CLEVELAND: New Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue didn’t think his players were having much fun. This isn’t going to help.
Center Pau Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls beat the Cavaliers 96-83 Saturday in the Cavs’ first game under their new head coach.
General Manager David Griffin made the surprising decision to fire David Blatt on Friday despite the team owning the top record in the East. Griffin attributed it to problems in the locker room and a team that was regressing despite piling up victories. Lue added to that by acknowledging before Saturday’s game he didn’t believe players were enjoying themselves this season.
Then the Cavs shot 37 percent, didn’t get any scoring from their reserves until late in the third quarter and shot just 9-of-22 from the free-throw line as they were booed off the floor following the loss.
LeBron James scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and fell one assist shy of his first triple-double this season. He had 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, but shot just 11-of-27. Kevin Love scored 14 points and Kyrie Irving scored 11. But the Cavs went scoreless for the final 6:57 of the first quarter and missed their final 16 shots of the quarter. The offense never really recovered.
Guard Jimmy Butler scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Taj Gibson had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls and Nikola Mirotic scored 17 off the bench. It was just Chicago’s third win in its last nine games.
The loss capped a turbulent 24 hours in Cleveland. James insisted he had no role in Blatt’s firing while agreeing with everything Griffin said Friday night in explaining the move. Lue said he didn’t want to do anything different than how Blatt managed the team, just better. He also wanted to expand the rotation and get more guys involved.
He kept his word. Lue went 10 deep in the first quarter, but it seemed to stall any rhythm the offense could generate. The Cavs shot 17 percent from 3-point range (4-of-24) and never found a groove.
Blatt previously handled the offense while Lue handled the defense. Lue said he’d continue to handle the defense while taking on more offensive responsibilities, although he’ll share them with lead assistants Larry Drew and Jim Boylan.
Two free throws from Butler extended the Bulls’ lead to 77-60 early in the fourth quarter, their largest of the night. When the Cavs made a small run to cut the deficit to 10, Gasol countered with consecutive jumpers to keep the Bulls comfortably ahead.
Lue met with the team early Saturday morning to talk about changing their style, playing the game the right way and playing with more pace offensively. Very little of that appeared in his debut.
“Just by us having a coaching change doesn’t mean we’re going to be better,” Lue said before the game. “We’ve got to change. You can bring Phil Jackson in or whoever you want to bring in, but if we don’t change as players and as a staff and as a unit, we’re not going to be any good.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.