Tag Archives: Chicago Bulls

Lonzo Ball to undergo knee procedure

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The Chicago Bulls guard will undergo a procedure on his left knee.

The return to the court for Lonzo Ball will be delayed just a bit more. Ball will undergo a procedure on his left knee in Los Angeles and will be reevaluated in 4-6 weeks.

A torn meniscus brought a premature end to Ball’s first season in Chicago. Initially expected to return, multiple setbacks kept the former second overall pick returning for the remainder of the season. It was a productive first season with the Bulls for Ball, averaging 13 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists on equal 42.3% shooting from both the field and three-point range. Without Ball Chicago floundered and saw their season come a much earlier end than initially expected.

Lonzo Ball and injuries have not exactly been strangers in his young NBA career. Ball is yet to play an entire season, with a season-high of 63 games played in 2019-20. Ball has shown the ability to be an impact player, however his durability is concerning. At just 24 years old and with the injuries piling up it is more than fair to wonder if Ball will ever be able to be a consistent presence in a starting lineup. There have been many players before him who have found themselves in similar situations and unable to live up to their once lofty expectations. Time will tell when it comes to Ball, but history is not on his side.

Cavaliers fall short in Chicago, lose to Bulls 117-104

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The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to battle in Chicago, but a late Bulls run resulted in a double-digit loss on the road.

With just over four minutes left to play the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to draw within one point of the Chicago Bulls. Cleveland was chasing Chicago for the majority of the game as the Cavs were only able to hold a lead early in the contest and this was their chance to possibly steal a win on the road. Chicago was able to put together a 14-2 run over the final 4+ minutes to send the Cavs home with a double-digit loss.

Lauri Markkanen made his return to Chicago in the loss and was able put together his highest scoring effort of the season with 28 points. Markkanen was 5-9 from three-point range and 9-14 from the field overall in addition to 5-6 from the free throw line.

Darius Garland registered his fifth double-double in his last six games, finishing with 20 points and 12 assists. It is the second straight game with 12 assists for Garland as he has 42 assists over his last three games overall. Garland was 9-18 shooting on the night (1-6 3PT, 1-2 FT) as he was Cleveland’s second-highest scorer.

Evan Mobley was the third and final Cavaliers starter to score in double-digits. Mobley had 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal while going 8-12 from the field. The young rookie continues to impress as the Cavs have a certified building block for the future.

Kevin Love was able to be productive off the bench, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds, and four assist in 21 minutes. Nights like this from Love usually allow the Cavs to be competitive on more nights than most.

Cleveland returns home Saturday to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder 8:00 P.M.

Cavaliers bully Bulls in 115-92 win

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The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to take care of business at home against a shorthanded Chicago Bulls team.

After competitive games but losses to the Bucks and Jazz, the Cleveland Cavaliers were looking to reverse their fortunes and they had that opportunity while taking on the Chicago Bulls. Chicago was without Demar Derozen and Alex Caruso which gave the Cavs the advantage they needed to break their losing streak.

Cleveland shot an impressive 46.4% from three point range, making 13 of their 28 attempts, nearly double the makes of Chicago. The three-point barrage at one point built the Cavaliers lead up to 26 late in the 4th quarter.

Darius Garland bounced back from an off game their previous game, scoring a game-high 24 points on 9-16 from the field and 3-7 from deep. One thing has become clear this season, when Garland is able to score at this rate the Cavs are usually able to at least be competitive in games.

It was another impressive performance from Evan Mobley. The Cavaliers rookie made an impact in multiple facets of the game, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds, five blocks, two steals, and one assist. Mobley is certainly on the fast track towards Rooke of the Year as long as he continues to play at this level.

After his double-double streak ended, Jarrett Allen rebounded against the Bulls and perhaps is starting a new streak. Allen had 13 points and 12 rebounds in addition to four rebounds, one block, and one assist.

With the win Cleveland is 14-12 on the year and currently sit in the seventh place in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers will have a chance to win their second straight game as they travel to take on the Timberwolves in Minnesota Friday night.

Cavaliers lose 102-101 to Chicago Bulls

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The Cleveland Cavaliers faced off with the Chicago Bulls for the second time this preseason and lost by a score of 102-101.

It was less than a week ago that the Cleveland Cavaliers were destroyed by the Chicago Bulls in a 36-point loss. While this game was much closer, it was still a loss for the Cavs as the Bulls scored four points in the final 1:20 to hand Cleveland the loss.

