Timberwolves at Cavaliers
The Tyronn Lue era in Cleveland did not get off to such a hot start. The Cavaliers will try to earn their new head coach his first victory and bounce back from a tough loss to the Chicago Bulls when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
Lue, who took over the head coaching job on Friday when David Blatt was shockingly let go by the organization, wants Cleveland to operate at a faster pace and suggested the team was out of shape following Saturday’s 96-83 setback. “I think we play the second-slowest in the league as far as pace-wise, and the vision I have for this team, I think we gotta play faster,” Lue told reporters. “…We haven’t been accustomed to playing that way.” The Timberwolves have dropped eight straight on the road but begin a stretch of five of six away from home with some momentum after outlasting the Memphis Grizzlies in a 106-101 victory on Saturday. Minnesota is getting strong play off the bench from Shabazz Muhammad while former Cavaliers draft pick Andrew Wiggins is thriving.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (14-31): Wiggins, who went to Minnesota as part of the trade for Kevin Love before ever playing a game for Cleveland, is shooting 52.6 percent from the floor over the last six games and contributed 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting to Saturday’s triumph. Muhammad has scored in double figures in five straight games and went for a season-high 25 against the Grizzlies. The 23-year-old small forward’s minutes have steadily increased over the course of the season, and he has logged 33 or more in three of the last five contests.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (30-12): LeBron James, who is thought to be a big supporter of Lue, echoed his new coach’s comments after Saturday’s loss. “We gotta get in better shape,” James told reporters. “Coach wants us to play faster, so we need to start doing stuff on off-days, doing stuff at practice, during shootarounds. Get up and down the floor, get our heart rate going because he wants to play faster. He wants to play with more pace than we’ve done in the past.” Cleveland moved faster than Chicago on Saturday (attempting 94 field goals to the Bulls’ 87) but shot 37.2 percent from the field and went 9-of-22 at the free-throw line.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. James narrowly missed a triple-double with 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists on Saturday.
2. Timberwolves PG Ricky Rubio is 3-of-16 from the field in the last two games.
3. Cleveland G J.R. Smith led the way with 27 points in a 125-99 win at Minnesota on Jan. 8.