Cleveland Cavaliers Weekly: Cavs Manage Two Wins in Mediocre First Week
The Cleveland Cavaliers managed a 2-2 record in the first week of the new season, despite overall poor play. Their first win came against the Nets’ new expensive lineup, while the second one came against a Timberwolves team that has impressed the NBA community with its hot start. The Cavs two wins came at home and all week they continued to struggle with problems that plagued them during the preseason.
Oct. 30 vs. Nets, Win 98-94
The first game of the 2013-14 season pitted the Cavaliers against the new-look Nets, who brought over Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry from the Celtics. Their starting lineup alone makes more than $81 million. The goal from this year is clearly championship or bust, which makes the Cavs’ win even more impressive.
Despite mediocre 4-for-16 shooting, Kyrie Irving led the team most of the game with 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Tristan Thompson also paced the team with 18 points and nine rebounds. While the Cavs didn’t shoot especially well, they pulled out a win by limiting the number of turnovers and fouls, something they struggled with during preseason play.
But the biggest story from this game? ANDREW BYNUM PLAYED!!! After spending a year at the end of the Sixers bench, Bynum hit the court for the first time since the 2012 playoffs with the Lakers. He only played eight minutes, with three points, three rebounds, two blocks and two assists, but he did cause some excitement on the court. He had a great block on Deron Williams, and converted a three-point play. He didn’t run especially well and looked clearly rusty, but any game action for Bynum should be treated as incredible news.
Nov. 1 at Bobcats, Loss 90-84
In their first road game of the season, the Cavs could manage to ever mount a big enough run to pull ahead of the Bobcats. Thompson notched his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Irving also added 16 points. The rest of the starting lineup, however, contributed almost nothing this game. Dion Waiters, Earl Clark and Anderson Varajeo combined for a total of four points.
The Cavs made a fourth quarter charge, tying the game at 84 before Charlotte ultimately pulled away. C.J. Miles led the surge of the bench with 22 points. Jarrett Jack also added 15 points, but his airballed 3-point attempt to tie the game at 87 sealed the victory for the Bobcats.
Nov. 2 at Pacers, Loss 89-74
This game was the first of the season for the Cavs against a Central Division rival and the Pacers handled them pretty easily. Lance Stephenson and Paul George carried a somewhat stagnant Pacers’ offense with 22 and 21 points, respectively.
The Cavs, like they had in previous games, played well defensively. The franchise brought Mike Brown back as head coach for his defensive acumen and his impact has already been felt in just the first week of the season. They forced 20 turnovers and did a good job at contesting the Pacers’ shots. However, offensively, they were putrid. The Cavaliers shot 34.9 percent from the field on 29-of-83 shooting, and went just 3-for-15 from 3-point range. Waiters posted a team high 17 points, but it came on 7-for-21 shooting.
Nov. 4 vs. Timberwolves, Win 93-92
Gee contributed nine points off the bench Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule
The Timberwolves have been one of the biggest surprises of the NBA’s first week. They entered this game in Cleveland with a 3-0 record, highlighted by an impressive domination of the Thunder. Despite committing 24 fouls and turning the ball over 23 time, the Cavs managed to squeak out a win.
The defensive once again was the key, as they held Minnesota to only 36.2 percent from the field. Offensively, Miles once again came off the bench to lead the team in scoring, this time scoring 19 points. Alonzo Gee contributed nine points from the bench and Bynum, who sat the previous game in Indiana, returned to play a season-high 19 minutes and score 10 points. The Timberwolves made a furious fourth quarter comeback, but Kevin Love missed a contested 3-pointer as time expired, which would have given his team the win.
(NBA.com photo)
MVP of the Week: C.J. Miles
Most of the Cavaliers underwhelmed in the opening week of the season, perhaps still trying to shake offseason rust. Miles, however, came out hot. He’s averaged 14.8 points per game on efficient 52.3 percent shooting, coming off the bench each game. He’s scored in double figures in three of the four games, leading the team in scoring twice. He’s tied for fourth in the NBA with Kevin Love with a player efficiency rating (PER) of 29.0 after a week of play, trailing only Chris Paul, Anthony Davis and Carlos Boozer.
LVP of the Week: Anthony Bennett
(NBA.com photo)
Growing pains were expected as Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick, adjusted to the NBA game. So maybe it’s not fair to criticize rookies harshly early on, but there is no way to sugarcoat this. Bennett played horribly in his first week of professional basketball.
Bennett has yet to make a field goal; he has two points total this year, which came off free throws on opening night. His first week stat line of 0.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game with a minus-3.0 PER while averaging only 12.5 minutes per contest is something Bennett would like to forget. Eventually, Bennett will have a monster breakout game, but this first week was rougher than anyone could have predicted for the rookie.
The Week Ahead
- Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Bucks
- Friday, Nov. 8 at Sixers
- Saturday, Nov. 9 vs. Sixers
- Monday, Nov. 11 at Bulls
The Cavs have two games against Central Division rivals this week with two games against the Sixers sandwiched between them. The Cavs have yet to win on the road this year, but they could potentially snag their first win in Milwaukee, as the Bucks haven’t played very well so far and aren’t expected to make much of an impact this season. Despite the Sixers’ unpredicted start, they are destined to come crashing back to reality and the Cavs should take at least one game from them this week. While the Bulls–Derrick Rose specifically–have struggled during the season’s opening games, the Monday contest will still be a tough game and require the Cavs to find their offensive rhythm if they want to steal a win in Chicago.
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