That's more like it, Dion!

[Fireball Jr.]

Read all about the latest Dion trade rumor earlier -- Dion to Memphis for Koufos -- then watched Dion show why he can be such a valuable player for the Cavs: led Cleveland with 26 points off the bench at Brooklyn, moved the ball well (some nice assists), good d (sweet block of Deron Williams shot under basket), couple of steals.

Would love to see him show the Cavs he's too valuable for them to give up on. Ball's in his court, so to speak, another game tomorrow against Toronto, would be nice to see him have strong performances back-to-back.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Oh man, that would be an incredible trade for Memphis.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Oh man, that would be an incredible trade for Memphis.

I hear ya. Dion's Cleveland's best trade bait for a big defensive stud -- I don't think Thompson's going anywhere, he's playing really, really well, and LeBron is high on him, calls him his "little bro."

 

[SoBeCuse]

I watched the whole game tonight. He looked really good. If he just embraces coming off the bench like Tristan does then the Cavs could have a VERY potent bench with those two. I just can't see Dion in Memphis since they are extremely defensive minded. Dion still has way too many breakdowns on D. Thompson is one of the best offensive rebounders in the league now. He's turning into a very good player and only played one year at Texas.

 

[two3zone]

He's got an insane amount of talent. I remember the first time I saw him his first game his freshman year my ex and I commented about his moxy and how he oozed the "it" factor.

I think he can be far better than he is now and the scary part is he is actually really good now.

 

[SoBeCuse]

He's got an insane amount of talent. I remember the first time I saw him his first game his freshman year my ex and I commented about his moxy and how he oozed the "it" factor.

I think he can be far better than he is now and the scary part is he is actually really good now.

Thompson? Dion definitely has the moxie. For sure, man. I really liked his upside at Texas. It was just a bit of a surprise how high he went. Same with Dion. What's crazy is that for whatever reason he started working really hard on his right hand going into last season and now he his legitimately ambidextrous, like on jump shots too.

 

[Flintstones]

The whole team played well tonight. Dion's shot was falling and he didn't need to force anything. That run they had in the 3rd put the game away in a hurry. It would be fun to watch Dion man the point. Wouldn't be surprised if he wanted a trade since he could realistically be a 20-5-5 guy, earning himself a measly 8 digits.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Did he wear one of those stupid shirts? If not, even MORE kudos to you sir.

 

[longislandcuse]

Cavs can be scary with Delladova-Dion-Thompson coming off the bench if they can get it together. Loved Dion's game last night and his constant mean-mugging/trash-talking with KG was awesome.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Dion's best fit on this team would be to run with the second team, along with either Love or Lebron.

As has been stated many times, Dion operates the best with the ball. So does Kyrie. Put him out there with the second team squad where he can be matched up against other team's second units and be the go to scorer on the floor.

 

[KaiserUEO]

this reminds me of that classic donte greene post after a Knick game.

 

[jgeorge322]

i was at the game. he played well. could've had a few more assists if not for some bobbled passes.

it is noteworthy nets were without johnson and lopez.

 

[reedny]

i was at the game. he played well. could've had a few more assists if not for some bobbled passes.

it is noteworthy nets were without johnson and lopez.

Best player on the floor last night for either team (26 points), and diming people all over the place. Would have had 10 A's if Varejao could catch.

There's a reason he's so awesome off the bench .. because his talent is way past a rotation player! This only works because Kyrie needs the ball in his hands all the time.

 

[Halfmooncuse]

And he stands for the National Anthem ! Even though he is Islamic

 

[Eagles20]

Im watching the game tonight...he's already got 12 points half way through the second quarter on 5/7 shooting. Right now they have Kyrie, DellaDova, and Waiters all in at the same time. Defensively he needs to really step it up. It confuses me how he has all that athleticism, but just can't seem to defend.

 

[kirbivore]

The Cavs are setting up Dion to be the patsy like the CIA did to Oswald.

 

[CaptainJ]

The Cavs are setting up Dion to be the patsy like the CIA did to Oswald.

Are they going to make Kevin Garnett into a Manchurian candidate and have a staged shooting of Dion on TV too?

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Dion's put up some points this week, including 14 tonight at OKC with LeBron out, but not a good sign when an obviously displeased Blatt yanks Dion with 7 minutes to play and replaces him the rest of the game with Joe Harris, a rookie from Virginia drafted in the second (and final) round who's been targeted for the Cavs' D League team in Canton. Blatt needed help on defense, he turned to Harris, and it worked, as the Cavs came back and made it a game (although not enough to cover the 4 1/2-pt spread), coming from 17 down to 4.

Blatt also seems to have more confidence in Dellavedova, a 6-4 undrafted 2nd-year player who started tonight with LeBron out. He's playing really well, hit 4 threes tonight, is scrappy, goes hard for rebounds and loose balls and is solid on d...he gave Durant some trouble at times. The way he's playing and seems to be coming on, it may make it easier for the Cavs to part with Dion if a trade partner with a stud rim protector comes calling.

