Cavs: 3 things I liked from preseason Game 4 against the Bulls

Cavs: 3 things I liked – Triple Towers look

The three best players for the Cavs on Sunday evening were all big men, and they all started the game together. Mobley had a do-it-all game starting at the 4, but the 7-foot Lauri Markkanen started at the 3 and uncorked 18 points, four points, three assists, two steals and three blocks of his own. Jarrett Allen chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals of his own on 76 percent shooting.

This “Triple Towers” look of Allen and two 7-footers was made possible by the absence of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton as they rested on the night. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff moved Isaac Okoro up to the 2 and inserted Markkanen in at small forward. It worked, with Markkanen a game-high plus-13 on the night.

The combination of length from the three players gummed up passing lanes all night, and one time Markkanen, while defending Zach LaVine on the perimeter, extended his go-go-gadget extender arm and plucked LaVine’s pass directly from the air. Markkanen and Mobley frequently found themselves out on the perimeter defending in space, and both help up very well.

This lineup combination needed to be tried out, both because the Cavs have invested so much in these three players and because Markkanen was very successful when played as a small forward last season. Few likely expected it to go so well right from the jump, but all preseason caveats aside, it looked really good.

The Cavs are also just two steps away from Jarrett Allen’s 82-0 lineup. Make it happen in the final preseason game coach!