CLEVELAND, Ohio — In this episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, host Ethan Sands is joined by Chris Fedor and Jimmy Watkins to analyze Darius Garland’s clutch performance this season, highlighting his impressive statistics and contributions to this year’s 52-10 team.
Takeaways:
Darius Garland’s clutch performance is a key asset for the Cavs.
The Cavs' success in clutch situations is noteworthy this season, especially with Garland’s performances recently.
Individual awards may not reflect the team’s overall success.
Nicknames can enhance a player’s marketability and fan connection.
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Read the automated transcript of today’s podcast below. Because it’s a computer-generated transcript, it may contain errors and misspellings.
Ethan Sands
What up, Cavs Nation? I’m your host, Ethan Sands, and I’m back with another episode of the Wine and Gold Talk Podcast. And today, yes, you heard right, it is another Hey Chris episode. And of course, that means Chris Fidor is back joining us from the beautiful state of Ohio before his flight to Charlotte.
What a treat we have for you guys today to get into a lot of the different questions from our subtext subscribers. Also joining us, Jimmy Watkins. But of course, to be able to get different insight to directly to your phone, you can sign up to subtext 399 a month, 14 days free. This is a subscription based service that you can get that allows you to have tapped in information and knowledge directly to your phone from me.
Chris and Jimmy about everything relating to the Cleveland Cavaliers and especially the most beautiful thing, we take you behind the scenes in things that not necessarily go on the social media platforms such as X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook, you name it. Subtext gets this information first and gets a little bit more detailed because we know about the character discussion and all those things. But.
I want to get into these questions from our subtexters for today. And the first one we’re going to knock out, Chris, we would talk a little bit about some of the nicknames that have been circulating of this Cavs team as of late. Me and Jimmy were not big fans of them, but a new nickname that has been dropped into our inbox for Evan Mobley because we talked about how he’s been called the predicament.
As of late, even Dan Gilbert tweeted it out last night saying that he was going up against the automatopeia, who is bam out of bio, apparently.
Jimmy Watkins (02:07.807)
Don’t forget the skeleton key. I came up with the skeleton key last night for Evan.
Ethan Sands (02:13.154)
He sure did. He sure did. But the next nickname that we got from a subtexter for Evan Mobley is the evolution of illusion. I get. Yeah, I think I’m not mad at it. I’m not mad at it. Chris, what do you think about the nickname debacle that is going on for this Cavs team? Do you think players necessarily need a nickname? It feels like a lot of these have been forced. What’s your take on the situation?
Chris (02:33.75)
Ha ha!
Chris (02:43.938)
Well, look, mean, you know, if a nickname fits a guy and it becomes something that helps them with their marketing, then I’m all for it because this is at the end of the day is an entertainment business. And, know, you’ve got the beard and James Harden, you’ve got King James and LeBron, you’ve got the alien and Wemby. Like when they are fitting the black mamba with Kobe back in the day, when they are fitting and when they become synonymous with the guy and they actually take off, they can be really, really good.
I don’t mind the evolution. There’s something that the Cavs were doing a couple of years ago with EV4 with Evan Mobley because of one of the cars. I don’t remember which car it was, but there was a fancy car that was released, a more modern one, and it was an EV4 of some kind. So they were doing something with the EV4. They were trying to workshop that a little bit. But it has to be organic and it has to kind of catch on.
I don’t know that the skeleton key, Jimmy, is going to catch on when it comes to Evan Mobley. And the other thing with nicknames is, like, there can’t be this huge backstory to them. You have to hear them and you have to say, that makes sense. Totally understand why. When you have to go into detail explaining why the nickname is what it is, then it becomes a little bit more complicated.
When it comes to Evan, like I’ve actually leaned on Slim Duncan myself in the past, Tim Duncan, but Slim, I think that’s pretty fitting for somebody like Evan. But I do agree that somebody with his stature into the future will probably require a nickname to kind of get his notoriety to a different place than what it is right
Jimmy Watkins (04:34.571)
Slim Duncan down to the disposition that one fits. right? Like, isn’t Evan, are we going to be doing a big time profile on what’s the famous Tim Duncan story where there’s a Sports Illustrated Tim Duncan story where it’s just about all about how boring he is. that’s like in and of itself interesting, like a real galaxy brain kind of idea there. That I like a lot. And also if you’re if you’re a cast fan,
Chris (04:38.582)
Yes, that’s right.
