Cleveland Cavaliers Weekly: Good Start To The Preseason

With one week of preseason play complete, the Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten off to a good start, going 2-1 with wins against the Bucks and Magic and a loss to the Bobcats. While none of their three opponents are expected to make much noise in the Eastern Conference this year, the Cavs still did put up some notable performances.

Oct. 8 vs. Bucks, Win 99-87

In head coach Mike Brown‘s return to the Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs played with the defense intensity Brown hoped to inspire in his team. They disrupted the Bucks’ offense all night, forcing 23 turnovers. Kyrie Irving looked better than he had in past years on defense, accumulating two steals while also effective in creating double teams the whole game.

Tristan Thompson started the preseason with a bang, leading the team with 17 points and eight rebounds. He knocked down a few jumpers, but found most of his success receiving the feed from his teammates when rolling to the basket. On the other hand, Thompson’s backup, No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, struggled greatly in his preseason debut. His first shot was blocked and the rest of the game didn’t go much better for him. He went only 2-for-12 from the field while also accumulating five fouls and four turnovers.

Oct. 11 vs. Magic, Win 110-105

While there wasn’t as much defense in this game, the Cavaliers looked very impressive. Dion Waiters led the team offensively with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting, with Irving and Thompson contributing 17 and 14 points, respectively.

Most notably, Bennett recovered from what may have been first-game jitters and played well against a Magic team featuring the No. 2 overall pick from this year’s draft, Victor Oladipo. Despite getting into foul trouble again, racking up five fouls in just more than 21 minutes, he scored 16 points, which included knocking down two 3-pointers. Bennett had the Magic’s attention all night and drew an insanely excessive foul from Magic center Nikola Vucevic. Generally, though, the rookie power forward looked more comfortable on both sides of the ball, a reassuring sign for the Cavs.

Oct. 15 vs. Bobcats, Loss 92-74

After two solid offensive efforts, the Cavs came out flat this game, shooting a weak 35.5 percent from the field. Waiters and Thompson both posted preseason lows with five and four points, respectively. The team came out strong, leading by 10 after the first quarter, only to be outscored 74-47 the rest of the way. The Bobcats found ways to get to the free throw line all night by drawing 31 fouls.

Bennett had a disappointing game after his promising output in Orlando. Bennett shared the floor with Thompson at times, but he played poorly no matter what the rotation was. He fouled out of the contest, despite playing only 20 minutes, finishing with an underwhelming stat line of seven points, five rebounds and four turnovers.

Stat of the Week

Despite racking up two wins this week, the Cavaliers shooting was mediocre every game. As a team they went 94-for-245 from the field, a subpar 38.6 percent. Irving struggled most noticeably of all. The superstar guard went 15-for-39 (38.5 percent). Entering camp, the Cavs’ jump shooting was an area of concern and the team as a whole, and Irving specifically, will need to improve their shooting as they look to grab their first postseason berth in four seasons.

Injury Update

(NBA.com photo)

Tyler Zeller, who had been absent in the first two games of the preseason with a hip injury, missed the matchup against younger brother Cody Zeller’s Bobcats Tuesday night after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. The Cavaliers have listed Zeller as out indefinitely as he recovers from surgery.

Zeller was expected to play valuable minutes this season off the bench, especially with Andrew Bynum‘s health status uncertain. Lasts season as a rookie, Zeller averaged 26.4 minutes per game, putting up 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest.

The Week Ahead

• Thursday, Oct. 17 vs. Pistons at Quicken Loans Arena
• Saturday, Oct. 19 vs. Pacers at Quicken Loans Arena
• Monday, Oct. 21 vs. 76ers at Schottenstein Center (Columbus, Ohio)

Monday’s game against the 76ers should not be much of a challenge with the Sixers basically deciding to start five backups this season, but the other two games will actually be some of the more intriguing basketball this preseason. Just as the Cavs are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010, so too are the Pistons hoping to secure a postseason berth, which would be their first since 2009. The Pistons made a splash this offseason signing the erratic Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith, who will join the team’s already crowded frontcourt with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. Meanwhile, last season the Pacers took the eventual champion Miami Heat to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals and will certainly be competing for one of the top seeds in the East again this season.

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