Fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers were treated to a nice surprise on Wednesday, December 28. After last year’s abysmal 19-win and 63-loss performance, we got used to the fact that wins were hard to come by. We hoped for an improved squad this season but knew there would be some growing pains. A solid victory always helps.

As the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons by the score of 105-89, Cleveland improves to 1-1 on the season while Detroit falls to 0-2.

Ramon Sessions was the top performer of the game for the Cavs scoring 16 points with seven rebounds and six assists coming off the bench. While he led the team in scoring he was only 4-11 from the field, which is still cause for some concern.

For the Pistons, rookie Brandon Knight led the team with 23 points on the night paired with a rebound and six assists. Unlike Sessions he was 10-13 from the field. Ben Gordon scored 25 points on the night but Knight gave a better overall performance in the Pistons’ losing effort.

Rookie Kyrie Irving had a much better night scoring 14 points with four rebounds and seven assists on the night. He was 5-9 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. After his disappointing opening night performance against the Toronto Raptors, he had nowhere to go but up. I was happy to see him show much improvement in this game.

Tristan Thompson played well yet again adding 10 points, four rebounds, and an assist coming off the bench. While he has only played in two games in his young career, I have no complaints the Cavs picked Thompson as high as they did in the draft.

Already this season has a different feel to it. Fans realize the Cavs are young and rebuilding. Last year was a season filled with anger and hostility. This year is a season filled with promise. There is the promise that comes with knowing Dan Gilbert is dedicated to building a team the right way this time around and the promise that while the team will surely take its bumps and bruises this season, they will get better.

Cavs’ fans have something to look forward to again.

Next up for the Cavaliers are the Indiana Pacers on Friday, December 30.

More Cleveland Cavaliers Commentary from this Contributor:

Cleveland Cavaliers drop opener to Raptors 104-96, Irving struggles: A fan’s reaction

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Omri Casspi shines in his preseason debut: A fan’s reaction

Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving defeat Detroit Pistons 91-87: A fan’s reaction

Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers is better for business: A fan’s perspective

Cleveland Cavaliers use amnesty clause, waive Baron Davis: A fan’s reaction

Sources:

All data provided by NBA.com

Paul Rados is an avid Cleveland Cavaliers fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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With less than six minutes remaining and his club trailing by seven points, Cavaliers coach Byron Scott replaced his most effective player with a rookie point guard searching for his rhythm and jump shot.

Without context the decision sounds indefensible, and it’s certainly one Miami’s Erik Spoelstra or Boston’s Doc Rivers won’t have to make anytime soon. But Scott’s objective is more complex, his balancing act more delicate than many of his peers this season.

The Cavaliers coach is simultaneously trying to win games and develop youngsters. Sometimes, those desires intersect to form peculiar moments like the one Monday night at The Q as Ramon Session, the game’s leading scorer, was subbed out for 19-year-old Kyrie Irving, who had hit 1-of-8 shots to that point.

It wasn’t an exhibition or a meaningless late-season game, but the opener in front of a sellout crowd. Scott said he’s sure some fans second-guessed the move in the Cavaliers’ 104-96 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

But it’s one the coach made after mulling it for more than two minutes.

“It’s a developmental thing right now,” Scott said. “I’ve got to get this young man (Irving) used to closing out games and I have to find out what he has, what he’s made of when the games are on the line in situations like that.”

In his 12th season as an NBA coach, Scott estimates it’s just the third or fourth time he’s replaced a hot hand – Session had 18 points and six assists – in favor of a player on the learning curve. It’s one thing for coaches to say they want to cultivate rookies. It’s another to do it with a game on the line a season removed from a league-record 26-game losing streak.

Of course, Irving isn’t some kid fresh from the NBA Development League. He’s the top pick in the June draft, and one of the Cavaliers’ future cornerstones. Irving finished the night with six points on 2-of-12 shooting, while adding seven assists.

“I can sit here and put two minutes on the clock (at practice) and say we’re down four,” Scott said. “It still doesn’t simulate what you are going to go through when the game is on the line and you’ve got 17,000 people in the stands as well. As many times as he can be put in that situation the better off he will be.”

How will it play with season-ticket holders or the veterans who hear the horn and see Irving or Tristan Thompson, 20, trotting onto the floor? Some wondered how Baron Davis would react to such a scenario. The injured point guard was waived two weeks ago and signed by the New York Knicks.

Sessions, who’s spent much of his four seasons as a reserve, said he understands what the Cavaliers are doing. He offered no objection Tuesday to Scott’s late-game decision.

