Written by Brian McPeek

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The national media has already taken to posting headlines asking, "What's wrong with the Cavs?"

Apparently those folks figured another 39-2 home record was a likely occurrence. It's either that or they're interested in generating buzz and controversy. Or many of them just may not be that bright.

Anyway, 39-2 is still a possibility at The ‘Q this season. But it's going to take quite a run to get there as the Cavs lost at home Thursday night to the Chicago Bulls 86-85. LeBron James had a chance to win it at the buzzer but his drive to the hoop was thwarted and the game ended with the ball bouncing off his arm and out of bounds, preserving the Bulls hard-fought win.

 

That the game ended with a Cavalier turnover shouldn't have come as a surprise as the Cavs committed a dozen of them on the night. That the shot didn't drop shouldn't have been a surprise either as the Cavs couldn't hit a whole hell of a lot of them all night. Not when they needed to anyway.

James scored 25 points, had 7 rebounds and dished off 6 assists to lead the Cavs. Shaquille O'Neal helped out some with 14 points and 10 boards. Anderson Varejao, again one of the few Cavs who seems to be ready to play from the opening tip, scored 12 points and corralled 13 rebounds. AV nearly had that double-double by the end of the first quarter.

Chicago used balanced scoring and a more significant contribution from their bench to get the win.  Luol Deng led the Bulls with 15 points while Derrick Rose and John Salmons each scored 14 for the 3-2 Bulls.

The Bulls bench went 11/27 from the field and accounted for 25 of Chicago's 86 points. That doesn't seem like a big deal until you look at the numbers for the Cavalier bench. Cleveland's second unit went a combined 4/22 from the field and scored 12 points. Take away J.J Hickson's 3 of 4 from the floor and the numbers are downright putrid. Zydrunas Ilgauskas played 21 minutes Thursday night. He's still looking for his first FG. Z was 0/9 from the floor and 2/4 from the line in what may have been the big man's worst performance in a decade.

Takeaways

 

• That was a big win for the Bulls. Vinnie Del Negro has got to be thrilled with getting it and getting it the way he got it. There was no individual Bull who blew up, went off and carried the day. There was no fluke shot at the end. It was just a gritty performance from the nine guys he put on the floor and they simply out worked and out played the Cavaliers.
  
  The Bulls hit the big shots, got the big stops and shut down the one of the game's best closers on one of his patented rumbles to the rim in the last 4 seconds. That's the kind of ballgame and effort that gets a team like Chicago believing in itself.
  
• Oh Mo. What are you doing out there in the last 5 minutes of that ballgame? I was listening to the radio call of that game for the last few minutes of play and I wondered seriously whether LBJ had left the game due to some soreness in that ankle he rolled a bit before half. I didn't hear Joe Tait call James's name for literally 3 minutes. Instead I heard Tait, exasperated at times, telling me that Mo Williams was launching an ill-advised three-point shot trailing by one and then throwing up a horrible looking runner with under a minute to play and still down one point.
  
  Now, I know the Cavs need to have someone out there ready, able and willing to alleviate some of the pressure on LBJ. But in late game situations James needs to at least touch the ball during the possession. Mo Williams does not need to bring the ball down, drive the lane and throw up a poor shot in traffic. James will provide Mo and Delonte with far better looks and opportunities to score than they can get for themselves.
  
  Nothing wrong with entering the ball into Shaq right there either for either a quick score or to create some gaps in the defense when the Bulls are forced to collapse down on the big man.
  
  Like I've said for a week, I'll chalk it up to guys not knowing each other and not being aware or comfortable with what the new arrivals can do. But good golly Mo, that's freaking Shaq setting up shop down low. It's not Anderson Varejao or Darnell Jackson. Get the ball to the closer or to the biggest man on the blocks. If you get it back you'll have a better look than some off balance runner you initiated early in the offense.

They Got Next

 

The Cavs go the Garden tonight for an 8pm ESPN tip off against the Knicks.

Yeah, you should probably steel yourself for the onslaught of, "Where will LBJ play next fall" crap that is about to be jammed down your throat.

The good news is you can probably look for a huge game out of James tonight. The Garden inspires the man, he'll be looking to set a big number Kobe can't match, and he's well rested after watching Mo run around jacking up shots last night.