LeBron doesn't play much in Cavs preseason opener
What happened: The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv, Cavs coach David Blatt's old team, 107-80, in a preseason game Monday at Quicken Loans Arena. Maccabi's fluid offense of ball and player movement gave Cleveland trouble at times, but the Cavaliers overwhelming talent was too much for the 2014 Euroleague champions.
LeBron James: Playing a little more than 19 minutes, he had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists, and as his preference, he took turns looking for his teammates and looking for his shot. With Maccabi focused on James, he found Irving, Marion and Tristan Thompson for layups and hit Kevin Love for a three-pointer a well-designed in-bounds play by Blatt. James, who sat out the second half to rest, made 4-of-11 shots but his three-point shot looked good.
Big 3: James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love combined for 29 points and 12 rebounds and nine assists. Who took the shots? James took 11, Irving nine and Love four. With sacrifices necessary, shot distribution will be worth watching this season.
Another development to watch is the minutes James and Irving (16 points) are on the court at the same time. Blatt staggered their playing time in the first half, with James leaving the game with 4:25 left in the first quarter and Irving leaving the game with 1:30 left in the quarter. James started the second quarter, and Irving didn't rejoin him until 7:58 remained in the second quarter. It's a good idea for several reasons. It gives ball-dominant players their time, and it allows Blatt to play several different lineup combinations.
On the defensive: As is the case with most NBA teams this early in training camp, the Cavs have spent significant practice time working on defense. They held Maccabi to 32.5% shooting, including 25.8% on three-pointers.
Offensive attack: Dion Waiters (15 points) and Tristan Thompson (14 points) also started, and early on, the Cavs broke down the defense with passes that led to dribble penetration. Once a Cavs player got by his defender, it created opportunities. The Cavs' offensive weapons and spacing make it difficult for opponents to cover ground. The ball movement led to easy looks at the basket and at the three-point line. But the Cavs are far from a polished offense, and the full complement of Blatt's offense was not on display.
Anderson Varejao, Mike Miller and Shawn Marion were the first subs in the game, and Blatt gave reserve Matthew Dellavedova a significant look at backup point guard.
Glass cleaners: It's preseason against an international team, albeit a European power, but the Cavs dominated in rebounding, including a 19-7 advantage in the first quarter. Varejao (15 rebounds), Thompson (13 rebounds) and Love (11 rebounds). Cleveland, especially with Love's strong outlet passes, looked for easy transition points off of misses.
Up next: The Cavs practice Monday and then leave for Brazil where they will play the Miami Heat – LeBron James' former team – in a preseason game Saturday in Brazil, the home country of Cavaliers forward-center Anderson Varejao. Maccabi will play the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.
What you didn't see on TV: An Israeli reporter asked LeBron James to tell him about Cleveland's new coach. Blatt is an Israeli-American who coached in Israel the past four seasons. "You guys know the coach more than I do," James said. "I've only been with him for a couple of weeks."
What you didn't see on TV, part II: After Blatt finished his pregame news conference, he turned to the Cavs' PR director and said, "May I talk to these Israeli guys?" in Hebrew. Then, Blatt spent five minutes answering their questions.