INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — If Cavaliers coach Byron Scott needs proof that his preaching about defensive improvement this season is setting in, he need look no further than starting power forward Antawn Jamison.

Yes, that Antawn Jamison.

The Cavs leading scorer last season, who averaged 18 points per game and 15.6 shots per game — roughly one every two minutes.

The guy LeBron James once called the most unorthodox scorer in the league because of his variety of weird flip shots and floaters.

On the first day of training camp this season, Jamison talked about his leadership role on this young team and the fact that it had to start on the defensive end of the floor.

“I think defensively I have to not be a liability, and when we watch film coach can always rely on me being in the right spots and not being the teaching point of our film sessions,” Jamison said. “I think defensively letting guys know I’m not what they call a defensive specialist but just through hard work and paying attention I can improve on that.”

It probably isn’t the first time in his career the 13-year veteran has said that, but defense definitely hasn’t been his strong suit. His renewed commitment thrills Scott.

“That’s a veteran who understands how important it is on that end of the floor,” Scott said. “He has such a leadership role on this team that it’s going to be big for him, and for us, if he’s committed on that end of the floor. I think it shows all our young guys that if Antawn can do it, a guy who has been in the league [13] years, there’s definitely no way in the world that they’re going to be able to get away with not doing it.”

The Cavs should be greatly helped by the return of Jamison, who missed the last 26 games of the season with a broken left pinkie finger. That capped off what had been a trying season, what with the Cavs losing 63 games and setting an NBA record with a 26-game losing streak in the middle of it.

In fact, nothing has worked out quite the way Jamison or the Cavs had hoped since they obtained him for Zydrunas Ilgauskas at the trade deadline in 2010, hoping he’d be the final piece in a team featuring James and Shaquille O’Neal.

Now Jamison, scheduled to make $15 million in this, the last year of his contract, has been rumored to be trade bait or an amnesty candidate. But he has learned not to worry about things he can’t control.

“I just think about the cards that are dealt right now,” he said. “To be honest, if they didn’t get rid of me last year, I don’t see a reason to do it now. There’s a part of me that really wants to be here. There’s a part of me that wants to show Tristan [Thompson] and Samardo [Samuels] and even Kyrie [Irving] how to do this, how to be a professional, knowing that they’re going to be the foundation of this organization and to sort of have my footprints into just the way they prepare for games, the way they come in and prepare themselves.”

Time away with his injury last season gave Jamison a totally new perspective on the game he loves. Well, that and getting up for his turn at car pooling his kids to school at 6:15 a.m.

“Last year I was to the point where I was like, ‘Yeah, man, I don’t know how many years of this I can take,’” he admitted. “Even though last year was a tough year, the times I played I enjoyed competing. A lot of these young guys look up to me, so I want to set the best example for them as well. Even though things are not going well you still have to come in and compete at a high level and try to make it as fun as possible.

“I’m to the point now where I’m just enjoying the game. Before I got traded here my biggest concern was that I never had an opportunity to compete for a championship. Even though it was a short stint, I had that opportunity. I’m just here to do what I love to do, which is play the game of basketball. I’m enjoying it more than ever.”

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mschmitt@plaind.com, 216-999-4668

On Twitter: @pdcavsinsider

The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking toward the future. Kyrie Irving is a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender. With two of the top draft picks (Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson) now a part of the Cavs’ organization, the Cavs will need to play aggressive basketball to win games. Here is a breakdown of each position:

Point Guard

Baron Davis is gone and the Irving-era has begun. Coach Byron Scott has yet to name who will start at point guard between Ramon Sessions and Kyrie Irving but there is no doubt that the Cavs’ first round pick (Irving) will take over at some point. Regardless of who starts, though, the Cavs might have one of the best point guard tandems in the league. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to play together much.

Irving is the real deal. He has polish, speed, and a nice jumper. He makes it look easy getting to the rim and finding teammates in spots where they can score. He will need to improve, of course. Irving is not going to be an elite point guard this season as he adjusts to the NBA but he is plenty good already.

Sessions looks like he has worked on his game during the lockout. He seems to have picked up strength and might be taking defense seriously. He isn’t a great shooter but he can get to the rim and hopefully score when he gets there.

Right now, the offense looks better with Irving at the point. Sessions might not even be with the Cavs after the trade deadline.

Shooting Guard

Anthony Parker is a 36-year-old shooting guard who showed he still has some game left. He can put up points in the right situation and his veteran leadership will help a young team like this. Daniel Gibson is pretty much a one-dimensional player. He can launch open threes with the best of them but that is about it. Gibson can also run the point if necessary.

Power Forward

Speaking of older players who have seen their best years pass by, Antawn Jamison is back. He’ll be relied on to score and should reach the 18 points a game he put up last season. He has looked like a player on the downside so far in the preseason. Jamison will get it going in time for the first game and will likely be the Cavs’ leading scorer. Tristan Thompson is an aggressive rebounder and defender who can attack the rim. He doesn’t have a reliable jumper yet but that may come in time. Overall, his offensive game is raw. Jamison might be able to help him refine some low-post moves.

Shooting Forward

Omri Casspi could be ready to take the next step. Some are saying that he might be a breakout player. Last season, he scored 8.6 points a game for the Kings. This season, he’ll have plenty of chances to improve upon that. Casspi needs to work on his defense. Watching him play, however, it’s obvious that he is a tough competitor who makes his presence known when he is on the floor.

Center

Anderson Varejao suffered a torn tendon in his ankle last year and had to sit out 51 games. He was badly missed when he went down. He feels really good and is excited to be back out on the court. He brings energy, hustle and rebounding to the team. Varejao is clearly the best rebounder on this year’s Cavalier’s team. His emotional leadership and team-first attitude will undoubtedly help the team get through another tough season. If Varejao goes down again, they will be in trouble.

