Cavaliers begin exhibition play by draining Magic out of Orlando 117-112
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
The NBA preseason is all about building — building chemistry on the court, cohesiveness in the locker room and the necessary mindset to make a run at a championship. Sitting at the top of the NBA mountain are the Cleveland Cavaliers, which won their first title in franchise history a season ago. Wednesday night was the team’s first preseason game in 2016; it was also the Cavs’ first step in the defense of their crown.
Defending their title won’t be easy. There’s another juggernaut in the league that resides out West, the Golden State Warriors, which absurdly upgraded its roster in the offseason with the addition of Kevin Durant. The San Antonio Spurs added Pau Gasol and should never be overlooked, while there’s other contenders aside the Cavs in the Eastern Conference like…
Never mind.
No, the Cavs don’t seem to have formidable competition in the East outside of a scrappy Boston Celtics team, and newly-formed Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls squads. You can throw in the Toronto Raptors if you must, but none of those teams are expected to deter the Cavs from reaching their third straight NBA Finals.
Everyone from the concession vendors in Quicken Loans Arena to the leader of the free world probably believe the Cavs and Warriors will meet in the Finals for the third straight season, continuing what is probably the NBA’s best current rivalry. Yet, both teams still have plenty of work to do to get back to that point. For the Cavs, that undertaking commenced Wednesday evening.
Two of the Cavs’ four core players were on the court against the Magic. LeBron James and Kevin Love saw their first action of the preseason, while Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson took the night off. Nevertheless, the Cavs pounded the Magic 117-112 in The Q, a result that could look similar to their upcoming regular season meetings.
The Cavs ruled Thompson out about 90 minutes before tipoff because of a sore foot, and Irving sat out for rest after winning his first Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro this summer. Lue’s plan prior to the game was to play James 12-13 minutes and Love around 15 minutes. Both players played a little more than 13 minutes, while neither took the court in the second half.
James totaled seven points, six assists and two rebounds; Love finished with eight points, four rebounds and two assists. Jordan McRae led the Cavs in scoring with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes.
“I’m just playing as hard as I can,” McRae said. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can right now to try to get in the rotation, or try to do whatever the team needs me to do at this point.”
While veterans like James and Love are always a welcomed sight for fans in the preseason, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue is mainly evaluating players that could secure one of the final few roster spots.
“I think the new guys are picking up things great,” Lue said. “It’s a little different for Kay (Felder) because a lot of the play calls (are different), a lot of different terminology than there was in college…For the most part, we’re right where I want to be offensively and defensively, and we just continue to add throughout the preseason.”
With Mo Williams sudden retirement and Matthew Dellavedova moving on to Milwaukee, the backup point guard spot seems to be up for grabs. Felder, who the Cavs drafted in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft, should secure a roster spot and could help James fill that void. The 5-foot-9 rookie, however, did not start Wednesday, leaving that distinction to DeAndre Liggins, who is also fighting for a roster spot.
The Cavs also signed Toney Douglas this week to compete for backup point guard duties. Douglas finished with two points in 12 minutes against Orlando, while Felder finished with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists. Liggins totaled six points and three assists in 25 minutes.
The Cavs have five more preseason games to find a backup point guard that can fill the role behind Irving, and they surely hope to do so before the team’s regular season opener against the New York Knicks on Oct. 25. That Tuesday night in late October will be one to remember for those in The Q, as Cleveland will raise its first championship banner in more than 50 years and Cavs players will be presented with their title rings.
POSTED 10/05/2016 22:35
Lake County Sentinel
