Recap: Cleveland 106, Chicago 91 (or, headband’s back, yo)

The Cavs were shot out of a cannon tonight, led by the King in a white headband. As Charles Barkley remarked postgame, “God said I’m gonna make me a perfect basketball player… I’m gonna give him everything but a full head of hair.” The banded one got his butt into the post and led Cleveland to a 13-2 start. Then, they kept a comfortable lead throughout this “must win” game. Even with a 14-0 Bulls run in the third quarter, the Cavs lead remained double digits, and they were able to avoid being gored. Cleveland played Mike Brown 1.0 style basketball: winning with defense, isolations, rebounding on both ends of the court, and limiting turnovers.

First Quarter:

LeBron James and Iman Shumpert were the story of the tipoff. LeBron had 14 points and three assists in the quarter, and he was aggressive going to the basket and the post. Shumpert complemented him with 10 points including three triples. The Cavs started Tristan Thompson, and the wide open jumpers that Pau Gasol got in Game 1 were no longer an option for the Bulls. Tristan did a nice job of covering Pau like a Canadian blanket. Nothing went in early for Chicago. They only scored two points in the first five minutes, and turned the ball over three times in their first five possessions. They even missed at the line. The Cavs closed out the quarter hard, outscoring the Bulls 10-4 in the final two minutes to close the quarter up 38-16.

Second Quarter:

Chicago’s energy picked up a little when Derrick Rose scored or assisted on seven straight Bulls baskets. Fortunately, Cleveland kept scoring, with Kyrie getting buckets and getting to the line, and Delly setting him up. LeBron was in and out of the lineup in the quarter and something seemed to be bothering him with his right arm, possibly. He was wincing a lot (getting hatcheted twice with no foul call may have had something to do with it). The sideline reporter called it cramps. It didn’t look like cramps.  But it in Jim Brown like fashion, LeBron relentlessly attacked, and Chicago couldn’t stop him. Bron kept using his shoulder to ward off Pau Gasol and flipping the ball in the basket on drives in the early offense. Oh, and he did this.

Chicago’s rotations were lazy on LeBron, and their bigs didn’t help Jimmy Butler till it was too late to stop LBJ. The King recognized and kept attacking.

Delly had a fantastic quarter with two triples and a couple dimes, and Kyrie kept chipping in free throws, jumpers, the occasional layup, and the ridiculous full court pass below. (And the uncalled Denleavy foul even denied Uncle Drew the assist). Shump was balling too, filling up the box score with points, rebounds, and assists. By the time it was over, the Cavs were up 64-45 and they could have been up more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9pLW5rKY3E

Third Quarter:

The third got a little dicey. Cleveland jumped out to an 8-2 start before Derrick Rose started eating them alive. When Chicago went on their 14-0 run, Derrick scored or assisted on every single bucket. Right before the run, Iman Shumpert went to the locker room after he came up limping follwing a bizarre collision with Mike “The Hammer” Dunleavy. Shump’s words to LeBron before he headed to the locker room: “I thought I heard something pop.” We all held our breath and David Griffin and Dan Gilbert followed Iman to the depths of the Q. The Cavs were noticeably shaken and lacking focus after the injury, especially Kyrie. Irving threw the ball away twice, Mozgov blew a dunk, and they all completely lost track of Rose on defense.

As our own correspondent, Elijah Kim, noted, the Cavs were not happy with each other, and LeBron was visibly pissed at Mozgov.

Mosgov is getting berated by LeBron in this quarter. Mozgov is a player that when things go bad, he loses confidence quickly and this game is no exception. Ever since the dunk miss it seems he lost confidence.

Three missed shots and four turnovers later, LeBron finally got Cleveland off the schneid with another duck-in layup over Gasol. A play later, Delly set up James freaking Jones for a long, high, SWISH! triple. LeBron found JFJ again, and Jones missed after fumbling the catch. Tristan rebounded, and James drove and hit Champ again on the left sideline. Jones nailed it! to push the lead to 15. After a sick LBJ runner in the lane, Thibs called a frustration timeout, and after the break, we saw Shump on an exercise bike and found out it was a groin strain and that he’d probably be back. We all exhaled.

Despite some ugly LeIso possessions, LeBron kept scoring when he drove or got the ball in the post, and the Cavs defense helped close the quarter with a 5-2 grind in the last two minutes. One of them was off a SICK dribble move to split a P/R followed by a nasty layup (see the last play of the highlights, below). It was the best handle the King’s flashed all post-season. Cavs up 87-71. WHEW.

Fourth Quarter:

Kyrie, who’d been somewhat ignored most game, started the quarter without King James. KI responded with a nifty layup, and then started pressing a bit. He missed a layup at a bad angle, and chucked up a triple. Fortunately, Irving got bailed out by a foul call and went to the line for three.

But who cares about the offense? Cleveland locked Chicago down on D. The only Bulls points in the first five minutes? …a Tony Snell pity triple. Superdova put Aaron Brooks in a defensive vice and never let the little man out. Iman Shumpert came in for a gimpy Kyrie, and helped with the lockdown too. Oh, and Tristan Thompson was a rebound machine. Aaron Brooks made one more layup against the front line guys, and it was obvious that the Bulls were spent. The extended minutes they’d played in game one had exhausted them. Blatt called off the Dogs up 22 with 4:35 left.

Garbage time wasn’t pretty, and it was disconcerting that Nikola Mirotic got it going. He had eight. That could be an issue in Game 3 James Jones scored the Cavs’ final five. I think his spot in the rotation for game 3 is secure. Final score: 106-91.