Chris (04:52.147)
Yeah.
Jimmy Watkins (05:04.147)
A nickname debacle being the biggest problem on your hands? Not bad. Not bad through 62 games.
Chris (05:08.374)
Ha ha ha
Chris (05:14.904)
I’m trying to see what his basketball reference has listed because it doesn’t have anything listed for a nickname. Nothing. Nothing at all. But there are some of these on basketball reference that are just out of nowhere and you’re like, wait a minute. Like I’ve never heard the guy referred to as that. So I was wondering if there was anything that caught on with Evan and there is nothing at this point in time. Maybe I’ll ask a bunch of his teammates if he has some. I will say that, you know, Tristan Thompson
Jimmy Watkins (05:19.423)
I think nothing. Yeah, it’s got nothing. What are we?
Chris (05:44.096)
is well known in the Cavs locker room for coming up with creative nicknames and giving them to people. He was the one who has assigned Dean Wade the nickname that Dean Wade has that I have a story coming out on in the next week or so. I’m not revealing the nickname now. It is not happening. But it is classic. And it is a very Tristan Thompson-esque nickname.
When you hear the nickname, you’re like, OK, there’s no way that anybody else other than Tristan Thompson gave Dean Wade that nickname. But I’m not revealing it right now. It is going to come out in a couple of days. And it is very fitting to the defense first style of Dean Wade. Let’s just put it that
Ethan Sands (06:28.994)
You’ve been teasing the story for like a month now. I was so excited when you first talked about it. You were like, I just got this inside scoop from talking to Tristan and Dean Wade. And because this was like something that Kenny Atkinson had brought up in a post game press conference. He was like, you guys are going to have to do the inside research. And I was like, okay, well, this is a story that Chris is going to delve into. And you were like, okay, it might come out this weekend. It was like Wednesday at this point. And I’m like,
Okay, Chris, I’m wait. And I was like, okay, he’s gonna tell us now. The story is gonna come out tomorrow. It’s gonna be a great preface. All of these things. No, gotta wait another week. That’s fair. That’s a fair point.
Chris (07:01.226)
Yeah.
Chris (07:12.3)
Blame Dean Wade. Blame Dean, he got hurt. You don’t want to drop it when a guy’s injured and he’s out of sight, out of mind. I had wait for him to come back and I had to figure out what his role was going to be with the new look Cavs. So it was ready to drop. I was going to go with it. And then Dean got sidelined. I’m like, are you freaking kidding me? Like this is the second time that I’ve put together this big Dean Wade feature.
Jimmy Watkins (07:16.789)
Chris.
Chris (07:39.436)
that has been interrupted by a knee injury of Dean Wade.
Jimmy Watkins (07:42.796)
Dean Wade injured, Never, that’s news to me. I’m just glad that we have Chris on the case in all of these cases, but particularly this weekend in Charlotte, because I saw a report this morning that LaMelo Ball might want to play in a winning environment. He might be exploring trade-offs in the summer. And I need Chris to investigate.
why LaMelo Ball hasn’t been in a winning environment yet. don’t, it could be, it’s probably a lot of factors that have to do with something other than LaMelo Ball. I’m certain of it. I’m certain of it. Which is why I’m glad that we’ll have Chris with Boots on the Ground.
Ethan Sands (08:24.174)
Speaking of traveling to different cities, and before I even get into this, I just sent an Instagram video to both of your phones, and I would like you to watch it while I set this question up for Chris. When we were talking about, it’s not work, it’s not work. It is hilarious. It is a basketball, because we talked about the basketball reference page as having random nicknames. This is one of them, we mentioned it yesterday. It’s Ty Jerome’s milk.
Jimmy Watkins (08:37.215)
Homework during the pod? Homework during the pod. All right.
Ethan Sands (08:53.504)
nickname and all of the rookies of this class were going through and trying to figure out who this man was. But here’s the next question for Chris and we’ll circle back to this video in a second because I absolutely loved it. I had to dive deep into the internet verse to figure out what was going on. But Chris, you’re muted, but I want to set this next question up.
from Dave in Tucson. says, because Chris loves traveling and is such a foodie, the Cavs will likely be matched up with a team from the play-in tournament, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, or Chicago. I would like to know which city foodie Chris Fedor would prefer to eat in a four-day playoff trip. Rank all four cities and what had his go-to cuisine plan for that winning, I think he meant to say weekend, might be.