This time out the Cavaliers were without both Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, thrusting Ricky Rubio and Lauri Markkanen into the starting lineup. Markkanen scored a team-high 18 points on 8-14 from the field while Rubio added nine points of his own in addition to a game-high nine assists.

The Cavs also got an impressive effort from rookie Evan Mobley, scoring 15 points on 7-13 shooting along with ten rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals. Cleveland’s other big man, Jarrett Allen, scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 26 minutes.

Cedi Osman was the Cavs leading bench scorer with 11 points on 5 of 8 from the field. Dylan Windler’s nine points was the second-highest reserve scoring total in the contest.

This was the first game that the Cavaliers did not turn the ball over 20 or more times, so there is progress in that area. Cleveland also led in the assists department 32-18, again progress. The regular season is around the corner and even though there are players to be excited about, it is going to be a long season for the Cavaliers.

The Cavs will take on the Indiana Pacers Friday for their final preseason game. 

Cavaliers throttled 131-95 in preseason loss to Bulls

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The Cleveland Cavaliers did not get off on the right foot as they were completely dominated by the Chicago Bulls in a 131-95 preseason loss.

Good thing it is only preseason, because it would be an ugly start to the season if this game counted. The Cleveland Cavaliers were simply no match for the Chicago Bulls Tuesday, ending up on the wrong side of a 36-point loss.

As what has become the usual outcome the last few seasons, Cleveland struggled from the field, making just 35.7% (30-84) of their field goal attempts including 30.3% (10-33) from deep. In comparison, Chicago made 46.8% (51-109) and 43.2%(16-37) from three-point range. Even though it is just the first preseason game it does not appear much as changed for the Cavs when shooting the ball.

In addition to the disparity in shooting numbers, turnovers and assists also favored the Bulls. The Cavaliers turned the ball over 22 times to Chicago’s nine and finished with just 21 assists compared to the Bulls 36. Chicago actually had more assists than Cleveland had made field goals, far from an optimal outcome.

Last season the Cavaliers were not a strong offensive unit. Cleveland did not have anyone who could reliably knock down shots consistently and with the way their roster is currently constructed not much has changed.

Game notes

Collin Sexton led the Cavaliers in scoring with 14 as he usually does, but it was on an expected shooting performance. Sexton was 3-9 from the field (2-3 3PT) and made six of eight from the free throw line. This was a typical night from Sexton.

Lauri Markkanen was the second-highest scorer as he has 13 points off the bench, making four of 10 field goals and all four shots from the line.

Ricky Rubio added 10 points of his own as he managed to make just one of his six three-point attempts while assisting on six other baskets.

Evan Mobley was the only other Cavaliers starter to break double-digits, scoring 10 points on a 3-7 shooting night and a perfect 4-4 free throw performance.

The Cavaliers will take on the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night at 7:30 P.M. for their second preseason game.

Cavs reportedly interested in Denzel Valentine

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly shown interest in the former Chicago Bull.

While the Cleveland Cavaliers are still looking for ways to improve their roster, they have shown some interest in some lower tier options in free agency. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the Cavs have some level of interest in free agent Denzel Valentine.

“According to sources, there’s some interest in oft-injured Denzel Valentine who is said to be healthy.”

The when healthy part at the end is the key aspect of their interest. Denzel Valentine has not been the example of consistently during his four-year career. Valentine’s career-high in games played was 77 in 2017-18, a season which also saw a career-high in points per game with 10.2.

Considering the overall fit with the Cavs, Valentine would be an option off the bench behind their younger players they are currently invested in. Would the addition of Valentine be the difference between the lottery and the playoffs? No, but best case scenario they catch lightning in a bottle and move him at the deadline. However, catching lightning in a bottle seems like a very unlikely scenario considering how his career has played out so far.

Cavaliers boat race Bulls in 121-105 win

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The Cleveland Cavaliers absolutely dominated the visiting Chicago Bulls in a 121-105 win Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

There was one thing that the Cleveland Cavaliers needed to begin Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, a fast start. That is exactly what happened as they went on a 25-4 run to end the 1st quarter. The Cavs used this momentum to propel themselves to a comfortable 16-point victory when it was all said and done.

The eye-popping statistic from this game is the Cavaliers effectiveness from three-point range. Cleveland is the worst and second to worst team in three different three-point categories, that did not matter Wednesday as the Cavs made 16-36 from deep for a 44.4% conversion rate, all better than their season averages.

