Overall. the Cleveland Cavaliers looked good Wednesday night, Dec.28. Not only did they pull off a 105-89 win on the road, six different players scored in the double digits. But, just like the opening game was not clear indication of how the season will go, this game can not accurately predict the future. Despite the solid performance, they did have a bit of a headstart on this team having already faced them twice in the short and rushed preseason.

Regardless, as a fan it was great to see the team, working as a team. The bench truly stole the show from the starters, and no one minded. The depth of the team was great to see.

The bench contributed 56 points, 23 rebounds and 15 assists. While rookie, Tristan Thompson, put up 10 points and four rebounds, it was even better to see Kyrie Irving more comfortable on the court. Irving racked up 14 points, had 7 assists and four rebounds in under 20 minutes of playtime. Some fans were worried about Irving, but he proved his worth Wednesday night against the Pistons. This young recruit needs to acclimate himself to the NBA and his position and it seems he is well on his way. He certainly played more confident.

“It was definitely a different feeling,” Irving said. “Last time I wasn’t really enjoying the game. I love the game so much and the first time I wanted to be so serious, wasn’t joking around, no smile on my face. Tonight, it was about having fun.”

Although the Cavaliers had 21 turnovers, Coach Byron Scott is not complaining. They defended well, kept a handle on the easy baskets and outrebounded the Detroit Pistons, 40-26. Nothing to complain about there.

“On the defensive end, we were so much better, so much more aggressive from start to finish and that’s exactly what we talked about,” Scott said. “When you play defense like we did tonight, it seems like the offense is easy.”

More by Sylvie Branch:

Cavaliers Lose Opener 104-96 Against Toronto Raptors, Does Not Decide Season: Fan Report

Top Five Cleveland Cavaliers Moments of 2011

Cleveland State Part of the Top 25: Fan Reaction

Sylvie Branch is a die-hard Cleveland sports fan who is perpetually holding out for the day her teams do not break her heart!

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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.”

Detroit Pistons coach Lawrence Frank was happy his team pulled out a close win. Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott was happy his team showed some progress.

Austin Daye’s two free throws with 3.1 seconds left gave Detroit a 90-89 win over the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

Daye, who finished with 19 points, was fouled driving to the basket after the Pistons stole an inbounds pass with Cleveland holding an 89-88 lead.

“We were down eight in the fourth quarter and put together three straight stops, while getting the ball back into the paint,” Frank said. “That got us back into it. To shoot 37 percent and win, we had to do some other things right.”

The Cavaliers defeated the Pistons 91-87 on Friday. Although Cleveland ended the preseason with a loss, Scott thinks his team has improved since training camp began.

“I feel pretty comfortable with where we are on both ends of the floor, especially on the defensive end,” he said. “Offensively, we’re just a little behind. We just have to keep working.”

Luke Harangody missed a jumper for Cleveland at the buzzer.
Rodney Stuckey, who re-signed with the Pistons last week, scored 15 points in his first action of the preseason.

Omri Casspi had 18 points to lead the Cavaliers. Kyrie Irving, the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft, scored 11 points and had three assists with no turnovers in 25 minutes off the bench.

Both teams open the regular season next Monday. The Pistons play at Indiana, while the Cavaliers host Toronto.

Scott still isn’t saying if Irving will be in the starting lineup when the season begins. Ramon Sessions started at point guard Tuesday.
“He got better from game one to game two,” Scott said of Irving. “I think he’ll keep improving.”

Brandon Knight, Detroit’s No. 1 pick, scored seven points, all in the fourth quarter. He also made a steal on Casspi’s inbounds pass that led to Daye’s game-winning foul shots.

The game included a few embarrassing moments. Pistons center Ben Wallace drew mock cheers when his attempt on a breakaway layup hit the front rim, which resulted in a fast break for the Cavaliers. Casspi later missed the rim on a free throw.

NOTES: Pistons G Ben Gordon and F Charlie Villanueva didn’t travel with the team because of personal reasons. … Cavaliers F Samardo Samuels didn’t play because Scott wanted to take an extended look at Casspi, who missed the first preseason game because of a sore knee, at small forward.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich – It was about what you might expect from a preseason opener, especially one played on the heels of a lockout.

