Cavs’ lineup change doesn’t work, fall to Chicago Bulls 127-111

CHICAGO — The lineup change didn’t work.

The floundering Cavs lost to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night, 127-111, inside the United Center. It’s Cleveland’s second straight defeat to a below .500 opponent. The seventh setback in the last 10 games.

“Stick with it,” Donovan Mitchell said of the team’s mentality at the moment. “If we’re going to sit here, and I’m not saying we are, I’m saying if we sit here and feel sorry and be all woe is me in December … stick with it. I’ve been in this position before. It’s a lot of season left. A lot of time left. It sucks. It’s not great. But stick with it. Keep your spirit. Keep your togetherness. Go from there.”

The Cavs have spent the last month searching for internal solutions. They’ve tried anything and everything to snap out of this prolonged funk.

An uncomfortable film session. Player-led meetings. Stylistic tweaks. Unfiltered postgame commentary. Voluntary shootarounds. Intense practices.

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None of it has yielded the desired result.

On Wednesday night, coach Kenny Atkinson changed his starting lineup, moving De’Andre Hunter into a sixth man role. He was replaced in the starting five by second-year swingman Jaylon Tyson — a lineup that will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Early on, it seemed like a stroke of brilliance. The Cavs built a 12-point lead about six minutes into the game.

The offense was in sync, and the defense was active.

But the Bulls, with just one win in their last nine games entering the night, switched to zone, causing Cleveland to stall out. The flummoxed Cavs tallied just nine points in about seven-plus minutes against that defensive look, allowing the Bulls pull closer.

Despite leading for the first 11 minutes Wednesday night, the Cavs were down by four at halftime.

They never reclaimed the advantage.

The Bulls scored seven straight points out of the locker room, building a double-digit advantage and forcing an exasperated Atkinson to call timeout.

The Cavs couldn’t regroup. They trailed the entire second half, by a game-high 19 late in the fourth quarter, leading to Atkinson emptying the bench and waving the white flag.

“The worst part is that it’s there in spurts,” Mitchell said. “I’d rather it not be there at all to be honest. I think that’s what’s tough.

“I believe in everybody in this locker room. We believe in each other. It’s going to turn. But you can’t sit here and tuck your tail between your legs and be sad just because we’re getting booed and we’re not playing well. There’s an expectation. An expectation to be a championship team and we’re not even close to playing like it. This is what it is. I would always rather this today than a few months from now. So, stick with it, stick with each other, which we are, and go from there.”

Mitchell, under the weather the last few days, finished with 32 points on 11 of 23 shooting, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range. Tyson, the new full-time starting small forward, chipped in with 21 points. Darius Garland added 15 points — although only four in the second half. Hunter contributed 12 points off the bench.

The Cavs committed 20 turnovers, their second most in a game this season, that Chicago turned into 21 points.

“Credit to them,” Atkinson said. “I thought they mixed up defenses really well. Zone slowed our pace. Twenty turnovers, that’s very uncharacteristic for us. Trying to force some passes on the roll, forcing it to cutters. Decision-making wasn’t great. It’s tough.”

The Bulls were led by All-Star hopeful Josh Giddey, who recorded another triple-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in 34 minutes. Coby White poured in 25 points while Nikola Vucevic had 20.

The undermanned Cavs continue to miss Evan Mobley (calf strain), Sam Merrill (right hand sprain), Larry Nance Jr. (calf strain) and Max Strus (foot surgery recovery). But that’s no excuse.

Not Wednesday. Not with some of these other losses against lesser opponents.

“Everybody thinks of everything that could be going wrong, but at the end of the day, I’m going to stick with the team,” Jarrett Allen said. “That’s the easiest thing to do — think bad about what’s going on. You can give up, but at the end of the day, if you keep trying, keep fighting, things are going to go right eventually.

“Sometimes we play like the number one seed like we were last year, and then sometimes we just play like a team who’s trying to figure it out. We are trying to figure it out right now.”

Prior to tipoff, Atkinson spoke about the team staying connected in the face of early-season adversity.

He still sees spirit. He trusts the team leaders. His belief is unshakeable.

But with every loss that keeps getting tested.

“Our job is to keep trying and keep tweaking, move lineups around, try different guys, give different guys chances,” Atkinson explained. “We’ve got some guys in a funk, some guys that are not grooving right now. Try to find a way to help them. Try to create lineups that can help them the most. I don’t think staying the status quo is the way to go when you’re struggling. You got to keep looking at different things. I always say during these times, you discover a lot about yourself, discover a lot about your team.”

Up next

The Cavs will return home for another matchup with the Bulls on Friday night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Read the original article on cleveland.com.

Cavs’ lineup change doesn’t work, fall to Chicago Bulls 127-111

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