The Good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6PK5mINTF4

LeBron Raymone James was a beast adorned with a sweat absorbing head cloth. He probably played his best game in the post and midpost in his nine seasons as a Cavalier. This is the game that LeBron needs to hone as he ages: the Kobe/Jordan/Magic post game with selective drives. Except he’s bigger than all those guys. He can be the love child of Karl Malone and Magic Johnson if he chooses. I hope he embraces the lifestyle choice. LeBron scored 33 on 13-29 shooting, added eight boards, five assists, two steals, a block, and most importantly, only two turnovers. Oh, and he was a ridiculous +33.

Kyrie Irving had the quietest 21 points you’ll ever remember (on nine shots!). He was a silent assassin at the free-throw line, where he went 10-12. He was also a part of the D party that held Derrick rose to 6-20 shooting.

Imankhamun, lost prince of the Nile, was the same stat-stuffer we’ve seen this post season. 15 points, seven boards, three steals…. He was a floor spacing 4-7 from behind the arc, and he’s becoming Cleveland’s best corner three shooter. Shump also was the main guy for the first two and half quarters on Butler. Butler went 5-14 and was a game low -26. Iman’s injury was worrisome. I strained my groin at the gym last week. It hurt like hell. I thought I had a hernia. No matter how many times I turned my head and coughed, the nurse said it wasn’t, though. It took about a week to feel normal. Hopefully Shump is in better shape than I am. (I’m staring down at my beer gut and guessing, “yes.”)

I didn’t talk about Tristan Thompson much, but the dude was positively Rodmanesque. He had so many rebounds that he had no business getting. And even though he was only credited with 12 boards, he forces so many team rebounds by drawing fouls while rebounding, or keeping the ball alive and helping the ball go out of bounds off his opponent. Defensively, he can switch anything and his rotations were very quick. He’s like a saner, more Canadian version of The Worm.

Matthew Dellavedova led the team in assists (nine) and threw in a couple triples. He also was  pretty awesome on defense. Delly got a little jumper happy late, and forced a couple long ones, but I’d rather he be aggressive than tentative. Matt did a fantastic job of setting guys up for open shots throughout the game.

The Cavs possibly don’t win this game without James Freaking Jones and his much needed 17 points, including 5-9 from three. Plus, JFJ stretched the floor and allowed LBJ to operate in the post. Jones’ defense on Noah was solid too. (Even if Noah can barely make a layup any more).

David Blatt really impressed He did an excellent job of managing guys’ minutes and rotating his main line guys in and out for quick rests. Delly ended up being the high man with 36 minutes. This will pay dividends in game three. Coach also did a solid job of figuring out pick and roll adjustments. Elijah Kim’s sideline analysis sums it up.

Blatt has made it clear that on a Rose or Brooks p/r the defenders has to go over the screen.

Tactics, yo.

 The Bad

As much as I’d love to say this was all Cavs. The Bulls’ effort was lackluster, especially defensively. The big man rotations on penetration were always a step slow, and LeBron was able to get anything he wanted. Not that I’m complaining, but I know their effort won’t be this bad this long.

LeBron and Kyrie both had some head scratching possessions. On one fast break in the second quarter, Kyrie ignored a wide open Delly in the left corner, and instead shot a pull-up triple from the left side. …Long rebound, Kyrie didn’t get back, and the bulls got an easy bucket. That’s a five point swing. LeBron had a possession where he walked the ball up, barely got it over the timeline in time, and then dribbled for another 12 seconds before launching a 20-foot brick. The TNT guys said it best when talking about the Clippers at halftime in the subsequent game. “As the playoffs go on, you can’t take plays off; you can’t take possessions off.” In a 16 point win, that’s a quibble, but it’s a legit quibble.

Timofey Mozgov had some good moments, but the guy loses confidence so easily. He only played 18 minutes and finished with six points and seven boards. But he never returned after LeBron yelled at him, and he was perturbed when he sat down. He was gesticulating wildly. LeBron and Blatt have to figure out a way to coach Mozzy without destroying his confidence. Either that, or they need to hire him a sports shrink. Getting him back in the game when the Cavs had a safe lead might have been a good move for his confidence.

The Ugly

Well, this is about as ugly as it gets.

Strangest thing of night: when videoscreen showed skit of a guy in Cavs gear throwing girlfriend across room until she removed Bulls gear.

— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) May 7, 2015

Add that to the scrapped promotion of 20,000 arm slings for Kevin Love solidarity, and it’s clear that the Cavs promotional staff may need to take off their “Bad Idea Jeans.”

Also, a Cavs fan reportedly spit on Joakim. Come on Cleveland. You’re better than that. Noah also got into a verbal spat with Cardale Jones on the sideline (no word on how Jones is able to afford sideline tickets).

@JoakimNoah watch yo mouth before I give you these hands chump

— Cardale Jones (@CJ12_) May 7, 2015

Fortunately, Joakim Noah’s offense is as ugly as Eli Wallach. Noah can barely finish a layup. He’s lost all aggression and can’t make anything other than a point blanker. If the Cavs need to slow Chicago’s offense or protect a lead next game, they should consider Hack-a-Noah. Joakim shot 60% there for the season, but his shot looks as broke as I’ve ever seen it.

Iman Shumpert’s injury prompted David Blatt to hope for a “48 hour miracle.” That’s not comforting. The fact that Shump was able to come out and play again after significant work on the bike and in the hallway should be comforting, but his groin is going to tighten up. Fortunately, the Cavs get J.R. back on Friday, and the short turnaround probably won’t help the Bulls old men: Rose, Gasol, Noah, and Dunleavy.