Read More: George Hill (G – IND), Kyrie Irving (G – CLE), Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers, Dec 30, 2011 6:00 PM CST

The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off of a convincing road win against the Detroit Pistons and have a chance to win another in Indiana on Friday night.

Behind strong shooting from inside the arc, the Cavaliers have a 47-45 lead after the first 24 minutes.

While the Cavs have a two-point advantage at the break, they are shooting just 57-percent from the line and 1-of-9 from long distance. The Pacers outscored the Cavs 8-5 in the final 2:50 of the first half, too.

The No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, Kyrie Irving, leads all scorers with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting with two assists and two rebounds for the Cavaliers. George Hill is the leading scorer for the Pacers with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting off the bench.

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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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Cleveland Cavaliers point guard and top overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft Kyrie Irving started the Cavs’ season opener over veteran Ramon Sessions. Sessions started in the preseason games but this move was not a surprise. The Cavs need Irving to get all the experience he can get. Irving finished with six points (2 – 12 from the floor), three rebounds, seven assists, a steal, and a turnover in 26 minutes.

Irving was shaky for most of the game. He has a long way to go but this was his first real game since tearing a ligament in his right big toe over a year ago while playing for Duke. He played a mere 11 games in his only season there.

Playing point guard in the NBA will be a tough transition from college. It is the hardest position to play. Irving should be fine but it will take time. When he starts getting more confident in his game, we should see a big improvement.

Tristan Thompson

The Cavs’ other lottery pick in the 2011 NBA Draft was Tristan Thompson. He was picked fourth overall. Thompson fared better than Irving did but he was under less pressure. He scored 13 points and hauled in five boards in the game.

Hopefully, Thompson was not taking notes as his mentor, Antawn Jamison, was jacking up 20 shots while making only six. Jamison even launched four three point attempts. He made none of those, of course. Jamison was heaving the ball at the rim like a shooting guard. It seemed like he shot the ball every time he had it. If he could play a little defense, it would be helpful.

Thompson scored one less point than Jamison on 14 less shots. His seven free throw attempts were more than any other Cav. He did that while only playing only 17 minutes. Thompson was impressive.

One game

It is hard to judge this young team by just one game. It was a game that the Cavs could have won but, like Irving said after the game, this was just one game with 65 to go.

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As the Cleveland Cavaliers say goodbye to Manny Harris, they welcome Mychel Thompson onto their roster. Coach Byron Scott said that the decision was not made solely based on Harris’ injury, but that he truly felt that Thompson was a better fit for the team and for the direction that the Cavs’ are currently heading.

“It has been my dream since I was a little kid to play in the NBA,” said Thompson. “Just to make the team is not my goal. I want to stay in the NBA, I want to stick. I don’t want to be here for a little bit.”

Just before preseason began, coach Scott talked about how much he liked Thompson’s passion for the game. He also said that he liked Thompson’s decision-making and size. However, Scott did not really get into too many specifics on his decision in choosing Thompson over Harris.

Thompson was playing with the NBA Developmental League team, the Erie Bayhawks, prior to the Cavs inviting him to come to their training camp. In five games with the Bayhawks, he averaged 19.8 points. Obviously, the NBA is going to be more competitive than the D-League, but seeing his stats in that league does give us a glimpse at what Thompson is capable of. Coach Scott also sees great potential in him.

“He’s doing pretty good. He’s a solid basketball player. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He just does what he knows he can do. He’s pretty good on the defensive end,” said coach Scott during training camp.

Seeing how the Cavs did in their home opener on 12/26/11 against the Toronto Raptors, it is clear that defense is something that the Cavs could use a lot more of. Also, Manny Harris was not the strongest defensively. We will have to see Thompson play more to see exactly how effective he will be long-term on the defensive end, but it is clear that if he is up to the challenge, the Cavs would not be losing much by allowing him to show us what he’s got.

So far, it seems like coach Scott has made the right choice in choosing Thompson over Harris, but of course, only time will tell.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. She was raised a Cavs’ fan and has remained loyal through all of the teams ups and downs. She remains confident that the Cavs will bring home a championship at some point in her life. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

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