If there’s one thing the Cavaliers didn’t accomplish in Monday night’s preseason contest in Atlanta, it was making the coaching staff’s job any easier as they try to sort out the remaining spots on the roster.
That’s a good thing, as Cleveland essentially rested its entire rotation and still took the Hawks’ regular starters and backups to the limit – falling, 99-93, at Philips Arena.
The Cavaliers started Kay Felder, James Jones, Dahntay Jones, Jordan McRae and Cory Jefferson. The Hawks countered with Mike Muscala, Kent Bazemore, Dennis Schroeder, Kyle Korver and Dwight Howard.
Six Cavaliers scored in double-figures and, after falling behind, 9-0, then 18-4, clawed back into the lead midway through the second quarter and stay competitive the rest of the way. A couple of late miscues derailed Cleveland’s upset attempt, but Tyronn Lue has to feel good about what he saw.
Kay Felder, who the Cavaliers acquired in a Draft night deal with the Hawks, tied for the team lead with 15 points – going 7-for-17 from the floor with a team-high six assists, three boards and a steal.
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Jonathan Holmes continued his solid shooting during the preseason, notching 15 points of his own on 5-for-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Jordan McRae had led the Cavaliers in scoring in each of their first two preseason games – tallying 20 points apiece. But he struggled from the floor on Monday night, going 1-for-14 from the floor with six turnovers, including a pair in the final two minutes.
Markel Brown and DeAndre Liggins – both vying for backcourt spots – also impressed. Brown notched double-figures off the bench, finishing with 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting. Liggins, the two-time D-League Defensive Player of the Year, was 3-of-3 from the floor for seven points to go with six boards, four helpers and a steal.
In the frontcourt, Cory Jefferson was solid again – netting a double-double with 13 points and a team-high 11 boards despite taking some lumps from Dwight Howard before intermission.
James Jones, one of the few veterans to see action for Cleveland, also added 12 points in the loss – going 3-of-8 from the floor to go with five boards and a pair of assists.
”We have guys who are trying to make the team, playing scrappy,” praised Coach Lue. “They all played hard and competed. That’s what you want. JJ (James Jones) was good, as usual. Kay (Felder) got it going a little bit in the first half early. I liked Markel. Markel Brown was really good defensively with back cuts, taking his open shots. Jordan (McRae) just struggled with his shot tonight, but he got to the free throw line 14 times, getting downhill, getting to the basket.
”Guys just played well all around.”
The Cavaliers return to Cleveland for an Eastern Conference Finals rematch (of sorts) against the Raptors on Thursday night at The Q before traveling to Chicago for the second half of the back-to-back on Friday. They wrap up the preseason next Tuesday night in Columbus when they take on the Wizards at the Schottenstein Center.