Preseason Recap: Bulls 108, Cleveland 94 (or, Rust Never Sleeps)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5zELK-fW6M

Cleveland looked… rusty in their pre-season tuneup game. LeBron James played 30 minutes and scored 17, with five boards and three dimes, but turned it over eight times. Dwyane Wade added four turnovers of his own and he and Kevin Love combined to go 2-19. Kevin did chip in eight rebounds and a couple steals, but it was a rough start at center for Kevin.

Chicago looked to attack him immediately with Robin Lopez in the post, and they were rewarded for their persistence. Lopez finished with 10 points on 10 shots and dominated Love early. Kevin was just off all night and could never get in a rhythm offensively. The new starting five seemed pretty unfamiliar with each other. Too many alphas trying to figure it out…

The starters’ offense was spotty. The effects of Rose, Wade, LeBron, and Crowder sharing the floor were apparent early as the Bulls were content to crowd inside, and Rose and Wade were not used to flaring to the wings or corners to make lanes for the King. When they did flare, LeBron didn’t get it to them, either not trusting their shots, or just not being used to their spacing.

James looked fine, just a little off due to the ankle injury. 17/5/3 on 13 shots in 30 minutes. Nothing to worry about here. The starters just looked a little lethargic.

Fortunately, the bench looked electric in the second with Rose running the show. He and JR provided an energetic backcourt that combined for nine assists and only two turnovers. The highlight of the game clearly came in the second when Rose accelerated up the left side and threw a lob to the heavens which Jeff Green plundered from the clouds and dunked with a thunderous thump.

Green combined with Rose, Smith, Tristan and Kyle Korver to provide the Cavs’ most effective lineup. TT scored seven, grabbed 11 rebounds, added a block and a steal and finished +8 in 21 minutes. Green scored eight and was a team high +9. He looked good around the basket, though got a little lazy with his finishes in the second half. Korver’s shot looked better, even though he was 2-7. It had more arc and spin. J.R.S sshot a perplexing 0-6, but he had great energy and pushed the offense and was aggressive on D. I’m not worried about his shot.

Rose has a chance at a special season if he can stay healthy. He looks energized. Derrick finished with 13/5/5 on 5-9 shooting in 27 minutes. He attacked the basket, set up teammates, and shot well, even the offense was a little helter skelter.  There’s more than an outside chance he’ll be a better point guard option than Isaiah Thomas. Even his three ball is looking good in pre-season, as Derrick himself noted yesterday. He drained a Curry-esque corner three on an LBJ drive safety valve pass. Keep that coming, DRose.

Iman Shumpert looks much leaner than last year, and I’m not just talking coif. He’s noticeably thinner, and seems quicker. The decision to make him the sixth man is still beyond dumb. When Shump hit’s a pull-up J, it’s pyrite. He starts being more aggressive and getting more tunnel vision before eventually dribbling into people and turning the ball over. He was only scored three turnovers. He should’ve had three. But Iman finished with 12 points on five shots in 11 minutes and was 2-2 from three. When he is catching and shooting, and filling the lane, and only engaging in two dribble drives, he’s good. He’ll never be a point guard.

Speaking of point guards, Dwyane Wade starting make no sense. He still has the ability to be a very good defender, and he can run an offense. But the Cavs now have three starters who are at their best when the offense starts in their hands. Wade’s post-ups also jam up the half-court o, at least with the starters. He also relied on that turnaround jumper too often. He needs to counter off that move. Wade, Crowder, LeBron, and Love all finished -18 or worse, and though much of it was due to rust and unfamiliarity, Wade just seems like he should be a bench guy at this point, and should rarely share the floor with Rose.

I get the theory, that you want Rose comfortable running the second unit, especially when Isaiah Thomas gets back. The bench is lit. But I’m not sure there’s any things that Wade does on offense that are all that special anymore that complement the King and dRose other than get in the way, especially with Crowder already in there as a cutter.

This game was about the rotation, but the deep bench got some run in the fourth, though notably, Channing Frye and R.J. did not. Only John Holland raised eyebrows for the Cavs. He didn’t hesitate on his two triple tries and swished them both.

For the Bulls, some intriguing youngins stood out. I noted that Jerian Grant had a sneaky good RPM last year, and it continued tonight as he just seemed competent running an offense. He couldn’t shoot (2-11), but finished a game high +21 with six boards, five dimes, two steals, and just two turnovers. Star of the night was Chicago’s wiry guard, Justin Holiday. Holiday was everywhere on the court at times, getting steals, layups, threes, rebounds. He finished with 28 and 11 boards on 72 TS%. He added six turnovers but was otherwise stellar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbXxcE45tEw

Also standing out was seven-foot rookie Finn, Laurie Markennan. Laurie flashed a quick release on his J, canning 4-7 from three, ran the floor, dribble-drived, and swished from the post. He’s got the tools to be an offensive matchup nightmare.

Anyway, let’s hope the Cavs invest in some de-oxidation treatment before next week. We’ll get an extended look at the bench in the final pre-season game, Friday, in Orlando.