The Chicago Bulls made a comeback run against the Cleveland Cavaliers late within the third quarter Friday in preseason action.
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The matchup got underway counter to game plan much to the dismay of second-year head coach Fred Hoiberg and his playbook.
It appears the problem arose early when a shorthanded Cavaliers roster pulled ahead by seven. Missing from action were LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, just to name a few.
At first glance, it might appear the Bulls had the advantage heading into tipoff. But, a number of Bulls were missing in action, too, including Jimmy Butler, Denzel Valentine and Tony Snell.
On a positive note, the Bulls had the leadership of veteran players such as Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo to rally the squad down the stretch. Team defense came together after a sluggish start, too. To this end, Robin Lopez and Taj Gibson were crucial in their efforts to rotate and switch.
Still, things didn’t pan out according to plan initially.
The Cavaliers capitalized on possessions early on connecting from the field with more than 60 percent shooting by the three-minute mark of the first quarter. They also notched the team’s biggest lead in the game at this point. Namely, John Holland scored a total of 23 points and Jordan McRae racked up 19 to lead the defending NBA champions throughout the early points of the contest.
How did the outcome change course in favor of the Bulls by the game’s end? It’s time to take a look at the biggest takeaways from Friday’s preseason matchup.