“That’s what the Young Fella is here for,” Sessions said. “He started the game and he is going to finish it. The Young Fella is really talented. You guys have seen that. That’s his job.”

Almost immediately after entering the game with 5:28 left Irving launched a long jumper his coach termed a “rookie mistake.” Nevertheless, Scott liked that the point guard wanted the ball and wasn’t afraid of the moment.

Irving converted 1-of-4 shots down the stretch along with three assists, a turnover and a steal. After the game, he appreciated the coach’s show of faith and his teammates’ support. Session reminded him of his 7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and that 65 games remain.

Scott said once Irving gets accustomed to playing with the starters he and Sessions could see time in the same backcourt.

Irving wasn’t made available to the media Tuesday following a flurry of interviews the past few days. After patiently answering every question Monday night, he tweeted: “Learning process . . .”

His coach figures to give him many opportunities to learn on the court – sometimes at the expense of others.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Kyrie Irving era got off to an inauspicious start Monday at The Q.

But to pin the Cavaliers’ 104-96 loss to the Toronto Raptors on a 19-year-old rookie point guard is roundly unfair, not to mention misleading. Especially on a night the club’s collective effort was bad enough to give it a running start on the No. 1 pick next season.

The Cavaliers defended poorly, shot worse and needed a strong effort from their second unit just to keep them in the game against one of the NBA’s bottom feeders.

Irving, the top selection in the June draft, managed just six points on 2-of-12 shooting and never found his rhythm before a sellout crowd of 20,562 fans. He spent a good portion of the second half on the bench as backup Ramon Sessions helped the Cavaliers stay close with a team-high 18 points and six assists.

“It’s disappointing,” said Irving, who played 26 minutes. “You want to play really well when the whole world is watching. It’s a learning process.”

The point is an unforgiving position for first-year players. Not only did Irving struggle at the offensive end, but he had difficulty keeping the Raptors’ Jose Calderon (15 points, 11 assists) in front of him.

How have other recent high-profile point guards fared in their NBA debuts? According to Stats LLC, Washington’s John Wall had 14 points, Chicago’s Derrick Rose scored 11 points and New Orleans’ Chris Paul collected 13 points.

“He looked OK for what was like his fifth game in a year,” said coach Byron Scott, who named Irving his starter on Monday morning. “He had seven assists and one turnover. The only thing he didn’t do was shoot the ball well.”

While the team won’t admit it, this rebuilding season is about developing youngsters like Irving and Tristan Thompson, who had an impressive debut with 12 points and five rebounds.

Scott subbed Irving for Sessions with 5:28 remaining and the Cavs trailing by eight points. The coach considered sticking with the more-effective player, but gave the kid a chance to play with the game on the line.

“I thought it would be good for the rookie to be out there at that time,” Scott said. “I’ve got to learn about him just like I got to learn about other guys on the team. I know what Sess can do. He did a great job.”

That’s not a sentence that fit many Cavaliers, particularly the starters. Small forward Omri Casspi was 0-of-4 with two points and one rebound in 20-plus minutes. Power forward Antawn Jamison scored 15 points, while shooting 6-of-20 from the field.

The Cavs were 41.2 percent from the floor.

Other than Sessions, Anderson Varejao (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Alonzo Gee (15 points) were the home team’s best players. They can’t be the offensive leaders if the franchise plans to make a run at respectability.

The biggest problem, however, was a familiar one. The Cavaliers were shredded on defense, allowing the Raptors to shoot 53.2 percent, including 9-of-21 from behind the 3-point arc. Scott spent an entire season bemoaning the Cavs’ lack or trust and communication on defense. They were the culprits again on opening night.

“That is the biggest thing to me,” said Scott, who made defending a priority in training camp. “We have to get better on the defensive end. That’s the bottom line.”

The Raptors placed seven players in double figures, led by 15 from Calderon and DeMar DeRozan. Toronto used a 15-2 run early in the second quarter to build a nine-point lead. The Cavs cut the deficit to two points early in the fourth quarter, but that’s as close as they would come.

The team’s best defense of the night might have come after the game in the locker room as they rallied around their rookie point guard.

“I told Young Fella, you’ve just got to be patient,” Sessions said. “You’ve got 65 more [games]. At the end of the game I showed him his assist-to-turnover ratio. The shot is gonna come. But that’s the stat you want when you run the team. He ran the team. Seven assists and one turnover? You’d take that any day of the week.”

Published: Monday, December 26, 2011, 9:03 AM     Updated: Monday, December 26, 2011, 9:14 AM