Three plus days, all meals please. Amen.
Jimmy Watkins (09:53.804)
I thought you said this was gonna be a shorter pod, Ethan. I thought you said this was gonna be a shorter pod. We’re gonna make this two episodes.
Chris (10:02.882)
Wait, the four are Orlando, Miami. So this is complicated because I don’t only pick these cities. So everybody, for those that don’t know, my rooting interest when it comes to the end of the season is simply for playoff matchups that are favorable for me. Where do I want to go in the playoffs? So last year it was hilarious on Press Row.
Ethan Sands (10:07.651)
and look.
Chris (10:31.744)
It was me, Joe Varden, Ethan, Danny Cunningham, Ryan Lewis, and all these other guys. And we’re not paying attention at all to the Cavs game in any sort of way. It was just scoreboard watching the rest of the NBA because we had this list of destinations that we wanted to go to. And I forget which ones were in the running, but I believe Milwaukee was in the running and like nobody wants to go to Milwaukee for the playoffs. I’m sorry. It’s dope.
Not if you’re from Cleveland. Cleveland is Milwaukee. Milwaukee is Cleveland. It’s the Spider-Man meme, basically. So Milwaukee was in the running. Orlando was in the running. But it felt like Orlando was kind of like a long shot where a bunch of different things had to happen in the NBA. And then they all were happening. And we were all looking at each other like, my god, is this going to happen? Are we going to get Orlando instead of Milwaukee?
Are we going to get golf instead of a food hall? Are we going to be able to get sunshine instead of whatever it’s going to be in Milwaukee? So they all unfolded and we got Orlando in round one and then Boston in round two. And it was like the greatest playoff setup that you could have aside from maybe like Milwaukee, Boston, New York or something like that. You know what I mean? So there are these different markets that are just more beneficial for a reporter.
And that’s what we root for. We root for us. But when it comes to these cities, yeah, part of it’s the food. But the other part of it is the nightlife. The other part of it is what kind of activities you can do in these cities. The other part of it is what hotels are going to be available because some hotels are just better than others. So this is no offense to you, Ethan, or Georgia, but like Atlanta.
is so far down that list. It is so far down that list that I don’t even want to consider the possibility of Atlanta, Cleveland being the 1-8 matchup. Like there is nothing appealing about me going to Atlanta for a playoff series. I’ve done it already. I hate the airport. They don’t really have the restaurants that are that much different. Like they do have a Quiznos.
Chris (12:55.286)
And I love that about Atlanta. They do have a barbecue place called Fox Brothers. I love that as well. But it’s not, it’s not like a restaurant scene that stands out above some of these other markets. So I was actually having this conversation with Joe Varden in Boston when we were sitting down for lunch recently, Joe Varden of the athletic. And we were talking about our preferred destinations for the playoffs.
And we both agreed because we are golf nuts that Orlando Miami, one of those two needs to be at the top of any list. I like Chicago. I like the food in Chicago. I like the nightlife in Chicago. I like the hotel situation in Chicago. I like other things about Chicago. So I would probably have it Orlando Miami, one, two, then Chicago, and then Atlanta 16.
Ethan Sands (13:52.01)
Okay, I mean not you didn’t have to say Atlanta but I I think Atlanta is Yeah, those are the four options those are the four options. I’m just saying I think I have my favorite
Chris (13:58.392)
Those were the four options, right? Yeah.
Chris (14:07.788)
Like, in my world, I’m hoping that the Brooklyn Nets overtake the Atlanta Hawks. Because a first round in New York is a lot better than Atlanta to me.
Ethan Sands (14:14.006)
You and that Brooklyn pizza, man.
Brooklyn pizza. That’s the only thing on Chris’s mind. He does not care about anything else. my.
Chris (14:23.266)
Broadway shows, New York style pizza, my burger joint called J.G. Mellon, other things that you can do in New York.
Ethan Sands (14:34.222)
Fair, fair, okay. Jimmy, if you had to pick your, rank your four spots, where you at?
Chris (14:39.672)
Look at Ethan taking offense to my Atlanta blast. He’s defending Atlanta.