Return of SexLand

The Cavaliers got the perfect combination of effective shooting performances from Collin Sexton and Darius Garland. These have not been all that common this season, but when they do happen they are something to watch. Sexton scored 30 points on 11-17 from the floor (3-5 3PT) and Garland added 25 points of his own on a 8-13 shooting performance. Garland made all four three-point attempts as he became the fastest Cavaliers player to reach 200 threes made in team history.

The reason why the Cavaliers won on Wednesday was clearly due to the performances of Sexton and Garland. Without either player it is possible that the end result is entirely different.

The Cavaliers have an off day Thursday before traveling to Charlotte to take on the Hornets.

Cavaliers look to snap three-game losing streak

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The Cleveland Cavaliers are taking on the visiting Chicago Bulls as they are looking to end their current three-game losing streak.

Things have not gone well for the Cleveland Cavaliers as of late and they are looking to change their fortunes against the Chicago Bulls Wednesday. The Cavs will be doing so without head coach JB Bickerstaff as he will be away from the team due to personal reasons. Assistant coach Greg Buckner will be stepping in for Bickerstaff.

For the Cavaliers they are looking to end their current losing streak which sits at three games currently. Cleveland and Chicago did face off just a few days ago with the Bulls defeating the Cavs 106-96. The issue in that game was that Collin Sexton and Darius both missed 12 shots each and that did not help Cleveland’s cause. A more efficient night could end up with a better result for the Cavs.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

Cavaliers come up short in 106-96 loss to Bulls

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The second half proved to be an issue for the Cleveland Cavaliers yet again as they lost to the visiting Chicago Bulls.

Sometimes it is like clockwork. The Cleveland Cavaliers can be competitive in a game, maybe even winning. Then the second half starts and the game gets away from them. That is just what happened on Saturday as they came up short in the second half to the Chicago Bulls in a 10-point loss.

The Cavaliers had a slight two-point lead at the half which Chicago took and ran with. At one point Chicago was up by 15 points in the 3rd quarter. The Cavs were able to stage a comeback of shorts, trailing 96-93 with 3:23 left to play. Unfortunately for Cleveland, Chicago went on a 10-3 to close the game.

10+ misses for SexLand

Yes, Collin Sexton and Darius Garland each scored 22 points in the loss, but they missed 12 shots each. The fact of the matter is that this has been an issue all season long. Often times one or both players will be one of the Cavaliers higher scorers, but it comes with a high volume of missed shots.

There is a positive for Garland in this performance as he finished with a game-high 12 assists while limiting his turnovers to only 2. The same does not apply for Sexton as his 2 assists compared to his 5 turnovers are not great to see. Sexton frequently turns the ball over as he has 4+ turnovers in 16 of 47 games this season. There are times when Sexton does limit the turnovers with 1 or less in 16 games as well, but they are usually sandwiched in-between his high-turnover games.

Other Cavaliers starters

The good news is that all five the Cavaliers starters scored in double-digits. The bad news is that there was not a single bench player who did. Isaac Okoro ended up with 13 points on a 5-7 (2-4 3PT) shooting night. Kevin Love and Jarrett Allen both finished with 11 rebounds, with Love scoring 14 and Allen 10.

The Cavaliers will travel to Detroit to face the Pistons Monday at 7:00 P.M.

Cavaliers take on Bulls in Chicago

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The 20-35 Cleveland Cavaliers begin a two-game road trip as they travel to Chicago to take on the 22-33 Bulls at the United Center.

It was just a little while ago that the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to take down the Chicago Bulls on the road. Cleveland will be looking for a repeat performance as they head to United Center with a healthier roster.

The Cavaliers and Bulls both enter with a 3-7 record over their last 10 games. Both teams average more points given up than points scored this season, but Chicago’s offense averages nearly 8 points per game more than Cleveland. This could play a factor in the final score when it is all said and done.

Something that came into play last time for the Cavaliers was effectiveness from three-point range. Golden State dominated in the three-point department and that helped hand the Cavs a decisive loss. While Chicago is not as proficient as Golden State in this area, they are still better than Cleveland and that may have an impact on the game. All it takes is a few three-pointers to swing the game in either direction and the Bulls seem more likely to accomplish this than the Cavs.

Tip-off is scheduled at 8:00 P.M. in Chicago