Not as cavalier this time
Stronger effort likely from NBA champs
St. Francis — The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers were in Milwaukee in late November, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue pulled his starters in the fourth quarter.
And it’s not for the reason you might think.
Lue took LeBron James, Kryie Irving and Kevin Love out of the lineup because the Milwaukee Bucks had a commanding lead and were on their way to a 118-101 victory.
Do you think the Cavaliers might remember that?
The Bucks know they have to be ready as they prepare for another back-to-back set, this time against the defending NBA champions on Tuesday and Wednesday. The series opens in Milwaukee before moving to Cleveland on Wednesday night.
“I think they’re going to take this game with a lot of emphasis,” Bucks forward Jabari Parker said of the Cavaliers.
“I feel like I do have to change my approach because you’ve got to expect the best out of them. We have to be a little more conscious of how they’re going to play out there.”
Bucks center Greg Monroe
put it more bluntly. “We’ve got to be ready for a fight,” he said.
The Cavaliers (19-6) created headlines last week when James, Irving and Love sat out the second night of a homeand-road set against Memphis. They remained behind in Cleveland for rest after playing the previous night in a Cavaliers victory over the Grizzlies.
Love will not be available Tuesday because of stiffness and swelling in his left knee and he will be questionable for Wednesday’s game, the Cavaliers announced. But James and Irving will be playing.
One Bucks player knows the Cavaliers’ psyche quite well: 26-year-old point guard Matthew Dellavedova. The Australian played the first three years of his NBA career with the Cavaliers and was part of their championship team last season.
“We know they’re going to come out with a lot of energy and focus and really come after us,” Dellavedova said. “They definitely don’t want to lose two against the same team, so they’re going to be ready to go for sure.”
The Bucks had success in a similar situation last week when they swept the Chicago Bulls on back-to-back nights, leading by as many as 27 points in the first game and by as many as 30 in the second game.
“Against Chicago, we were able to win the first game and we just carried the energy over,” Monroe said. “Hopefully at home again for the first game, we can use the homecourt advantage and try to get another win and be ready for the second night.”
The Bucks (13-12) have lost a few close decisions at home: a three-point game against Golden State (124-121), a sixpoint game against Toronto (105-99), a one-pointer to San Antonio (97-96) and a fourpointer to Atlanta (114-110). They led the Hawks by 20 points at halftime.
But the games also show how competitive they have been over the first two months of the season.
Milwaukee will play Washington twice in four days over the Christmas weekend and also meets the New York Knicks twice in three days in the first week of the new year.
“The schedule is different but we just go with the way the schedule goes,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “It’s actually kind of a playoff thing, too, and for us being a young team we can look at it that way.
“We did a lot of good things (against the Bulls), moving the ball and defensively we got deflections and we rebounded. If we can get better at our habits, it puts us in a position to win.”
Bucks veteran Jason Terry spoke out on his SiriusXM radio show last week about resting players, saying he wouldn’t do it himself and practice would be a better time to do it rather than games. But he said Monday if it works for the Cavaliers and James he can understand it.
“Each case is different,” Terry said. “He (James) has been to the Finals six years in a row. The guy deserves a rest if it works for him.”
Ring is the thing: Dellavedova is scheduled to receive his championship ring when he returns to Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday, the first time he will play in Cleveland since signing a four-year, $38 million deal with the Bucks in the off-season.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ Timofey Mozgov, also a member of last season’s Cavaliers team, received his ring before the Lakers played at Cleveland on Saturday.
“I saw Moz get his the other day and it looked pretty cool, so I’m looking forward to it, obviously,” Dellavedova said.
Beasley update: Kidd said forward Michael Beasley took part in some practice drills Monday and would be re-evaluated to determine if he can play Tuesday.
Beasley, one of the Bucks’ key contributors off the bench, missed both games against the Bulls with a sprained left foot.
Mirza Teletovic was the Bucks’ first forward off the bench and performed well. Teletovic scored 13 points the first night and had 13 points and eight rebounds in the second game in Chicago, a 95-69 Bucks victory.