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Okay, so the Cavaliers still have a lot of work to do.
Buoyed by a good preseason start, the team regressed on both ends of the floor
in its preseason home opener Monday, resulting in an 87-81 loss to the Milwaukee
Bucks.
The home team had its moments in front of a crowd of 16,354, and looked to be continuing on the path of improvement it showed in wins over Detroit and Atlanta last week.
But by the time it was over, Coach Paul Silas was thinking about heading back
to the drawing board. Ticketmaster
His offense, which has largely been inserted in the practices since last Wednesday's
game with the Hawks, stagnated during a miserable third quarter that was all
too reminiscent of last season's 17-65 record.
"We have a long way to go," Silas said. "There are going to be
some nights when we are not so good."
Monday certainly qualified.
The man in the spotlight, LeBron James, also had a mixed review in his first
professional performance at Gund Arena.
He made just four of a team-high 14 shots and badly missed at least four open
jump shots, which is quickly becoming his Achilles' heel.
He did, however, show more aggressiveness going to the basket.
All of his baskets were layups and he got to the foul line for the first time.
In all, he finished with an early career-high of 10 points with six rebounds,
three assists and three turnovers. Ticketmaster
"Today was another learning experience," James said. "Every night
we're not going to have it, there will be ups and downs."
Helped by transition baskets and putbacks, the Cavaliers shot 44 percent from
the floor in the first half and played good enough defense with their first
and second units to maintain a lead throughout the first half.
The baskets dried up in the second half, especially within the Cavaliers' first
unit.
The usually steady Carlos Boozer suffered through a 2-for-9 shooting performance,
though he did have 13 rebounds. Ticketmaster
Zydrunas Ilgauskas went just 3-of-9 in 16 minutes due to foul trouble and Darius
Miles had another subpar performance at point guard, turning it over five times
against two assists.
Ricky Davis, even though he went 6-of-11 for 14 points, put up a series of wild
and ill-advised shots in the third quarter as the ball movement slowed to a
trickle.
It carried over to the defensive end, where the lack of offensive production
resulted in a lackadaisical attitude.
The Bucks were all too pleased to take advantage in the third quarter, forcing
the Cavaliers into eight of their 22 turnovers while outscoring them 29-15.
Much of the damage was done by former Cavalier Brian Skinner, who went 5-for-5
in the quarter on his way to a game-high 20 points against some soft defense.
Eventually, the Bucks, who trailed by as many as nine in the first half and
eight before the Cavaliers' third quarter implosion, built a 17-point lead as
the fans filed out.
"The system didn't have anything to do with it, just bad decisions,"
Silas said. "If you are missing shots and don't play good defensively,
you are going to get your butt kicked and that's what happened." Ticketmaster
Yet again, reserve guard J.R. Bremer was a bright spot in relief, nailing three
3-pointers en route to a 16-point night.
He and James led a small fourth-quarter comeback that made it more respectable.
Bucks first-round draft pick T.J. Ford didn't have one of his better nights,
scoring six points and fouling out in 27 minutes.