Ethan Sands (14:44.502)
Hey, man, I got Atlanta roots, man. I might not be from Atlanta, but I so have had family there my whole life. But anyway.
Chris (14:51.328)
In fact, can we find a way to get the tanking Toronto Raptors? Can RJ Barrett have like the last month of a season that we’ve never seen before from a player? Can he just lead the Toronto Raptors into the eighth seed so that I can get my ass back to Toronto for the first round playoff series? That would be magical. Come on, RJ. Come on, Scotty Barnes.
Jimmy Watkins (15:16.267)
The Grady Dick Injury. Tough time for the Grady Dick Injury. The Raptors are just about to make their push to satisfy Chris’s travel needs. I think we’ve already, I have been to all these places. I like all these places. don’t think I’m going to, people don’t care what I think about these places. My nickname is not Foodie Feedor.
Chris (15:20.684)
Come on, Grady Dick.
Jimmy Watkins (15:46.185)
My nickname is not Foodie Feetor, so I’m withdrawing myself from the conversation.
Ethan Sands (15:53.998)
Fair enough, fair enough. Okay, getting into the next question from our subtexters, keeping with the theme of having a little bit fun on this podcast. Oh, hold on, one second. Where did it go?
That’s the one that I want.
Ethan Sands (16:33.838)
Okay. All right, changing the gears a little bit, but I want to circle back before we get into some real basketball talk for about 10 minutes. What did you guys think about the video that I sent you about Ty Jerome’s not nickname, because he does not like that nickname, but apparently it’s kind of known and has been referenced on basketball reference.
Chris (16:45.528)
What’s that?
Ethan Sands (17:03.542)
Ironically enough.
Chris (17:04.822)
Yeah, I just looked up his basketball reference page and it does list his nickname as Milk. I don’t know where that came from. That feels, how can I say this? Part of the nickname feels like there’s a deeper origin story attached to it. The other part of the nickname is very self-explanatory.
I think Ty has kind of emerged in the conversation for Six Man of the Year where he needs something a little bit better than just Milk as a nickname, if we’re gonna go with that. I don’t know about Chill Guy Ty. I know Cavs fans are kind of workshopping that one. His teammates call him Chill Guy. know, the Cavs social media is all about Chill Guy Ty. I’m not sure that I love that one specifically.
but it does fit his demeanor in most cases. He’s just somebody who doesn’t give a bleep about anything. He doesn’t care about the comments that he makes post-game. He doesn’t care if he’s blasting officials. There was actually hilarious moment in Chicago the other night following the game where Darius and Ty were having a conversation about something and I think Darius said, want to bet. It was something that they were talking about.
It was a friendly competition and Darius said you want to bet and Ty’s like, sure, we’ll wager $25,000.
to obviously cover the fine that he received for the comments that he made. But it just goes back to this dude has no filter. He doesn’t care about anything. He just sits there in his chair post-game soaking his feet and he’s an open book. And even on the floor, like nothing seems to bother him in any sort of way. He doesn’t get rattled. He’s cool, calm out there on the floor when he’s not talking trash with the other team.
Chris (19:09.174)
So there just isn’t a situation that you could put Ty in where he’s going to be phased. So from that standpoint, the chill guy Ty kind of fits. It also rhymes and I guess that’s sort of cool-ish, but I don’t know. I feel like he’s more... I think he deserves, based on the year that he’s had and the conversations that he’s going to be in at the end of the season, I think he deserves something better for a nickname than just milk.
Ethan Sands (19:39.136)
Yeah, and I think the funniest thing is you mentioned Tristan Thompson giving
Jimmy Watkins (19:40.809)
Hold on, can I make the case for milk? Can I make the case for milk real quick?
Chris (19:44.696)
Yes, please do!
Ethan Sands (19:46.146)
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold hold on, before you do this, hold on, hold on, hold on, me two seconds, give me two seconds, before you make the case for milk. Tristan Thompson tried giving Ty Jerome the nickname, the microwave. We obviously had to scrap that one because it’s a formally used nickname. But if I had to pitch a nickname and it wasn’t Chill Guy Ty, which I kinda like, he has this new signature kind of celebration where he’s like, freeze.
