Lake County Sentinel
Cavaliers finish off the pre-season with 103-97 win over Dallas
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVS BEAT WRITER
(CLEVELAND, OH) – Confetti rained from Quicken Loans Arena for the first time this season.
In what was the equivalent of a preseason extravaganza, the 0-4 Dallas Mavericks visited the 0-6 Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night in The Q. Sure neither team entered the contest with a preseason victory under their belt, but that didn’t hinder either team from putting forth a rigorous exhibition.
It was the Cavs’ final game in what many agree is the drawn-out NBA preseason. After a 103-97 victory over Dallas Monday night, Cleveland ended its 2015 preseason with a 1-6 record. How much does preseason success factor into regular season prognostication? The Cavs are Vegas’ favorite to win the 2015-16 NBA Championship.
“We will still be missing a few guys but physically, we’ll come into the first game in good shape,” Cavs head coach David Blatt said.
Cavs guard J.R. Smith led Cleveland with 19 points, 13 of which he erupted for in the third quarter. The Cavs trailed Dallas 52-45 at halftime, but Smith gave Cleveland its first lead, 58-57, with a three-pointer as 8:34 remained in the third period. Smith’s spark helped Cleveland secure an 85-79 lead when the quarter ended, and the Cavs never looked back.
“Tonight I was able to play some of the starters that we have out there, and we are still missing a number of significant ones, more extended minutes,” Blatt said. “I thought that gave the second unit a little bit more strength going down the stretch, and we were able to pull out a W.”
Cavs point guard Matthew Dellavedova finished with 13 points and five assists, while Richard Jefferson totaled 10 points and six rebounds. Cavs power forward Kevin Love appeared in his second straight game since returning from a severe shoulder injury that forced him to leave last season’s playoffs — He scored 10 points with four rebounds.
Love has shown no signs that his shoulder is still bothering him, which is crucial for Cleveland as he’ll be a vital cog in the Cavs’ arsenal with Kyrie Irving slated to miss significant time into the regular season. Irving continues to recover from a fractured left kneecap, which he suffered in last season’s NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
Monday night, the Cavs were without Irving and Iman Shumpert, who is also expected to miss significant time into the regular season following wrist surgery on Sept. 30. Cleveland was also without Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao and LeBron James, who all took the night off to rest.
James received an anti-inflammatory injection in his back last week as back issues have plagued him on and off throughout his career. The injection was more of a precautionary measure as James gears up for what should be a grueling regular season. Although he sat out the final four games of the preseason, Blatt guaranteed that James will be ready to go when the regular season begins.
“I would hesitate to put ‘Bron in the category of an advanced age player,” Blatt said. “He’s not. He is in terms of the number of games that he’s played and given the fact that he’s constantly deep into the playoffs. His greatness helps his team achieve those levels.
“But LeBron’s in pretty good shape, and he’s done pretty well so far. We will of course constantly consider what his physical state is, but I don’t think we have to go overboard. That guy’s a great great basketball player, and he’s also proven to be durable and ready to play.”
James, who turns 31 years old in December, is in his 13th NBA season after Cleveland selected him first-overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. James has played more than 43,000 minutes in his NBA career, and that doesn’t include his time with USA Basketball. Although he carried Cleveland’s load in last season’s playoffs, James did suit up the fewest games he ever has in a regular season last year, while playing his lowest minutes per game in his career.
As Blatt firmly announced, James will be ready for the regular season when he and the Cavs attempt to claim Cleveland’s first NBA championship once again. The Cavs open the regular season a week from Tuesday in Chicago against the Bulls, led by new head coach Fred Hoiberg. Within the week, Cleveland will cut its roster to 15 players (with a seat reserved for Tristan Thompson should his holdout end anytime soon). Third-year shooting guard Jared Cunningham, who entered the day leading the Cavaliers in preseason scoring (13.0 ppg), is the favorite to earn one of the final roster spots.
Love said he thinks the Cavs are “in a good place” heading into the regular season.
“We want to come out of the gates strong,” Love said. “It all starts with game one.”
POSTED 10/19/2015 23:35
