In my debut as Cavs' beat writer, sights, sounds and observations from the Cavs' 117-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena:
1. Glass half empty fans, take a few deep breaths and remind yourselves it's only the regular season. Otherwise, Saturday's circumstances might get you down.
2. LeBron James stayed home with strep throat that could also compromise his chances of playing in Monday's home game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Kyle Korver took a frightening fall near the stanchion with 2:59 remaining that left him afraid to get up and prompted the medical staff's check of his right knee. And that's on top of starters J.R. Smith (thumb surgery) and Kevin Love (arthroscopic knee surgery) sidelined until mid-to-late March.
3. Just when you thought more help was on the way with ex-Dallas Mavericks point guard Deron Williams poised to sign after clearing waivers Saturday, Korver's brilliant shooting month may have come to a crashing halt, even if Korver wasn't sure what he hit.
4. "I’m feeling fortunate," Korver said afterward. " I feel like that could’ve been a lot worse. It was really scary. I landed kind of straight legged and got hit, and you’ve seen a lot of bad injuries when that happens. But, I think it’s going to be OK. Structurally it’s fine, just bruised."
5. Asked if his knee hit the floor or the backstop under the Bulls' basket, Korver said, "I don't know what it was. It was like something went into my knee. I didn’t know what it was going to feel like when I stood up. I was really worried. I don’t like to stay down on the ground long, but it just, until I put weight on it I didn’t really know."
6. Korver said he had no imaging scans, but went through structural tests to see if all the ligaments were intact and they were fine. He said he did no jumping on the knee. Asked if he could play Monday, he said, "We'll see how I feel tomorrow, but I don’t like to miss games, so...."
7. Korver has proved to be the perfect replacement for Smith. And he's been devastating foes this month, shooting .622 from the field (56 of 90) and .625 (40 of 64) from 3-point range. Since arriving in trade from the Atlanta Hawks, he's hit .525 (62 of 118) field goals and .524 (87 of 166) 3s.
8. On a positive note, Korver's four 3-pointers against the Bulls moved him into fifth place on the league's career list with 2,014, passing Vince Carter and Jamal Crawford (tied with 2,013).
9. Asked if he reflects on that now, Korver said, "A little bit. You want to enjoy the moment, and I want to keep climbing. I don’t have the words for it right now to truly say what that means to me. It does mean a lot and I take pride in all the work you put into shooting shots over a long period of time. So it’s an honor and I’m grateful, but I want to keep going."
10. Back to the negative numbers. The Cavs fell to 0-3 against the Bulls with one meeting left in the regular season March 30 in Chicago. But while some speculated it was just a bad matchup, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue shot that down.
11. "Last home game, Kevin and Kyrie (Irving) didn’t play. And then tonight, Kevin, Bron and J.R. didn’t play. So, I don’t see anything there," Lue said.
12. More on the glass half empty note was that the Cavs fell to 4-19 without James dating back to the start of the 2014-15 season. They are 0-4 when he sits this season and have lost seven consecutive games without the four-time league MVP.
13. The Cavs continue to say the right things when they lose without James, but haven't proven they can change it.
14. Asked how James' absence affects him, Tristan Thompson said, "Next man up, got to be ready to play. It’s a long season, guys are going to be out, guys are going to get hurt, guys are going to be sick. That’s part of the game of basketball. Whether it’s LeBron or whoever it may be, we’ve just got to ready to play and step up."
15. Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 34 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but went 2 for 10 from 3-point range as the Cavs made 14 of 37 (38 percent) from long distance.
16. "My mindset doesn’t change too much," Irving said. "I understand there’s a few extra shots I have to take, but I also have to create a lot more plays for my teammates. I tried to do that tonight. Understanding I’m going to need other guys in position to play at an even higher level, especially when we have a gap like ‘Bron not playing. You try to put guys in great position to succeed."
17. Both teams did that, with the Bulls totaling 34 assists on 46 field goals to the Cavs' 24 assists on 37 field goals.
18. At least the final second provided a moment of levity, although the Bulls' Dwyane Wade could have felt differently. Second-year forward/center Cristiano Felicio knocked a rebound out of Wade's hands at the buzzer, costing Wade his first triple double since Feb. 4, 2011 at Charlotte. Wade finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.
19. Wade had fun with Felicio afterward. "Hate? No. Strongly dislike, though," Wade joked, per the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson. Wade was lighthearted when he told ABC afterward, "My teammate didn't want me to be great. It's all good."
20. Next up for the Cavs: Milwaukee at home on Monday night. Check back then.