The Cleveland Cavaliers blew a lead,overcame a deficit and then outplayed the Chicago Bulls in overtime to even their record at 1-1 with a 114-108 victory in Chicago.LeBron James led all scorers with 36 points with Kyrie Irving adding 23 points and Kevin Love notching a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Cleveland takes a few days off before a trip to the Western Conference for three games in Portland,Utah and Denver.
Swashbucklings
1) The Cavaliers battled back from five points down with less than a minute to go and when you
can overcome deficits like that,that shows that character is building.
The problem was blowing a nine point lead to start the quarter.
I'll be saying that this is part of a process for quite a while and we will see ups and downs,but being able to hang into games like this against good teams makes one hopeful...
2) Kevin Love finished with 16 points and 16 boards,but he still seems to be struggling with the flow of the David Blatt offense.
Love often looked out of sync and awkward with shooting of 5 of 17 of the floor.
Sometimes,coaches with systems have to tweak things to get the best from their talent.
There is a long,long way before we get to that point...
3) LeBron James did against the Bulls exactly what he didn't do against the Knicks-drove to the basket with abandon.
James' game depends on the drive to force defenders to lay off and he was back to the usual against Chicago.
4) My player of the game isn't any of the mentioned players.It's Tristan Thompson,who was the main support off the bench with a powerhouse night.Thompson finished with a double-double himself with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
The amazing thing was 12 of the boards were off the offensive glass against a team that is noted for being a strong rebounding squad.
Thompson might wind up being a player that is better suited as an off bench energy player to matchup against certain opponents and last night was a great game for the former Longhorn.
5) I was disappointed in Dion Waiters for the second game.
Waiters finished with 9 points on 3 for 10 shooting and still seems lost without the ball in his hands.
Waiters might (and I'm not leaping to a final judgement) be better suited to an off the bench role or more dramatically- a star on a team that features him with the ball.
Many,including me,have hope that Waiters would thrive as a secondary option,but thus far,the struggles are clear.
6) I missed a chunk of the fourth period as I drove to the road office,so I listened to the Chicago radio network and I heard the Bulls announcers complain about LeBron James getting all the calls.
They likely aren't wrong as that is the way the game is called in today's game,but a Chicago Bulls announcer complaining about the superstar status system?
They had that for Michael Jordan's CAREER and now they've found religion?
7) Before the game,Cleveland announced a three year extension for Anderson Varejao.
The extension is roughly for what Varejao currently earns and the final year is only partially guaranteed.
I'm not questioning the dollars,just keeping my fingers crossed for decent enough health.
8) Finally,this game was intensely played for a game that is the second of the season.
That intensity won't be revisited until they play again in January,but if that game is anything like the future battles-the likely Eastern Conference final just might be one for the ages....
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