Again, its still just 2 games, but I've continued to pick up on some
things that need to be addressed, as I mentioned after the first game.
Here are some game notes, and some of my perceptions about both of these
teams, especially Cleveland...
Cleveland brought a lot more
energy in this game, as evidenced by their edge in the offensive
rebounding. It was a hard fought battle by both sides. LeBron was
obviously HUGE in this game. He pretty much took over from the onset.
Good to see him come out and remind people of exactly who he is, after a
full day of ridiculous ridicule by haters. Wasnt much offense in the
half court, nor much ball movement, by the Cavs. They got a lot of 2nd
chance opportunities with those offensive rebounds by Tristan Thompson,
and scored 25 points off Bulls turnovers. I thought Lebron and those
rebounds was one of the only things that
kept them in this game. The Bulls had some trouble when Rose was on the
bench for most of this game, in point differential, though Brooks, and
especially Hinrich, were much better in the 4th quarter. The Cavs once
again struggled on pick&roll defense, and there is a good reason for
that. They were defending it pretty similarly to the Heat's system,
with their bigs coming out and showing on guards. The main difference
there is the Cavs dont have Chris Bosh, who is the best in the league at
doing just that, and instead, they have below average defenders trying
to do those jobs. Then they have a need for 1 more perimeter defender,
as well as a rim protector, to try to help them with that issue. The
other thing I saw from the Cavs was a continued lack of any help side
defense, as rotations were slow or non existent.
Derrick Rose
looked amazing tonight, and the Cavs had ZERO answer for him. Only
things that kept Cleveland in the game were the play of LeBron,
offensive rebounding by Thompson, the point differential without Derrick
Rose, Chicago turning the ball over, and some rimmed out open looks by
the Bulls. There was some great Big 2 Big passing in this game, as
expected from both of these teams when I outlined them in my preseason
overview...I feel like the Cavs rotation is still a work in progress.
Not enough minutes for Mike Miller or Shawn Marion. Still, a better use
of the bench by them in this game than the 1st one. I just feel like
they arent taking enough advantage of LeBron James. They're limiting
LeBron to 1-2 positions, and not taking advantage of his versatility,
which I think is something to watch for as the season progresses.
The Cavs were lucky to get to OT with some mistakes by the Bulls at the
end of regulation. Obviously, Derrick Rose going down in that 4th
quarter played a big role as well.,,When Noah was out to start OT,
LeBron immediately recognized the chance, and he attacked from the start
to set the table for the rest of the game...Its a good win for
Cleveland, but I still need to see how they continue to grow throughout
the season. Obviously, the Bulls were without Jimmy Butler, and Rose
went down for that time. I think its pretty clear that the Bulls are a
better team. They won the game, but the Cavs cant continue to play like
this if they're going to be a good team. There isnt much consistency in
that formula.
