The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their tuneup for the regular season on Saturday, beating the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers, 108-105.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their tuneup for the regular season on Saturday, beating the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers in the second preseason game, 108-105.
Wanting his starters to play in front of the home crowd, head coach Tyronn Lue played the usual suspects aside from Tristan Thompson, who missed his second straight game as the team continues to be cautious with his stiff left foot.
Here are five observations:
Kyrie Irving returns - It was Irving's first game with the Cavaliers since his Game 7 heroics. And it didn't take him long to find that form.
Less than four minutes into the first quarter and on his second shot attempt, Irving dazzled with his ball handling against a helpless Dario Saric before drilling a step-back jumper just inside the 3-point line.
"Just keep pushing. Utilizing every, single day," Irving said of his preseason mindset. "Make sure we value every, single day in training camp or games. It's good to be back out there, especially playing with LeBron. We talked about it before and there's an exciting time again. We haven't played together since Game 7 of the Finals. Good to be back out there with all my teammates. Just gotta keep valuing each and every day and try to get better."
Irving missed the entire preseason last year while recovering from a fractured kneecap and Lue held him out of the opener, trying to limit his minutes early, especially after Irving's lengthy summer that included a trip to Rio for the Olympics.
"I actually am a fan of preseason this year," Irving said. "Just kind of getting games off and getting as much rest I can heading into this hectic regular season. Want to be as prepared as we can be. I know T. Lue and our medical stuff does a great job of resting us when we can, but also making sure we're getting enough reps in during practice offensively and defensively."
Irving finished with 15 points on 7-of-13 from the field to go with three assists. There were typical "ohhs and ahhs" from the crowd as he made a couple signature shots.
There was one miscue, however. Irving and LeBron James tried for a highlight-reel alley oop, but couldn't connect.
"I just missed it. Mistimed it," James said. "That's what preseason is for."
Following the game, Irving joked with James about this contest having the look of one where each player could've gotten to the 30-point mark had they played long enough.
One point guard out of the mix? When training camp opened, Lue talked about using a "committee approach" while searching for his backup point guard.
Initially the plan was to have some combination of Kay Felder, Iman Shumpert, Jordan McRae and DeAndre Liggins. Then Toney Douglas was tossed into the fray.
It's been less than two weeks and Lue has shortened that list, taking McRae out of the equation -- for now.
"We're going to slow it down a little bit. We're going to slow it down," Lue said when asked about McRae as a backup point guard option. "It's not fair to him. It's something he hasn't done his whole career. You can put guys in position, they've got to come out and just score the basketball. But to tell them they've got to get into their sets, little guards picking up full court and just having to think so much when you're a natural scorer, it is kind of tough."
That doesn't mean McRae won't get playing time. After all, he's been the leading scorer in back-to-back exhibition games, dropping 20 in each.
"I think with Kyrie back, with Liggins, with Kay and now we have Toney Douglas, between those four guys we can handle the point guard position," Lue said. "Just playing Jordan more as a 2-3 now, at his natural position, will help him out a lot."
As Lue said, there are options to fill the feisty shoes left behind by Matthew Dellavedova. However, some are off guards masquerading as leads, which becomes more obvious with each game.
After starting the preseason opener, Liggins didn't enter until the second half Saturday and spent much of the night playing off the ball while Felder ran the offense. Liggins played 18 minutes, scoring two points on 0-of-3 from the field. He had three assists against one turnover and did little to distinguish himself during his playing time.
Felder, meanwhile, was the lone backup point guard to receive playing time in the first half. His box score doesn't stand out (four points, 1-of-6 shooting, three assists, two turnovers) but made a brilliant pass for the go-ahead basket in the final minute after getting into the paint with dribble penetration.
If things continue down this path, the committee approach will become Felder's job quickly -- even if Lue isn't ready to admit it.
"It's fair to say they're all still competing for the spot," Lue said. "They're all playing hard, they all bring something different. Right now we've just got to keep letting those guys play and figure it out."
A different Shump - Shumpert's quest to put his worst statistical season behind him is off to a strong start.
Lighter, quicker and in the starting lineup while J.R. Smith continues to look for a pricey new contract, Shumpert looks more comfortable.
More importantly, his jumper looks better than at any point last season.
"Shump is just ready to step in," Irving said. "As a professional it's his job as well as our job to make sure we all integrate ourselves -- whoever is out there. As a two-guard for us, he's been working on his jump shot a lot and coming into this preseason definitely impacting the ball like he does defensively. He understands that and he's filling in for J.R. right now. He's our starting two-guard right now."
Shumpert altered his mechanics this summer, trying to get more lift on his jumper. He worked out against Irving and McRae in Miami. While it's only preseason, and the Cavaliers have played two games, those sessions appear to be paying dividends.
Shumpert has scored 10 points in 32 minutes while shooting 4-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. He's not hesitating on his jumper and he isn't over-dribbling, something that became a troubling occurrence last season while trying to find his place after a wrist injury.
"I just think it's health. He's flying up and down the floor, being the Iman Shumpert I knew as well as everyone else knew," Irving said. "Just in incredible shape. He wants to continue to play, he's asking T. Lue for more minutes and that's what you want from a guy coming into preseason, especially prepared."
Shumpert has also brought his usual defense, recording two steals, two blocks and a number of his customary reach-in knock-aways. The preseason has been a carry-over of what he's doing in practice.
This is all different from last year when Shumpert averaged 5.8 points on 37.4 percent from the field, including a career-low 29.5 percent from beyond the arc. He was even worse in the Finals, scoring 3.0 points on 30 percent from the field, including 26.7 percent from 3-point range.
He's in Smith's spot now, but Lue isn't looking for anything extra.
"Just continue to do what he's been doing," Lue said. "Taking his open shots, his open 3s. In pick and roll situations he has a great in-between pull-up game so we don't mind that at all. Just the same way he has always played. J.R. here or J.R. not here, Shump still has the same role on our team and that's to come out and be a stopper every single night and take and make his open shots."
Kevin Love at the 5 - The Cavs used a small-ball lineup effectively last season, putting Love at center. The five-man group wasn't used against Orlando Wednesday, but Lue went to it in the second quarter after Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown downsized, taking out starting center Joel Embiid.
James, Irving, Shumpert and Richard Jefferson joined Love for 2:47.
During that time, the Cavs outscored the Sixers, 10-8, while the floor spacing led to four layups.
Irving was able to score on backcuts and James became more aggressive, getting the ball at the elbow or cutting to the hoop while playing off the ball.
The lineup could be a problem on the defensive end. There were signs of that against Philadelphia. But in the regular season or the playoffs, having the added speed and quickness on the perimeter could help negate the lack of an interior presence.
A stat to watch - The Cavs followed up a 30-assist night against the Magic on Wednesday with another strong display of ball movement.
Led by McRae and Chris Andersen (Yes, Chris Andersen), each with four, the Cavaliers finished with 29 helpers on 39 made shots.
Dating back to last season, Cleveland is 35-3 when dishing out 23 assists or more.
