Pre-Cap: Washington 96, Cleveland 91 (or, Fun on the C-Bus)

The Cavs wrapped up their pre-season schedule in Columbus Tuesday. The regular rotation built a 14 point lead in the second, and we saw the main line guys last till about midway through the third quarter. LeBron James put on a show for the Scarlet and Gray, with a filthy collection of blocks, drives, dunks, passes, and falling away off the wrong foot jumpers, to the oohs and ahs of the crowd.

LeBron James: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals
Kevin Love: 15 points, 3 rebounds
Tristan Thompson: 14 points, 10 rebounds

— Cavaliers Nation (@WeAreCavsNation) October 19, 2016

Thad Motta joined Fred and AC in the second quarter to gush over LeBron for 10 minutes, and a good time was had by all. Kevin Love was solid as a rock with 15 points with 3-7 shooting from downtown in 20 minutes, and passable post defense. J.R. looked to shake the rust off with four points in 12 minutes. He looked in shape and had plenty of lift on his jumper, but the touch wasn’t quite there yet as he went 1-4 from the floor.

Tristan “Canadian Dynamite” Thompson was explosive off the floor and impossible to keep off the boards as he had 10 rebounds in 23 minutes, including two offensive. He also went 6-6 from the field, flashing putbacks, rim dives, lob finishes, and a drive that he finished with a running bank shot off the glass. If you care to wager on who will lead the league in field goal percentage this year, TT might not be a bad bet.

The Ohio crowd is loving our 35-25 lead & @RealTristan13 is loving these JAMS. Box: https://t.co/4vS6udFwZR https://t.co/kcTWWFKbAM

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) October 18, 2016

The only disappointment among the starters was that Kyrie Irving left after 10 minutes of game time.

#Cavs Kyrie Irving dealing w/ left calf tightness …will NOT return vs. #Wizards tonight.

— Allie Clifton (@RealAClifton) October 19, 2016

After the game, Tyronn Lue would comment that Kyrie was “totally fine.” However, the Cavalier lead was not. By halftime the Cavs were up just four. After see-sawing in the third quarter, the Cavs’ deep bench guys saw their lead at two to start the fourth. Andrew Nicholson put the Cavs’ in the old-school post blender, and pureed the Cavs’ defense for 19 points on 7-8 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds, doing much of his damage in the fourth, as the Wizards stretched their lead to nine with three minutes left.

The Cavs’ had sent Jordan McRae and Kay Felder to the bench, and DeAndre Liggins and Markel Brown were left to run the guard spots in crunch time. Jonathan Holmes scored on a feed from DeAndre. Liggins added a driving layup, then set up Jonathan Holmes for another three to cut the deficit to four. Two more free throws by Andrew Nicholson stretched it to five, and a John Holland triple and then a Holland steal and pitch ahead to Markel Brown for the hoop and the harm cut it to just one with 47 seconds left… Of course Brown missed the all-important freebie.

Trey Burke bricked a 14-footer and the Cavs had a two-for-one to try and win it with 27 seconds left. After a brilliant crunch time, DeAndre Liggins drew the much smaller Burke on a left wing isolation and tried to go Kyrie on him. He airballed the a 25-foot pullup brick with 19 seconds left. As Austin Carr said, “That’s not you’re game,” DeAndre.

DeAndre Liggins missed a 3-pointer on the Cavs previous possession that was every bit Harangody-esque.

— Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) October 19, 2016

Two Marcus Thornton free throws later, the Cavs had another possession to make up a three point gap with 19 seconds left. Somehow this led to a Jonathan Holmes turnaround fadeaway with 12 seconds left that was blocked by Tomas Satoransky. To say the Cavs’ could have gotten a better look was an understatement.

Still, the preseason’s over, and most of these guys won’t figure into our discussions any time again in the near future. As for the Wizards, Nicholson, and Brad Beal had solid games. Markieff Morris and Gortat got pretty much owned by Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson and didn’t make up the difference till playing the scrubs. Kelly Oubre got obliterated by the King and may never play a meaningful minute of basketball again.

https://vine.co/v/5HYq7rHWB7i

John Wall played the game at 3/4 speed and still killed it: 17 points, four dimes, three steals, five boards in 24 minutes. Wall is wasted on this perpetual seventh seed.

The Cavs’ rotation bench looked fine, if slightly uninspired. It appears the backup point will be handled by a committee of Shump, Dunleavy, and LeBron. We didn’t see Kay Felder till the late third, and he definitely seemed flummoxed by the rotation level Wizards, especially in the half court. Kay had one nice assist on a breakout, but he scored inly a point, a steal, and a dime in nine minutes. Shump was feeling his oats, but his propensity to jack up shots hurt him as he went 2-9. Iman did add five rebounds and seven boards. Dunleavy played like the solid veteran he is and did some ball handling as well as finished a nifty and-1. Frye was 0-5, but none of us were too concerned.

As for the the borderline Cavs, it’s safe to say that Felder and McRae are in. Jordan got some run run as the third bench wing, and was the combo scorer we thought he was, but to fill the roll the Cavs’ need him to play, he has to play more focused defense. With a defined role, he should be able to.

Liggins is probably the last guy in. He’s a defender and he can challenge the starters’ in practice. They need that to stay sharp. Everyone else is going to be looking for work or an apartment in Canton come this weekend. It’s a numbers’ game because Mo Williams is still on this roster, and there are no open roster spots. No one else distinguished themself enough to take Liggins’ spot.

So regular season here we come. The Cavs’ victory lap around the NBA starts next Tuesday. Meanwhile, here’s some sweet video curated by EvilGenius to keep you entertained. Can’t wait for these games to start mattering!

Just for fun, here’s Dion…

https://vine.co/v/5HYPIEPBEbj

One last time… with split screen to The Block…

https://vine.co/v/5HY3m0dOiII

Heisman, meet our friend Larry. #AllForOhio pic.twitter.com/6ti7Dyvs9U

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) October 19, 2016