The Cleveland Cavaliers started the defense of their Eastern Conference title by beating Boston 102-99 Tuesday night.
There is no question this is a very different team than last year, as Kyrie Irving is gone, and partially because of the deal which sent him to Boston, the roster is much deeper than a year ago.
They are also not a team that is as reliant on the three point shot as a year ago, but they still have the perimeter threats that are needed on a team where LeBron James is the best player on the roster.
Coach Tyronn Lue has Jae Crowder, JR Smith, Kevin Love, Kyle Korver, and Channing Frye on the roster, and all of them are very good from beyond the arc.
However, whereas last year, just James and Irving could create their own shots, the wine and gold have Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade too, and the other night saw Smith showing something beside standing outside waiting for the ball to find him.
Any concerns about a three point win over a team that lost their second best player five minutes into the game should be excused right now as a team still learning how to play together and a coach still searching for the right combinations.
Many of already questioned Lue’s choice as a starting lineup, but does it really matter? The bigger question is who will play at crunch time, and while Tuesday night it was the starters, something tells us that will change as the season continues.
We would expect Smith will be out there at the end of the game because of his defense and ability to stretch the floor.
And depending on the opponent, you could see a different combination upfront, but likely two of these three (Love, Crowder, and Tristan Thompson) will be out there with James and Rose.
In the first half, the defense looked much improved with everyone keeping their men in front of them. And we thought Rose did a solid job denying Irving the ball in the last few minutes in the opener.
If Rose’s knee is sound, he will provide better defense at the point guard position than Cleveland received a year ago.
We are anxious to see how Lue divides the minutes going forward.
We would like to see James getting about 34-35 minutes per night, with Wade getting around 24 to keep them strong and fresh heading into the playoffs.
No doubt Thompson will get more than the 19 minutes he played in the lidlifter.
And we are sure the staff will put some things in to get Kyle Korver some shots when he is on the floor.
While much was made Tuesday night about the Celtics roster turnover, the Cavaliers are facing the same issue, but apparently since they have James, it is overlooked.
Lue started only two players (James and Love) that started a year ago. And outside of LeBron, every member of the first two units has a different role than they had a year ago.
So, there is a lot for this team get used to.
It was a win, and that is better than losing. However, it will be interesting to see where the Cavs are after 10 or 15 games. That will be a more accurate barometer for the progress of a pretty much new group of players.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 