Cavaliers Show Their Rugged Side in Ragged Win Against Chicago
CHICAGO — Suddenly, for the first time all night, Tristan Thompson showed a touch of shyness. Standing shirtless in the locker room, the 23-year-old from Toronto absolutely warranted the media crowd that gathered in front of his stall. But the Cleveland Cavaliers forward didn't think it was his turn, and certainly not while bare-chested, before his shower.
"You gotta talk now," LeBron James bellowed, from three seats down. "Just put a towel over your shoulders."
This wasn't James hazing the kid.
This was James honoring him.
"You deserve it," the four-time MVP told the fourth-year pro.
So Thompson observed the order, indulging reporters by explaining that his 12 offensive rebounds against the bruising Chicago Bulls were about "just being active," summarizing his motto as "see ball, get ball," and joking that his single, solitary defensive rebound was the result of Kevin Love taking the rest of them—which was just about true.
Many were meaningful, especially when they extended possessions that weren't especially pretty, but none more significant than when he shed Taj Gibson and soared to corral the ricochet off James' missed step-back jumper, and slammed the clincher through, late in overtime of a 114-108 victory.
"Tristan was unbelievable," James said later, while reciting Thompson's statistics. "That's a man's man game right there."
It stood out even more in light of the circumstances since, as Thompson was cleaning the glass, the clock was ticking down to the deadline for a contract extension—at midnight Eastern, that opportunity would expire. Or, if you prefer, it would turn into a pumpkin, which just happened to be the Halloween costume that James' newborn daughter Zhuri was wearing back home.
Thompson's Cavaliers future was put into question on the same day that Anderson Varejao's was secured, as the 11-year veteran officially signed a two-year extension for $20 million, plus a team option for a third season at $10 million more.
"I always said that I never wanted to leave Cleveland, that Cleveland was home to me," Varejao said. "From the beginning, when I got to Cleveland, they really took care of me. The fans, the city and everything. So I'm happy...I had a lot of people in my ears telling me that I should ask for a trade when we were going through the rebuilding process. It was tough, I'm not going to lie to you. It was tough to lose so many games, I went through some injuries, and it wasn't fun. But I always told them that, 'No, I'm not going to ask for a trade...I want to stay here, and I want to win here.'"
If Varejao wants to win big, bigger than he ever did during James' first time around when they reached one NBA Finals together only to get swept by San Antonio, he needs to play big.
As does Thompson.
As does Love.
This team lacks the experience of the one he joined in Miami in 2010—Kyrie Irving was captured on ESPN's "Wired" replay asking Mike Miller if this was what a playoff game felt like. But if it has one distinct edge, it should be in physicality.
The Heat hardly had elite pivots during James' first season there, rotating the likes of late-career Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire and Erick Dampier with the limited Joel Anthony. Then, in James' second season, Erik Spoelstra abandoned conventional centers almost entirely, opting for pace-and-space. And while James benefited from the approach, with the mobile Chris Bosh in the middle and plenty of shooters on the perimeter, he also often spoke of the Heat's undersized reality.
After losing to Chicago eight times during four regular seasons, often due to a rebounding deficiency, he seemed to bemoan it.
That is different here, different now.
That was evident on an evening when the Cavaliers won while shooting just 39.4 percent, although it should be noted that they benefited from Derrick Rose's fourth-quarter and overtime absence due to a minor ankle injury.
The Bulls were sixth in the NBA in rebounding percentage and seventh in rebounding differential, while the Heat were 27th and 26th, respectively.
The Cavaliers should be in Chicago's carom-grabbing company.
Friday, they were better, out-rebounding the Bulls by 10, grabbing a remarkable 20 of a possible 51 rebounds in Chicago's end, and leaving Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau—of all people—to complain that "rebounding was a problem from the beginning."
"We're one of the best rebounding teams in the league as well," said James, who had eight rebounds Friday. "(Thursday) night against the Knicks, we got out-rebounded. That's something we cannot do ever. When you got Tristan, Andy and Kevin, you should be up there, either tied for rebounding or winning. Versus this team, we understand they are going to be a hit-first team, and we can't shy away from the contact."
The Cavaliers should at least find themselves competitive with Chicago in the rebounding arena, as long as they don't get complacent. That was among the pointed messages from their coach, David Blatt, during a fiery morning meeting.
"He got on us from the time we started our meeting until the time we left," James said. "For a team like us, we need that. I love constructive criticism, I never take it personal. It's just an opportunity for us to get better, and it definitely lit a fire under us."
It helped that he stopped handling the ball as if it was scorching. James had three turnovers after totaling eight in the opener.
"I'm sure we were 70 or 80 percent in 50-50 balls tonight," Blatt said. "We had nine turnovers in a (53) minute game against a great defensive team. Last night we had 19 turnovers, most of them irresponsible, and I would say borderline inexcusable. And we moved the basketball, and we moved ourselves. Those are the three main things, and we did those tonight."
They did, while James had 14 drives in the first half alone, as he took 17 shots, all part of a plan to be more aggressive.
"I take pride in how I perform, and last night I gave myself an F," James said.
This was closer to a B.
He took 30 shots in total, more than in all but one game last season, the game he took 33 and scored 61. He scored only 36 on Friday. So he wasn't especially efficient.
But it was sufficient, as the Cavaliers regrouped after squandering a nine-point lead at the start of the fourth and rallied after falling behind by five—mostly due to a hot Kirk Hinrich—with 1:15 left in regulation. Then, they survived the overtime, as the Bulls committed five turnovers and nine fouls.
"Today was a huge step," James said. "It was something that I didn't know if we had, just right now."
Thompson didn't know something else.
"I didn't know I had 12 offensive rebounds," he said.
Or how to act after he got them.
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