Injuries are slowing Cleveland Cavaliers preseason progress

CLEVELAND – Greg Monroe and rookie Rashad Vaughn each scored 19 points and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-101 in National Basketball Association preseason action at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night. Coach David Blatt said James might not play for the remainder of the preseason as the team tries to limit the four-time MVP’s minutes going into the October. 27 opener at Chicago.

Monta Ellis had his most efficient game of the preseason, making 6-of-7 shots for 14 points and center Ian Mahinmi, the only Pacer to match up against a starter, played strong for 16 points (6 of 9) and seven rebounds against Timofey Mozgov.

“One to two spots are potentially open”, Blatt said. Paul still led the Clippers with 17 points, while Blake Griffin added 14 points and 14 rebounds. He came in great shape. Smith finished with 10 points.

James missed a career-high 13 games last season, due mostly (but not entirely) to knee and back injuries. The Cavs are now without injured players Kyrie Irving (knee) and Iman Shumpert (wrist), and Kevin Love (shoulder) hasn’t been fully cleared to return to games. Fortunately, Allen showed his worth in both games by grabbing six boards in limited minutes, but the young big man needs to prove that he can thrive in the new system that should better fit his style of play.

So giving James the shot and and keeping him out of games this week was by design.

The Cavaliers trimmed the deficit down to two points, when Jefferson caught a pass from point guard Mo Williams, squared himself to the hoop and calmly buried a three-pointer.

It was hard to find someone of import who was actually playing for the Houston Rockets, so it wasn’t surprising to see the Warriors walk away with the win easily, missing only Harrison Barnes from their list of regulars. Indiana would finish 33-of-43 from the line; Cleveland, 11-for-19. The Pacers had 16 turnovers, but they led to only three points by the Cavs.

Hawks 100, Spurs 86: Jeff Teague scored 19 points and the Hawks remained flawless in the preseason, beating the San Antonio Spurs 100-86 Wednesday night in Atlanta’s first home game since the Eastern Conference final… During the scoring run, Indiana committed just two turnovers and missed only two of their nine attempts from the field.

Frank Vogel on playing George more with less rest: “He always says, ‘Don’t need any. The fight hasn’t started”.