Injuries and illnesses have kept the Cleveland Cavaliers shorthanded, but they haven’t prevented the team from clicking.
Cleveland enters Saturday’s visit to the Chicago Bulls coming off a 3-1 homestand. Already without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley due to extended injuries, the Cavaliers split the last two games of the homestand as leading scorer Donovan Mitchell battled an illness.
“We’ve had a great week,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “To go 3-1 on this homestand and battle the things that we’ve had to battle, this has been a successful week for us. Now we’ve just got to continue to put it together and hold down the fort.”
Sam Merrill didn’t play in the second half of Thursday’s 123-104 loss to New Orleans because of a wrist injury suffered during a fall in a win against Utah the night before.
Four Cleveland starters and five players overall finished in double figures, led by Dean Wade (20 points) and Isaac Okoro (16).
“That’s what we need,” Bickerstaff said. “Everybody’s got to do just a little bit more because we are so shorthanded at the moment. But we know what guys are capable of, and we’ve all got to chip in, but again, you can’t knock our guys’ effort, and it’s been consistent.”
A victory would assure Chicago of a winning record in its season-high five-game homestand. The Bulls have started the stretch with comfortable victories against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.
Coby White starred in Thursday’s 114-95 win over the Spurs, contributing 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to help Chicago outscore San Antonio 37-25 in the final period.
White credited the Bulls’ improved ball movement for his and others’ success. One night after producing eight scorers in double figures against the Lakers, six more Bulls finished in double figures versus the Spurs.
“We’re all super unselfish guys,” White said. “I feel the ball is moving at a high rate. I think the main thing we’re doing in these last however many games is playing a lot faster, made baskets, getting the ball out quick and up the floor, making us hard to guard.
“Coach (Billy Donovan) has been since the beginning of the year trying to get us to play fast and now we are starting to.”
DeMar DeRozan (21 points) and Patrick Williams (18) followed White in the scoring column. Reserve center Andre Drummond, meanwhile, helped limit Spurs rookie big man Victor Wembanyama to seven points in 22 minutes.
Drummond logged just 19 minutes himself but was plenty efficient, contributing 12 points, eight rebounds, five steals and two blocks.
Cleveland swept the four-game season series from Chicago in 2022-23. The Cavaliers have won six of 10 against their Central Division rivals.
Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic has posted a double-double in three straight games in the series.
–Field Level Media