Postgame Pindowns: Cavs put up ugly game vs Bulls as questions and answers arise

10 October 2017 // Cleveland, Ohio // Cavaliers vs Bulls

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James play together for the first time since losing in the 2014 NBA Finals to San Antonio. Wade and Derrick Rose face their former team for the first time as Cavaliers. Here are some pindowns from the CAVS fourth preseason game, just some thoughts for your thoughts.

1. As expected, Derrick Rose went to the bench after six minutes to lead the bench for the second quarters. Alongside LeBron James and Dwyane Wade the spacing issues were exposed by a lack of off-ball movement. Confusion led to some forced plays, including a near James injury.
2. Getting up to game speed was quite the adjustment for James. He turned the ball over while shaking off his rust and working through the kinks of a starting lineups that’s 3/5 different. The 15-year veteran still showed impressive shooting and not surprising finishes at the rim.
3. Other than Derrick Rose living up to the disrespectfully lower expectations of him, I’ve been mostly impressed by Jeff Green. He’s forced nothing, and has finished strong at the basket every time going back to Washington.
4. Tristan Thompson dominated the 2nd quarter with a +15 differential in 8 minutes; his presence was felt on defense with the opponents reserves and on offense with the spacing of J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver with Rose and Green filling lanes. Credit goes to Coach Lue.
5. The 2nd half was a brilliant adjustment by the Cavs’ new starting five. Their first minutes together seemed forceful, with the ball being given to James and waiting. In the 2nd half, Wade and Rose were the initiators and they let the LeBron-effect take a more natural form. Every half court sequence began with the backcourt, and off-ball LeBron found more opportunities once the ball, teammates and defenders moved around before he even touched it. Rose, Wade and James are all ball-dominant players, but James proves again why his basketball IQ makes him the most versatile player off the ball. This also helped Wade and Love overcome their slow shooting starts.
6. While Wade and Rose set the offensive tempo in the 3rd quarter, James established a defensive aggressiveness, which didn’t take long to spread to Love and Jae Crowder. The young Bulls were flustered from the physicality, but the Cavs were inconsistent offensively.
7. Jose Calderon didn’t find playing time till the 4th quarter. He’ll likely be a reserve for those whom end up on the injured reserve this season.
8. Similar to the NBA Finals, the Cavs’ defense suffered when they load up on shooters. Even the inexperienced Bulls found breakdowns. Lue might need to find a better combination than Smith-Korver, but considering minutes for the main rotation are limited in preseason, it’s temporary; again refer to Calderon’s generous playing time.
9. Denzel Valentine was useful combo guard for Chicago; made plays for himself and teammates with no turnovers.
10. Did I mention I’m loving Jeff Green? Vet-min!
11. Cavs put in their third team with 5:26 in the 4th; good time to enjoy some Cedi cheddar.

Cavs hit the road for their last preseason matchup in Orlando. Maybe James and Wade can hit up Miami for old time’s sake.