Cavs Notes: Preseason Opener, Jarrett Allen, Emoni Bates, More

Well, it’s that time again. Time for Cavaliers basketball — in the preseason, anyway.

What are coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the Cavs hoping to see in Tuesday’s visit to Atlanta? 

Quite honestly, not a whole lot. What they mostly want to see is someone other than themselves after a week of training camp. The Hawks are providing that.

Beyond that, the Cavs are mostly just looking to get in some run as they add newcomers Max Strus, Georges Niang and Ty Jerome to the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen (when healthy).

Fans are sure to read a lot into the rotation, but Bickerstaff is actually still figuring it out, and this will be a first — albeit extremely early — study against live competition. The starters are basically set, but spots six through 11 are seemingly still up for grabs when it comes to playing time, etc.

Preseason Game No. 1 may be a lot different than what things look like in a couple weeks, but at least it’s something. Namely, it’s a very start.

• Allen is still sidelined with a bone bruise in his ankle and is expected to miss the entire preseason. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported from Atlanta that Allen is with the team and was riding an exercise bike and doing off-court stuff during shootaround.
• Fedor also detailed the Cavs’ plans for rookie Emoni Bates, who stayed after practice Monday to get in some extra work, as I tweeted here.
• We interviewed Bates on the Cavs on the Break podcast, and he told us being drafted by Cleveland was “the best night of my life.” Listen here.
• Cavs center Tristan Thompson said he is determined to help Mobley go from good to great. We have that full post here.
• Finally, in case you missed it, I again joined the Mark Price For 3 podcast, this time to discuss my return to the Cavs beat and previewing the season. You can check it out here.
• By the way, tipoff for Cavs-Hawks is 7:30 p.m., yes, on Bally Sports.