Live Thread: Cavs vs. Bucks (Pre-Season)

The time has come for all the training camp invitees to step it up.

The Cavs host the Bucks at 7:00 PM at the Q. The game can be seen on NBA TV and FSO. In what has become common place so far this pre-season, the Cavs will rest LeBron James on the second night of a back-to-back. J.R. Smith is sitting out his second game in a row because of a hamstring issue and Timofey Mozgov is also sitting to nurse his surgically repaired knee.

Kevin Love still isn’t playing, but he may be available later in the week according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Jabari Parker is the only Bucks player who will be missing the contest. He is trying to come back from an ACL tear suffered last season and is resting.

Here are some things to think about while watching the game tonight:

-Pre-season wins mean nothing. Seriously. No title winning team in the past five years has had the best win percentage in the pre-season. When Dallas won the title in 2011, they were 4-4 in their glorified pick up games. Miami was 3-4. The Cavs were 6-2. So, in a way, it’s good the Cavs aren’t unleashing a nuclear bomb of winning on the pre-season.

-The Cavs offense didn’t look too hot against the Grizzlies when LeBron James had to sit. With the King on the floor, the Cavs at least had the threat of him taking the ball to the hoop to get the Grizzlies’ defense on its toes. This freed up everyone on the floor for some semi-open shots. When LeBron sat and Matthew Dellavedova had to initiate all of the play action, the Grizzlies suffocated every Cavalier who dared look at the ball. While the Bucks defense isn’t on the same level as the Grizzlies, it is formidable. They have the arm length of five octopuses, and the Cavs will again struggle to penetrate and even pass. Watch to see how David Blatt tries to free players up without any of his number one scoring options on the floor. Back door action? Motion offense? Double pick and roll plays at the top of the key? Who knows?

-The Bucks are horrendous outside shooters. Greivis Vasquez, Michael Carter Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Greg Monroe have no outside shots to speak of. Rashad Vaugn is an unknown draftee and was supposed to be a shooter. However, during the summer league he shot 25% from deep. Khris Middleton looks to be the only floor spacer the Bucks can rely on at this point. He shot 40% from 3-point land last season.

-The Cavs defense should make a strong showing tonight. They can sag off of guys, dare them to shoot, and look brilliant for doing so.

-Anderson Varejao looked spry against Memphis, and when the Memphis bigs banged with him down low, they had little to no success. When Z-Bo and Marc Gasol pulled Andy out a little bit, they were able to get open shots over his outstretched arms. Offensively, Andy had three assists last night. The Cavs should look to get him in the high post directing the team for a few plays tonight. Delly will get tired at some point and need a break from creating plays.

-It’s official. Jared Cunningham is a Cleveland darling. After scoring 31 points against Philly and 13 points against Memphis while playing very tight defense, he seems to be in the lead for the Cavs’ final roster spot. He has showed more skill than the other training camp invitees, but more importantly, he has shown non-stop effort. Quinn Cook and Austin Daye have looked good for short stretches, but have made mistakes and not always showed the extra hustle needed to make up for them. Today is judgement day for the invitees, as was yesterday. They should all be showing maximum effort tonight after reading all the headlines about Cunningham being a lock for the 15th roster spot.