Him and and Darius Garland love that celebration. There’s like pictures all over social media of Darius even in like the traveling van and the traveling bus that they have Doing the celebration. So mr. Freeze. I don’t know. I think that that will kind of be hard. But go ahead Jimmy milk
Chris (20:21.035)
Mm-hmm.
Chris (20:34.594)
That’s taken. That’s taken by a superhero or a villain. Right? Is it a villain? I’ve got to be really up on my superheroes these days. My son has reached a superhero phase and he wants to know what every single one’s superpowers is. And he wants to know what every single one, their origin story and their real name and stuff like that. In fact, the other day I was reading him a story about Captain Marvel and I was flipping through the pages and they had pictures and I said, whoa,
Jimmy Watkins (20:37.503)
Yeah. Come on. It’s Batman. Batman villain.
Ethan Sands (20:40.118)
Yeah, but that’s
Jimmy Watkins (20:43.999)
Batman villain. Off.
Chris (21:05.194)
She’s a hottie! So for the next like couple hours my son Elliot’s walking around the house saying, whoa, she’s a hottie. She’s a hottie. Mommy, daddy said Captain Marvel’s a hottie.
Ethan Sands (21:23.968)
Alex can get you in trouble, But go ahead and make your case to me.
Jimmy Watkins (21:25.579)
was going to say, okay, okay, wait, I now I have a superhero. I have a superhero point to make real quick. When I was a kid, probably around Elliot’s age, I was Batman. Notice I said, I did not say I was into Batman. I was Batman to the point where I wore full fledged Batman costume, mask, utility belt, shirt depicting the Batman chest plate multiple times per week. And one day my mother took me to the library and I
Chris (21:26.005)
I know.
Chris (21:42.125)
Yeah.
Jimmy Watkins (21:55.756)
kicked my passenger door open as Batman would to, because when he was in a hurry to fight some crime and I absolutely tattooed the car next to us. Lo and behold, in that very same moment, owner of said car is walking out of the library and just gave my mom a stern talking to about how to patrol her child, tried to cut a deal so that I could repay for that car dent with chores around her house like Brom 3.
What you think I’m gonna get accomplished for you? Anyways, the case for milk, the case for milk. I forgot this was a, we’re talking basketball here. The case for milk as Ty Jerome’s nickname is the versatility of the nickname, right? So maybe at the beginning of Ty Jerome’s season, he’s 2 % milk because we’re not sure how much he’s going to play. Now, as he’s leveling up,
Chris (22:32.588)
No more no.
Jimmy Watkins (22:53.541)
No, no, no, sorry. In his transformation phase where he’s focused on his body and getting in the weight room, he’s oat milk or almond milk, healthier versions of the sweet, of the cold sweet drink. And then as he graduates into Super Santai Jerome, he can be whole milk. When he gets really hot at end of fourth quarters and he’s putting the team to bed, you give them the glass of
Chris (23:04.696)
No, no, no.
Chris (23:16.44)
I’m
this happening.
Jimmy Watkins (23:22.387)
warm milk, maybe put it in the microwave for a little bit to work with Tristan there a little bit. And the best part, this is a wrap it all home, is that a lot of people out there, despite all of the wholesome dairy bucket getting, dairy fueled bucket getting that Tyrone is showing us right now, some people, not this podcast, but some people still believe
that there is an expiration date on this glass of milk we’re drinking for tigere on right now. That’s the case for milk.
Chris (24:00.172)
that becomes a little bit too complex.
Jimmy Watkins (24:05.835)
It does not pass the blank test. We were saying last night, it’s just kind of like, know what or you don’t. I agree with you. I just had fun. I had fun doing that right there.
Ethan Sands (24:06.774)
I can’t, I can’t believe.
Chris (24:11.714)
That’s right.
Ethan Sands (24:16.706)
glad we could have fun on this podcast. Of course, that is what it is for. And I feel like we get into so many different nicks and crannies of the basketball season that we have to have one of these podcasts every once in a while to show people that we are human. We aren’t just robots. But I do want to finish the podcast because I know we got to get out of here with one basketball question from our subtexters.
Chris (24:32.14)
Mm-hmm.
Ethan Sands (24:45.646)
that references us being into the Knicks and Cranies of the basketball season comes from Billy in Brooklyn who says the pods act like Jaylen Brunson is far and away the clutch player of the year. Can one of you nerds look at DG’s clutch numbers and make a case? Sure, here you go. Darius Garland has the best field goal percentage in the clutch for the 2024 and 2025.