I'd love to see things work out for Dion, but being replaced by a 3rd-string rookie for the last 7 minutes against OKC is not a good thing.

 

[triplethrea]

It's mental with Dion. Did you see what happened when Kyrie went down with a knee injury and for 90 seconds Dion was "The Man"? Two big shots. Kyrie came back in the 2nd half with his wild drives and iso shots and Dion went back to the timid/humble style of play Blatt wants from him.

I thought Dion played fine and showed effort on defense. He got pulled during a white hot scoring streak by the Thunder that won them the game. I've said it before, Dion needs to be given the keys on offense and he will shine. He's a 20ppg player at minimum.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

It's mental with Dion. Did you see what happened when Kyrie went down with a knee injury and for 90 seconds Dion was "The Man"? Two big shots. Kyrie came back in the 2nd half with his wild drives and iso shots and Dion went back to the timid/humble style of play Blatt wants from him.

I thought Dion played fine and showed effort on defense. He got pulled during a white hot scoring streak by the Thunder that won them the game. I've said it before, Dion needs to be given the keys on offense and he will shine. He's a 20ppg player at minimum.

Timid? He took the 2nd-most shots on the team, 13, same number as Love, and Dion played 14 less minutes. I don't see any timid in Dion. He made some nice passes and had 4 assists, and while he shows flashes of decent d, there's no consistency. He wasn't singularly responsible, but he was on the floor when the Cavs went down 17, and he was on the bench when a borderline D League second-round pick rookie helped tighten the d and the Cavs got within 4 late.

I'd love to see Dion excel in Cleveland, but he has the most trade value of any Cav that management would part with -- Thompson's name had been tossed around before the season along with Dion's as possible trade material, but Thompson's playing great, he's not going anywhere -- and, with Delladenova playing well and Harris able to give 'em some minutes, I think Dion's gone if the Cavs want/need a big stud defender bad enough.

There's a chance Kyrie will sit Friday night in Newlins, maybe LBJ, too, so Dion may get the keys.

 

[triplethrea]

Timid? He took the 2nd-most shots on the team, 13, same number as Love, and Dion played 14 less minutes. I don't see any timid in Dion. He made some nice passes and had 4 assists, and while he shows flashes of decent d, there's no consistency. He wasn't singularly responsible, but he was on the floor when the Cavs went down 17, and he was on the bench when a borderline D League second-round pick rookie helped tighten the d and the Cavs got within 4 late.

I'd love to see Dion excel in Cleveland, but he has the most trade value of any Cav that management would part with -- Thompson's name had been tossed around before the season along with Dion's as possible trade material, but Thompson's playing great, he's not going anywhere -- and, with Delladenova playing well and Harris able to give 'em some minutes, I think Dion's gone if the Cavs want/need a big stud defender bad enough.

There's a chance Kyrie will sit Friday night in Newlins, maybe LBJ, too, so Dion may get the keys.

From watching the game, he doesn't act like a #1 scoring option. The numbers might say he took the most shots, but my eyes tell me he could've and would've taken more if allowed.

I look forward to seeing what he can do without Kyrie or Lebron playing.

 

[longislandcuse]

I think Blatt is severely mismanaging minutes and the rotations. Dion's defense wasn't the problem when OKC went off, they were due to cool down and did when Harris came in the game. No idea why Marion is playing at all and when Dion is arguably the Cavs best player in the first half why is he coming in with 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and not being able to take a shot til the end of the quarter. He also would've had a handful of assists if James Jones could make a shot.

It's clear Dion is the scapegoat for a team without an identity and a coach who is over his head right now. Trade him for Koufas, whatever, just get him off that team. It's annoying watching him post up in the corner like an aging shooter while Kyrie and Lebron go on iso dribbling drills. Cavs fans want a big man so give them a mediocre big man and let them depend on Delly-Miller-Jones to be their offense off the bench.

 

[NashvilleOrange]

I think Blatt is severely mismanaging minutes and the rotations. Dion's defense wasn't the problem when OKC went off, they were due to cool down and did when Harris came in the game. No idea why Marion is playing at all and when Dion is arguably the Cavs best player in the first half why is he coming in with 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and not being able to take a shot til the end of the quarter. He also would've had a handful of assists if James Jones could make a shot.

It's clear Dion is the scapegoat for a team without an identity and a coach who is over his head right now. Trade him for Koufas, whatever, just get him off that team. It's annoying watching him post up in the corner like an aging shooter while Kyrie and Lebron go on iso dribbling drills. Cavs fans want a big man so give them a mediocre big man and let them depend on Delly-Miller-Jones to be their offense off the bench.

I was browsing the SB Nation Cavs site and a good number of fans really like Dion. I think the fans that want him traded are the ones that didn't watch the last couple years and have jumped back on the bandwagon now that they're a contender again.