Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson cited turnovers as the main issue in Wednesday’s 127-111 loss to the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. “Everyone’s going to look at our defense. I’m going to look at 20 turnovers… we’re a low-turnover team. I think it’s one of the lowest in the league. So that hurt us,” Atkinson said.
The coach attributed much of the offensive struggles to Chicago’s decision-making and defensive schemes. “I thought their zone hurt us a little bit, took us out of rhythm. We had some careless turnovers there… on the road you have 20 turnovers, it would be difficult to win. That explains the margin,” he explained.
Despite the loss, Atkinson saw positives in the individual performances, beating Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Craig Porter Jr. noted. “Donovan was confused but really brought it… DG had some good flashes, especially in the first half… JA was really good… CP gave us some really good minutes, got on the boards, pressed, played hard,” he said.
Atkinson also discussed changes to the starting lineup, with Jaylon Tyson being inserted while De’Andre Hunter was moved to the bench. “I think twofold… help our bench… have trouble scoring off the bench, give us a little scoring boost… when you’re four and six in the last 10, sometimes you have to change it up,” he said.
On whether the new arrangement would be permanent, Atkinson was cautious. “I’m not going to say definitively… it really depends on when we get healthy again. For now, it seems like how we move forward,” he noted.
The coach emphasized the lessons learned from setbacks. “During these times you discover a lot about yourself, you discover a lot about your team, and then you can find things that can help you move forward,” Atkinson said, emphasizing the importance of adjusting lineups and giving players opportunities to regain the rhythm.
Cleveland struggled to maintain consistency against Chicago’s balanced attack. Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points and Jaylon Tyson added 21, but the team fell behind in second-chance points and rebounds and committed 20 turnovers compared to the Bulls’ 15.
Chicago’s offense thrived behind Josh Giddey’s triple-double (23 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) and Coby White’s 25 points, while Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and nine rebounds, including a key 3-pointer during an 11-3 fourth-quarter run that helped secure the win.
The Cavaliers drop to 15-13 with the loss and face a short turnaround when they host the Bulls again on Friday, providing an opportunity to address turnovers and offensive cohesion before the rematch.
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