Cavs Open Postseason with “Look of a Champion”

The Cavaliers began their quest for a championship yesterday afternoon with a 96-83 win over the Chicago Bulls.  The Cavs had not played a meaningful game with a fully healthy roster since February and much had been said and written regarding the organization’s approach to resting LeBron and other stars at the end of the regular season.  While there were lapses in the 2nd half, the Cavs displayed no rust coming out of the gate in front of one of the louder crowds that I have heard at the Q in quite some time.

It sounded as if the fans were certainly ready for the playoffs to begin with the clamor reaching a crescendo for Shaquille O’Neal and his return to the lineup after more than a month away.  While it is only the beginning and just 1 of 16, when prompted by TNT analyst David Aldridge in the postgame press conference on whether or not the Cavs have the look of a team that can march through the postseason and take care of business regardless of what any opponent presents, LeBron responded that he felt they certainly had that “look of a champion.”

The Cavaliers were incredibly efficient on the offensive end to start the game, jumping out to a 32-18 lead after one. Mo Williams, in his postgame press conference, talked about how “everyone in the starting 5 is a threat to score at all times.”  The Cavs made an effort to get all four of their top scoring options involved with Jamison scoring 9, Mo and Shaq 7, and LeBron 5.  They made a concerted effort to attack the rim, scoring 16 points in the paint and instantly getting the Bulls frontcourt of Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson in foul trouble.  That frontcourt provided little resistance for the Cavs as they were able to cut freely across and through the paint, getting easy buckets while also crashing the offensive glass with great success.  All questions of rust were quickly dismissed and it really was a stretch on the offensive end that, if maintained consistently for longer periods, makes the Cavs nearly unbeatable.

Jamison was impressive in his Cavaliers postseason debut putting up a 15 and 10 while shooting 50% from the field.  He was the spark which put the Cavs out in front with a big lead.  In the locker room after the game, he talked about what it felt like to be on the side of the home team at the Q in the postseason:

The Cavs came out of the locker room to start the 2nd half attacking the rim, leading to open threes and a flurry of easy buckets in the paint that quickly extended the lead to 21.  The Cavs scored 28 of their 56 first half points in the paint.  After the spurt to start the 3rd, they went away from attacking the rim which led to prolonged scoreless stretches (only 14 points in the paint in the 2nd half).  The Cavs went almost 7 minutes without scoring which allowed Chicago to cut the lead from 22 to 10 (it later got as close as 7 in the 4Q).  The Cavs had a terrible shooting afternoon, particularly from 3 where they shot 26%.  All those easy buckets around the rim in the first half led to a good shooting percentage overall but the Cavs did not shoot well outside the paint.  The Bulls, who struggle offensively, want to keep the game in the 80s or low 90s and the reluctance to run the offense or attack the rim along with high number of turnovers led to a 17 point quarter which let the Bulls right back in the game.

LeBron had a relatively modest game for his lofty standards.  With a sizeable lead, he often played a role of facilitator while the Cavs made an effort to get the ball to Shaq.  But when the Bulls closed it to 10, LeBron immediately took charge and attacked the rim scoring 5 quick points in two possessions.  He provided a number of highlight plays, alley oops and chasedown blocks, when the Cavs and the crowd needed a boost.  He finished with 24 points and got to the line only 7 times as he took a less aggressive role while the Cavs were up comfortably.

In addition to LeBron and Antawn, Mo Williams finished with a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists.  He hit a few big threes when the Cavaliers needed them and reiterated in the postgame press conference that he is completely over last season and values it as a learning experience.  Andy Varejao was remarkable on the glass finishing with a playoff career high 15 rebounds.  Chicago led the league in rebounding and their bigs are involved on the offensive end primarily by crashing the glass.  Andy was incredibly active and so many of those huge swing possessions – an LBJ alley-oop, a big Mo 3 – were the direct result of a Varejao offensive rebound.

The Cavs took care of business as they should against the 8 seed.  The Bulls have no post scoring threat and are also not 3 point shooting team.  They rely on rebounding, some transition buckets, and penetration from Derrick Rose to win lower scoring games.  The Cavs scored only 40 points in the second half due mostly to the inattention noted above and that is just what the Bulls want.  Rose finished with 28 points and 10 assists but had to take 28 shots as the Cavs handled the pick and roll fairly well.  Joakim Noah was a nonfactor due to foul trouble brought on by Shaq and frustration from the activity of Varejao.  Aside from a little chippiness and yapping from Noah and Brad Miller, their frontcourt was ineffective.

Chicago writer Sam Smith intimated in his postgame question to LeBron that perhaps the Cavs squandered an opportunity to psychologically put the Bulls away by not being able to maintain the large lead and close out the game more convincingly.  While the 2nd half was pretty stagnant, LeBron responded that a 13 point win, or any win for that matter, serves as a psychological edge.  It is just the beginning of what will hopefully be a short series in a long playoff season.  After the apathetic finish to the season, it was good to see the full compliment of players on the floor playing meaningful games once again.  Game 2 will be Monday night at 8PM at the Q.

***Part II coming on the return of Shaq, his imprint on the game, and the shortened rotation.

(Photo: John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer)