The stage was set for the Cleveland Cavaliers to make a big statement in Tyronn Lue’s first game as head coach after David Blatt got his pink slip. Big game on national television against a struggling Chicago Bulls team that lost the night before in Boston. Fired-up crowd. The post-coach-firing bump.
Nope.
The Cavaliers came out strong, but they missed their final 16 shots of the first quarter and played in a malaise the rest of the evening in an ugly 96-83 loss. They shot a woeful 4-of-24 from the three-point line and a hilariously terrible 9-of-22 from the free throw line. They STARTED 1-of-11 from the charity stripe and just couldn’t hit a jumper all night:
The Cavs shot just 10/45 (22%) from outside the paint tonight, including 4/24 (17%) from 3-point range.
— Jeff Mangurten (@JeffGurt) January 24, 2016
Cavs 83 points are the fewest they've scored at home all season.
— Jeff Mangurten (@JeffGurt) January 24, 2016
The Cavaliers were so bad they were even booed by their home crowd:
Cleveland fans start to boo the Cavs in Tyronn Lue's first game as head coach. https://t.co/Alad8qxdtK
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 24, 2016
LeBron James nearly notched a triple-double with 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, but 16 of those points came in the fourth quarter when the Bulls held a comfortable lead throughout. James had just 10 points on 5-of-19 shooting through three quarters, and he didn’t make a single shot outside the paint.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love didn’t stand out, with Irving missing a bunch of shots around the basket and Love missing several wide open threes. The Cavaliers’ bench was a complete dumpster fire with just eight points on 3-of-14 shooting.
After the game, Lue said the team isn’t in the proper condition to play the more uptempo game he’d like to see:
Ty Lue said guys aren't in shape, got tired early and couldn't play up-tempo style he wanted to play. Said could take couple weeks to fix.
— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydABJ) January 24, 2016
The Cavaliers should be just fine (as in they should win the East), but this certainly wasn’t the best start to the Tyronn Lue era.