Overall

This team will go as far as Irving can take them. With help from the veterans, they should be able to improve upon their 19 win 2010-11 season. The Bulls are the class of the division but second place is wide open.

Living in Ohio, I am a fan of Ohio’s NBA team – the Cleveland Cavaliers. You can follow me on Twitter here. Still want more? Go to my blog.

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Cleveland, Ohio – Welcome to today’s edition of Starting Blocks TV, hosted by Branson Wright.

Which team do you think will win the 2012 NBA title. That’s the question in today’s Starting Blocks poll.

Today’s guest on SBTV is Plain Dealer Cavaliers beat writer Tom Reed, who is predicting the Oklahoma City Thunder to prevail over the Miami Heat.

Tom is checking in from this afternoon’s Cavs practice in Berea, and he says the Cavaliers are trying to build a foundation with rookies Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson. He says Irving will need to keep working on his defense, and Thompson on his offensive moves. Reed also says the Cavs realize they are going to have to run to get easy baskets until the half-court offense comes around.

He also talks about whether he thinks veteran forward Antawn Jamison will be with the Cavs at season’s end.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — How big a difference does Anderson Varejao make on the defensive end of the floor for the Cavaliers?

Here’s a snapshot from the Cavs’ 90-89 loss to the Detroit Pistons in an exhibition game on Tuesday night at The Q:

With the forward/center in the lineup, the Cavs held the Pistons to 33.3 percent shooting in the third quarter while building a 12-point lead. With him on the bench, the Cavs gave up a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter as the Pistons got back into the game, eventually winning on Austin Daye’s two free throws with 3.1 seconds left.

Basically, the same thing happened on Friday night in Detroit, although the Cavs were able to survive that drought. That wasn’t the case Tuesday, as the Cavs finish the preseason 1-1.

“When he’s on the floor, we’re just a much better basketball team — on both ends,” Cavs coach Byron Scott said of Varejao, who finished with nine points and 10 rebounds. “His experience, his smarts out there make a lot of things go well. Obviously when he’s off the floor we’re not as good a basketball team as we would like to be. That just shows how important he is to our team.”

Scott found that out the hard way last season when he lost Varejao for the last 51 games of the season after Varejao tore a tendon in his right foot that required surgery. While Varejao has looked great in training camp, the coach admitted he likely will have to keep an eye on his minutes with a 66-game schedule in 122 days.

“I’ve got a number in mind I feel I can play him and be pretty comfortable,” Scott said. “The one thing I haven’t done is discuss it with him. We’ll talk. If you put him on the court, he’s going to play as hard as he can. It doesn’t matter how many minutes you play him. But with the type of schedule we have, obviously, I want to keep him as fresh as possible.”

That will be essential if the Cavs are to make the sort of advances defensively Scott would like. Last season, the Cavs allowed opponents to shoot 47.5 percent. In February, Scott called on his team to try and hold opponents to 46 percent the rest of the season.

That didn’t happen, but that won’t be good enough this year. In the two games against the Pistons, the Cavs have held Detroit to 37.4 percent shooting, including 37.1 percent on Tuesday.

“There’s a bunch of numbers we try to chart and tell our guys, ‘This is where we want to be at the end of the season,’” Scott said while declining to reveal those numbers. “Some of those numbers, probably in their minds, might be unrealistic, but you know what? You’ve got to shoot for the stars. We’re just trying to make sure they understand how important we are trying to emphasize certain things on the defensive end.”

The Cavs are getting it — thanks to Scott and Varejao.

“We’re working a lot on defense,” said guard/forward Omri Casspi, who led the Cavs with 18 points and 5 rebounds. “We made huge progress from Day One in training camp. We’re still learning. We have some tweaks we need to get better, but we’re working hard every day in practice. I see us getting better and better.

“Andy is a great defender, and a great team defender. He’s always there to help. He’s always there to make the right play. We’re learning from Andy and we’re learning from our coaches.”

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mschmitt@plaind.com, 216-999-4668

On Twitter: @pdcavsinsider

For more Cinesport video on cleveland.com, go here.

As the Cleveland Cavaliers complete their first preseason game of the 2011-12 season, they are already looking better and more in sync than they did last season. On Friday (12/16/11), the Cavs defeated the Detroit Pistons 91 to 87 and while there were some bumps during the game, the team recovered quickly and kept pushing forward.

Rookie Kyrie Irving and veteran Antawn Jamison were who to watch tonight. Surprisingly, Samardo Samuels also pulled in 15 points for the Cavs tonight. He looked pretty clumsy when he first entered the game and then seemed to find his rhythm. He took several fouls and made most of the shots. Jamison had 13 points and Irving led the Cavs with 21 points in his first NBA game.

A lot of people were skeptical about Irving since he only played in 11 college basketball games, but if this game is any indication of how he will fare in the NBA, I think it is safe to say that the Cavs have a very solid and skilled player on their hands that will only get better with time and increased experience.

Tristan Thompson also got some time on the court tonight and really showed off his defensive skills. In addition to his epic block that had the jaws of many Pistons on the floor, he also scored eight points. In a way, he almost reminded me of J.J. Hickson in how Hickson would literally slam the ball to the ground when blocking and seem to show up exactly when he was needed.

Will the Cavs be playoff contenders this season? Probably not, but of course it is too soon to tell and if you know anything about Cleveland sports, you know they are unpredictable. However, it seems certain that even without playoffs, the Cavs are definitely headed for more wins and a more exciting and explosive season than they had last year. Not only do they have some new and talented players, but they have a new sense of direction and motivation to take the court and set it on fire.

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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