NBA regular season at 59.5%. The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best, the most wins in clutch games, I believe, in the NBA this season. Shall I continue?
Chris (25:32.726)
Yeah, sure. I Darius is in the mix. He’s in the conversation. I don’t know that he’s the front runner. I think Jaylen Brunson has a case. I think Trey Young has a case. I believe De’Aaron Fox has won Clutch Player of the Year in the past. He has a case as well. He’s really good in clutch situations. Believe it or not, Jason Tatum, I think, has a case as well, even though he doesn’t have that same kind of reputation. But yeah, Darius is in that mix.
It’s only March 6th though. There’s still a month to go in the regular season and what is today may not be when voting is actually done. So I think it’s still open. Jaylen Brunson, like I said, Trey Young is really good in clutch situations, really good in clutch situations. Speaking of nicknames, Ice Trey, like that’s really, really good. That just fits. You don’t really have to explain that one. It passes every single nickname test that you need.
and he’s got a celebration that goes along with it. So I think it’s Brunson, I think it’s Trey Young, I think Jokic is really good in clutch situations. Obviously you don’t really think about him in that light. Darius is in that mix. So Darius has a case, there’s no doubt. And Ethan just brought up those numbers. And that’s one of the supporting cases on top of the fact that the Cavs are so good in clutch situations.
that if you want to reward the best team in those situations and the player who is most successful in those situations, Darius is a really, really good choice from that standpoint.
Jimmy Watkins (27:11.915)
pushback I would have is that like spiritually, okay, so the Cavs have the most wins in clutch situations. There are also absolutely slobber knocking teams on a night in night out basis. So I would say that while Darius’s clutch numbers are impressive and the Cavs clutch record is impressive. I think there’s a case for these teams like
More so for teams like the Kings and the Hawks, like those clutch moments for them, they swing season long outcomes, right? Like if the Hawks lose a game on a dumb buzzer beater, like the play, and then this wasn’t Trey Young involved, but the play the other night where they had the turnover and Karras LeVert hit the buzzer beating layup against the Grizzlies, like that’s something that could determine whether they keep playing or not. Whereas with Darius Garland, again,
Chris (28:01.58)
Mm-hmm.
Chris (28:07.405)
Right.
Jimmy Watkins (28:10.525)
incredible clutch season. And I love, you feel so comfortable when he has his hands on the ball in the clutch because whether he’s getting a shot off or making a play for someone else, you’re very confident that the right decision is going to get made. But again, the Cavs are going to be fine either way. There’s not as much weight behind these clutch situations. Maybe we have already spent too much time analyzing this sort of made up award that has only existed for three years, though I think it’s cool that the NBA is trying new things on this front.
Chris (28:26.808)
Mm-hmm.
Jimmy Watkins (28:40.496)
but that’s just my two cents.
Ethan Sands (28:43.31)
Just to clarify a couple of things. So the Cavs are second in clutch wins. have 20 and six, they have the best record when it comes to that. The Houston Rockets have played in 37 clutch games. They’re 21 and 16 in those contests. And you also talk about just Darius Garland being a clutch performer. He’s shooting 61.5 % from deep, 59.5 % from the field, as I mentioned before.
I just think when we talk about a guy that has his pulse on almost every aspect of the clutch game the other night, it was passing because the shot wasn’t falling. He six assists in the fourth quarter helping orchestrate the offense. I think it’s important to note that throughout this entire season, we’ve known Darius Garland to be able to take over in the fourth quarter. And that’s very different from the player that he was just last year where it felt like Darius Garland was getting played off the floor.
Chris (29:25.538)
Mm-hmm.
Ethan Sands (29:42.636)
in the fourth quarter. But now he’s not.
Chris (29:45.078)
And I think to your point, Jimmy, I think to your point about, you know, the situations that Trey and Jalen Brunson and some of these other guys have been in, like to put it in perspective, Darius has the efficiency numbers, but he’s also taken half the shot attempts of Trey Young and Jalen Brunson in clutch situations, both from the field and from three point range. So that is something to consider here as well.
