CHICAGO: Twenty thoughts for 20 points from Kevin Love in Saturday’s 105-102 loss to the Chicago Bulls…
1. J.R. Smith and LeBron James both wanted the ball in their hands at various points late in the fourth quarter. James, for once, never had the chance and Smith missed on his. Kyrie Irving couldn’t hold onto the ball early in the fourth quarter, which was part of the reason the Cavs were even in this predicament.
2. The top seed in the East is still theoretically up for grabs because the bench struggled miserably Saturday and the Cavs couldn’t close out a Bulls team down to their last chip and a chair. Coach Tyronn Lue wanted to be building momentum in these last few games prior to the postseason, but consecutive road losses likely isn’t what he had in mind.
3. The optimist will say LeBron James didn’t play in the loss to the Pacers and side with James, who reminded folks for two days how much the Bulls get up to face him. The pessimist will look at a terrible defensive effort in the loss to the Pacers, followed by a blown lead and a loss at Chicago on a night James played extraordinarily well (33 points, 13 of 17 shooting) and see cause for concern so close to the playoffs. Choose your side.
4. “They always play well versus us. It’s just human nature,” James said. “When they see me it’s like, ‘OK.’ They wish I wore every uniform at this point. They definitely step up their game when they see me.”
5. He’s right. The Bulls have played James tough in regular seasons dating back to his Miami days – although James always gets them in the postseason. But the fourth quarter collapse on Saturday is still cause for concern.
6. Kyrie Irving had three turnovers in the fourth. It appeared at times he was reverting back to trying to do it all himself, but the lineup surrounding him to start the quarter included Matthew Dellavedova, Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Timofey Mozgov. The Bulls blitzed him and sent multiple defenders trying to get the ball out of Irving’s hands. It was easier than expected because he kept turning it over.
7. “I was just real (expletive) with the basketball, that’s all,” Irving said. “Handle wasn’t crisp … and their defense was extending me out almost to half court. I’ve just got to do a better job of leading that second unit, especially when Bron and Kevin are on the bench.”
8. The Cavs missed their first nine shots of the fourth quarter and turned it over four times before scoring a basket from somewhere other than the free-throw line. It took about six minutes for their 10-point lead late in the third quarter to become a deficit. They never got it back. By the time Tyronn Lue could get the starters back in the game, the deficit was nearing double figures.
9. “I thought the rhythm was kind of broken,” James said. “Our bench has helped us win a lot of games this year. Tonight was just one of those rough patches for our bench.”
10. The Cavs’ bench was without Iman Shumpert, which certainly hurt. Shumpert was a late scratch with a sore left knee that has been bothering him for more than a week. But he’s not the reason the Cavs’ bench was outscored by the Bulls’ bench 44-11 and the Cavs’ reserves combined for a minus-48. Despite all of that, they still had chances to win it in the final seconds.
11. Smith didn’t bother telling anyone he was going to intentionally miss the second free throw with the Cavs down 104-102 and 8.7 seconds left. The arc on the shot and the way he followed it made it clear he did it intentionally and then Smith admitted as much.
12. “I knew they were pinching on LeBron and Double-T (Tristan Thompson),” Smith said. “In that situation it’s very rare that a shooter gets the offensive rebound, it’s more of somebody running in and grabbing it. I just knew how they box out coming down the stretch, I just figured I’d try it.”
13. The plan worked perfectly. Smith grabbed the rebound and flipped it to Kevin Love, who swung it to Matthew Dellavedova on the 3-point line. Dellavedova, scuffling through a 1 of 5 shooting night from 3, missed everything. James was the next swing at the top of the arc if Dellavedova passed it one more time and James – enjoying a 4 of 5 night from 3-point range – made it clear he wanted the ball.
14. “The best 3-pointer in the game is a kickout after an offensive rebound,” James said. “I definitely would’ve loved to have been in that position after it got swung to Kev. I wish that was me, for sure. One more swing, selfishly, I wish I had a look at it the way I was shooting the ball tonight. But Delly left it short.”
15. James also missed out on the game’s final shot. The Cavs had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Smith’s deep 3-point attempt off the inbounds was blocked by Justin Holiday. Smith seemed to imply he thought he was fouled on the shot and Stu Jackson, the former executive VP of basketball operations, agreed. Then changed his mind.
End of game @TheRealJRSmith was contacted on his follow through on a potential game tying 3pt. Non Call Incorrect #cavs
— Stu Jackson (@StuJackson32) April 10, 2016
@TheRealJRSmith RETRACTION!!! further review @TheRealJRSmith shot was tipped causing the ball to fall short Contact following was incidental
— Stu Jackson (@StuJackson32) April 10, 2016
16. Even with James and Irving on the floor, Tyronn Lue said he wanted the ball in Smith’s hands for the final shot. Smith said he asked for it after making 7 of his first 13 3-point attempts before the final miss.
17. “He was 7-for-14 from 3 and he had just made like three or four in a row,” Lue said. “Usually that play is for Ky or J.R. and J.R. is the one who had it going.”
18. Impressive game by Justin Holiday, who was in training camp with the Cavs a few years back. They liked him, but thought he needed more seasoning. Holiday shot just 1 of 6, but scored seven points, passed for four assists and was very good defensively against the Cavs’ guards.
19. Stop me when you’ve heard this before: Kevin Love had 13 points and five rebounds in the first quarter, then shot 2 of 10 the rest of the way and finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. The more things change…
20. The Cavs finish the road portion of their schedule 24-17 which will be no worse than tied with the Raptors for tops in the East (the Raptors are 22-17). They can still clinch home-court advantage if the Raptors lose at the New York Knicks on Sunday. Should the Raptors win, the Cavs can clinch with a victory Monday at home against the Atlanta Hawks. Talk to you Monday from the Q.