The Cavaliers and Pistons combined for 42 turnovers and shot the ball like they just picked it up for the first time in five months.

But coach Byron Scott was pleased about one thing on a night that will be best remembered for Kyrie Irving’s pro debut. His team defended with conviction in a 91-87 win in The Palace at Auburn Hills.

Defense has been the focus throughout the first week of training camp and, for at least one night anyway, Scott was rewarded.

“I’m happy with the effort,” the coach said. “I thought our effort was terrific especially on the defensive end. Offensively, we have a lot of work to do, but we kind of knew that going in that the defense was going to be ahead.”

The Cavs ranked 23rd in defense last season, allowing 104.5 points.  The return of center Anderson Varejao from ankle surgery should help in that area. He was energetic and engaged in 22 minutes, grabbing four rebounds, blocking a shot and swiping the ball from a Pistons guard at midcourt.

Another player who should eventually help is rookie Tristan Thompson. The 20-year-old was visibly nervous in the first half, committing four fouls and looking a bit lost.

But he had a good fourth quarter, blocking a pair of shots and showing his athleticism around the basket. He finished with eight points and four rebounds.

NOTES, QUOTES, OBSERVATIONS

— Irving was another one admittedly nervous as he entered the game with under three minutes left in the first quarter. His first shot, a 3-pointer from the left wing, clanged off the rim and backboard. His second effort was another miss from the right baseline.  But once he found his rhythm Irving got to the basket and the foul line. He was 13-of-15 at the stripe, where he scored the team’s final five points. The fact he was knocked down hard and kept attacking the rim was impressive. Scott wasn’t thrilled with his point guard’s defensive play – he got beat off the dribble by Brandon Knight and Will Bynum – but as the coach conceded “for his first game in nine months I’m not going to be too critical on him.”

– Irving did commit five of his team’s 21 turnovers. He also had three assists, a total that should have been higher if teammates could have finished around the basket.  

— It should be fun to watch rookies Irving and Knight become Central Division rivals. Knight, the eighth overall pick, finished with four points and four rebounds.

— Scott on the decision to start Ramon Session over Irving: “Don’t we all have to earn our jobs? Chris Paul had summer league, he came in a month early before training camp. It’s no fault of Kyrie’s that there was a lockout. He has to learn the little things and the big things. I don’t think it’s fair just to give him the ball. He has to earn my trust and he has to earn that position.”   

— Unsung hero of the night was Samardo Samuels. He worked his ample derriere off. The undersized forward had 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and went to the line 16 times.

— Christian Eyenga had a tough night, committing six turnovers and contributing just two points.

— Scott gave the team Saturday off in advance of Sunday’s Wine and Gold Scrimmage.  

By Scott Schroeder

– Newsdesk contributor

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Dec 16, 2011 – The Cleveland Cavaliers will play their first game of the season on Friday night against the Detroit Pistons in a game scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m. on NBA TV. Due to the NBA lockout, the only other preseason game the Cavs will play comes next week at home against the Pistons.

The preseason isn’t typically an indicator of too many things, but the one thing to keep an eye on is the point guard position. Cleveland selected Kyrie Irving with the first overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, but reports indicate that veteran guard Ramon Sessions will start the game at the point

Fear The Sword’s Conrad Kaczmarek wrote that he’s going to trust the team’s best judgement when it comes to the Sessions vs. Irving battle.

Truthfully, I have no problem with whoever Scott chooses to start. If he believes that Irving will be better suited off the bench as he learns the PG position in the NBA, then that’s fine with me. Sessions played quite well last season and it may be wise for the Cavaliers to showcase him along with various other veterans (Jamison, Varejao) if they intend to bump up their trade value and get young assets in return. In the long run, however, I believe Irving will be the starter and I expect that to be sooner rather than later.

Maybe Friday night’s game will provide some clarity, but that’s rather doubtful at this early juncture in the season.

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