Trace numbers from an efficiency standpoint, from a percentage standpoint, aren’t as high. But when you have Jalen Brunson, I mean, he’s shooting 52 % from the field on 84 field goal attempts in clutch situations. Darius has 42 such attempts in clutch situations. Brunson is shooting 35 % from three point range on double the amount of three point attempts as Darius. So it’s fair to wonder, you know,
if Darius had more attempts, would his numbers go down? Because those are theoretically more difficult shots that you take in those kinds of situations. The defense is a little bit different, right? The pressure is a little bit higher, stuff like that. So I think the reason why, to answer the question from the very beginning, think the reason why Jalen Brunson is considered the favorite is because he has really, really good efficiency.
on also high volume and he is the guy for the New York Knicks. In clutch time situations, the defense is gearing up to try and take the ball out of his hands, to try and make things difficult on him, right? They’re not loading up to slow down McHale Bridges. They’re not loading up to slow down OGN and OBE. They’re trying to make things difficult on Jalen Brunson. He’s seeing the best defensive player from the other team and.
for him to have as many points in clutch situations as he does and shoot the percentage that he has shot both from the field and from three point range, it’s just, it’s something that is separating him, I think, a little bit from somebody like Darius, who just doesn’t have as many opportunities and he doesn’t have the same kind of responsibility, I would say, in those kinds of situations because he shares a floor with Donovan Mitchell.
Jimmy Watkins (32:09.867)
Yeah, fair or unfair, we talked about this during all-star voting to Trey Young, Jaylen Brunson. that’s, it’s a different kind of life being those guys. I mean, I would argue part of the reason Darius has gotten the opportunities that he has this season is because other teams are like, okay, it’s nut crunching time. Don’t let 45 touch the ball. We don’t, we don’t want that guy to beat us. And we have, there’s not a ton of great options out here because the Cavs got weapons everywhere, but we’d prefer Darius to Donovan.
Chris (32:31.384)
Mm-hmm.
Jimmy Watkins (32:39.379)
So that’s, mean, fair or unfair. mean, you could, sometimes that, that having good teammates on, on your team is used against you in a way that I don’t think is fair. think, you know, Donovan and Jason Tatum have been taken hits in the MVP race this year. Just because their teams are too good. Okay. Well, that’s, that’s a fun conversation to have. get, I get the spirit of the award, but yeah, I’m not, I’m not going to win the argument that yeah, they have more good players on their team. If that’s what we’re talking about.
But it’s the reality of how some of these awards are measured.
Chris (33:12.374)
The other thing to remember is that even though the Cavs are the best team in the NBA, and even though they have a chance at right around 70-ish wins, they’re not going to win every single individual award.
They’re a great team and it’s a collective thing, but voters are going to have a hard time picking out the individual guy that separates. You know what I mean? I mean, Evan Mobley is probably going to win defensive player of the year by default, but the Cavs aren’t going to win every single award. You know, they’re not going to win MVP. They’re not going to win defensive player of the year. They’re not going to win most improved and clutch player.
and Sixth Man of the Year and Coach of the... Some of these guys are going to get rewarded. There’s no doubt about it. And they should get rewarded. But when you have a great team and you’re the best team in the NBA, it’s more about the team than it is about the individual, if you understand where I’m going with this.
Ethan Sands (34:18.392)
Basically, to put it pretty bluntly, the Cavs don’t care about individual awards as long as they bring home the big trophy. But with all that being said, thank you for sticking with us for a fun episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast. We even got into a little bit of hoops at the end there discussing Darius Garland and his candidacy for Clutch Player of the Year. I think he’s been one of the best, if not the most clutch players in the NBA.
season but we’ll have to see what happens for the remainder of the season as Chris mentioned even though the Cavs may have clinched a spot in the playoffs by March 5th it is still just March 5th there’s a lot of games left to play there’s a lot of things that can happen and we don’t
Jimmy Watkins (35:06.059)
A lot of milk left to be drunk out there. A lot of milk to be poured up and served cold by Typhro.
Ethan Sands (35:16.206)
I never thought I would hear somebody say pouring up milk. Okay, all right, Jimmy. Thank you for our closing argument, our closing segment. That’ll wrap up today’s episode of The Wine and Gold Talk Podcast. But remember to become a CAS insider and interact with Chris, me and Jimmy by subscribing to Subtext. If you wanna get a shout out on the podcast, if you wanna have your questions answered, if you want to be an insider and have
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