Atlanta Hawks: 4 Observations from Cavaliers Game

“He knew we weren’t playing right”, Blatt said.

In a pregame video that played off “Soul Train”, current Cavs players donned 1970s garb and danced through their own Cavs Train line to Kool & the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie”.

Following the Cleveland Cavaliers two consecutive losses on the road, they returned home Thursday night to take on the Milwaukee Bucks to seek retribution for their second loss of the season.

That includes Kyrie Irving who has yet to return after undergoing knee cap surgery, Iman Shumpert (wrist), and Mo Williams (ankle). The act of unilaterally deciding to remove himself from the game, without bothering to wait for a whistle, let alone an indication from the coaching staff, could be seen as quite the “power play” on James’s part.

The Cavs got a big lift from veteran center Anderson Varejao, who finished with nine second-half points. He scored 13 points…. “If you don’t play, especially when you feel you’re not done, it’s tough”.

“He threw me out and that’s his prerogative”, Budenholzer said. Regardless of the outcome, the silver lining for the Atlanta Hawks is that Saturday’s game provides much needed experience for a team dealing with some adversity during the early going of the regular season.

Nene scored 18 points and Otto Porter added 17 for Washington.

Antetokounmpo got off to a fast start with 12 points in the first and missed just three shots all night.

Schroder had a season-high 22 points and six assists. “He’s a true professional”. Marco Belinelli led the Kings with 23 points.

“Defensively, they were fantastic and we just had a hard time finding a shot”, Sixers coach Brett Brown said of the Heat.

“He’s a pro, and he knows what the situation is”. Antetokounmpo started as a project player, and all he’s done since entering the league is get better every day. But the Cavs would respond by shooting 61 percent in the second quarter (59 at the half), with Kevin Love leading the way with 12 points during that frame, including two triples.

James has raised his play, averaging 29.4 points while hitting 15 of 34 (44.1 percent) from 3-point range to go along with 7.3 rebounds in his last eight games. That gave Detroit a last chance, but Marcus Morris missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. “We were snapping that thing around”.

Despite being the heavy favorites in the Eastern Conference, it is apparent that James wants the team to take this season seriously.

James said he had a comeback for Blatt’s hockey crack: “There aren’t hockey subs in basketball, but I do make hockey assists”. If a player in the game receives his sixth personal foul and all substitutes have already been disqualified, said player shall remain in the game and shall be charged with a personal and team foul.