Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers Takeaways: Another One

Following a Tristan Thompson block, Irving then notched a 3-pointer to make it 94-85 with 3:38 left.

This is the fourth game James will miss this season and the Cavaliers lost the previous three.

Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said James’ return had been pivotal. The Cavaliers refused to let Giannis Antetokounmpo get free for any easy looks, and it resulted in him scoring just nine points on 4-13 shooting.

Richard Jefferson started in James’ place for the defending National Basketball Association champions and scored nine points. Williams had been playing for the Dallas Mavericks and before that there were stops with the Brooklyn Nets and the Utah Jazz. But even after the loss to their Eastern Conference rivals, they remain ahead of the second-place Boston Celtics (37-21) by 3.5 games. “He knows that, but this is the opportunity to come and win a championship, possibly, and play at a high level and be a part of a great team”. Rest assured that Lue will play Williams in lineups with the Big Three as he acts as the primary facilitator, nonetheless, Williams is the player that will allow the Cavs to lower James’ minutes as they enter the playoffs.

Bogut wants to pursue a championship and play a significant role for a veteran team. “The way he can defend, the way he can shoot, the way he gets his teammates involved in the game”.

Three straight triples from Valentine pulled the Bulls to within one late in the third quarter.

“We’ve been shorthanded for a while, but now we’re starting to get healthy a little bit”, said James. “That’s all that really matters”. Cleveland has won four games in a row, has gone 8-2 in its last 10 and is 25-5 at Quicken Loans Arena this season.

Having no picks in last year’s draft, the Cavs chose to shell out a good chunk of money for a backup point guard ($2.4 million is also about how much Felder’s salary will cost the Cavs over his three year contract) even though Matthew Dellavedova wouldn’t decide to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks until a week later.

Williams is the Cavs’ third significant acquisition since January, joining Korver and swingman Derrick Williams as new faces on the roster as Cleveland tries to load up for a repeat title run.

“It’s good from a guy who doesn’t pass”, he quipped. Now the question arises for the Golden State, as it is doubtful that they have enough supporting players to make it through the 82 game slog of this regular season.

Butler finally ignored the snooze button at the most opportune time, almost winning the game in regulation with a tying triple, then a fadeaway 15-footer over Eric Bledsoe to cap off a late comeback that saw the Bulls rebound from an eight-point deficit with a few minutes left in the fourth. If Williams and Bogut bring the contributions I’m expecting, it would be hard not to lean in Cleveland’s direction.