

Back in the day a unknown Guard out of Montana played in some pre-draft basketball games that showed the kid could play against the best... later that spring he was drafted #4 in the first round....

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jeez, payton. how old ARE you?

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I was a kid back then, use to sneak down and sit next to the cheerleaders in the south end. Was there the night MR put 40 on the cats. Back to back to back steals and dunks. The place was a madhouse!!!!

I long for the Zoo and Maggotmouth.

Every team has scouts watching these players. Will may not play for Cleveland, but could be picked up by any of the other NBA teams. Looks like he made an impression.