Instead Of A Deal, Maybe Go With Cedi?

The Cleveland Cavaliers sit fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 32-22 record, but the way they have played recently have uncovered some roster weaknesses.

We have been saying for a few months the Cavs aren’t very deep and outside of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, they aren’t very big either.

They start two small guards, both listed a 6’1″ and their starting power forward is 6’5″ Isaac Okoro, who at best is inconsistent on the offensive end of the floor.

It recently occurred to us that the J.B. Bickerstaff has a very good option to start at the three on the roster. And that man is veteran Cedi Osman.

Let’s first say, it’s not a perfect solution because thoughout his NBA career, Osman has been the poster person for inconsistency. He started the season with 62 points in the first four games of the season. In his next 11 contests, he scored 58 points. However, in that stretch, he did have two games where he played three and seven minutes in a game, respectively.

He’s had eight games where he’s played less than 10 minutes in a game and two others where he didn’t play at all, so the commonsense feeling would be the player isn’t one of the coach’s favorites. His minutes have dropped since Bickerstaff took over as head coach. Yes, the team is also better, but you have to wonder.

But think about it. Maybe it’s time to put Osman in the starting lineup and see what happens.

First, Osman would give the Cavs a bigger player at the small forward spot, he’s listed at 6’7″. He’s not as good defensively as Okoro, but he’s a solid defender. Remember, Tyronn Lue used to use Osman when he needed a defensive stop at times early in the Turkish player’s career.

He’s a very good passer too. We think the six-year veteran has been miscast by the organization as a three-point shooter, when at Cedi’s core, he’s a slasher/playmaker. That’s the role he plays on the Turkish National Team.

And even though we said his shot was inconsistent, he’s a career 35% shooter from behind the arc, and outside of a 31% season in 2020-21, his percentage from long distance has been between 34.8 and 38.3 percent. Our point is he is a much bigger threat from the perimeter than Okoro or Lamar Stevens.

Hopefully, when Kevin Love returns, his thumb will be better and he can provide offense off the bench, so between him, Caris LeVert and Ricky Rubio, there should be enough fire power on the second unit. And Okoro and Stephens are still there to provide a defensive boost.

Okoro is playing well as a starter, but opposing teams still ignore him when he’s outside. They couldn’t do that with Osman.

Besides, on the offensive end, what does Okoro do better than Cedi?

And moving Osman into the #3 spot might just eliminate a wing as need heading into the trading deadline, and the front office could focus on getting another big to help them.

Perhaps a move like this would shake the wine and gold out of the malaise they’ve been in since the calendar switched to 2023. It’s doubtful it could hurt.

Cavs Season Hinges On Organizational Attitude

It is very difficult to predict the final record of the Cleveland Cavaliers this season because we don’t know what players who will suit up in the team’s opener on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage Field House will end the season with the team.

What we think we know right now is that J.B. Bickerstaff has put more of an emphasis on defense in the regular season for the Cavs than any coach perhaps since early in the tenure of Tyronn Lue. After watching horrible defensive concepts over the past few seasons, this is definitely needed.

If Kevin Love is ready to go in the opener, he and Andre Drummond will make up two the five starting spots in Bickerstaff’s starting lineup. Will either or both be there after the NBA’s trading deadline? Well, that’s anyone’s guess.

Drummond picked up his player option for the 2020-21 season, meaning he can be a free agent after the season, and if he is playing up to the level he established prior to last season, a contending team could be willing to give up a king’s ransom.

Love has been on the trading block pretty much since he arrived in Cleveland before the 2015-16 season, but his contract could be a deterrent to a deal.

It will be interesting to see what Bickerstaff does with the other three starting spots Wednesday night vs. Charlotte.

If he goes by merit, at least from the exhibition games, we would think Collin Sexton should be at the point with rookie Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman at the wings.

Kevin Porter Jr. hasn’t been on the court yet in the four preseason games, and Darius Garland, who was reported to be impressive in post-season camp, hasn’t showed it in the four games the wine and gold played against the Pacers and Knicks.

Once Porter is up to speed, he could replace either Okoro or Osman as a starter, but he figures to be in Bickerstaff’s rotation, along with veterans Larry Nance Jr. and Javale McGee up front. Nance also figures to get some time at small forward. He’s the Swiss Army knife of the team, being able to score, pass, defend, and block shots.

If Bickerstaff is going to use 10 players, does the coach go with second year man Dylan Windler or veteran Damyean Dotson? We would imagine Windler would get the first shot, because Dotson will keep himself ready, and with Windler missing his entire rookie season, we would anticipate the organization wants to see what he can do.

Can this roster make a run at a playoff spot? A better question should be will the organization give them a chance to make that run?

This roster has some talent. Drummond and Love have made all-star teams. Sexton can get to that level, he certainly has the work ethic to do it. Nance, Porter, and Osman are good players, and Okoro should during the pre-season that he might be better offensively that we thought when he was drafted.

However, it comes down to depth. Can Garland be a contributor? Can Windler be the shooter the front office thought he could be when they drafted him? Will Love and/or Drummond be moved at the trade deadline for younger players?

We think the Cavaliers can finish around the 30 win mark, which would be a nice increase from the past two seasons. But the number goes lower if they are going to make moves at the deadline.

In our opinion, this is the year where winning starts being emphasized over “asset accumulation”. We feel J.B. Bickerstaff has that mindset, we don’t know if Koby Altman does.

Cavs’ Bad Plan Going Into This Season

There is no question that sometime this off-season, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be announcing a new head coach.

This is not to denigrate the job Larry Drew has done, because he has had to deal with a roster beset with injuries, and for the most part, the players who have been healthy are either inexperienced, or limited in terms of ability.

If you ranked the current roster from the best player on down, there wouldn’t seem to be too much of an issue that Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Larry Nance Jr. would land in the top seven or eight.

The first two have missed considerable time this season, and the latter is rounding back into shape after a sprained knee.

The trio also consists of the Cavs’ best shooter (Love), likely their best rebounders (Love and/or Thompson), and probably their best passer (Nance).

That’s a tough situation for any franchise.

It has been reported that the front office has already started preparing a list of people to interview as possible coaches for the wine and gold next season. This isn’t a surprise because we assumed Drew would finish out the season and both parties would move on as soon as Game #82 was completed.

However, it does point out the mistake made by the organization after LeBron James announced he would be signing with the Lakers as a free agent. And that was bringing back Tyronn Lue at all.

This isn’t meant to bash Lue, after all, he guided the Cavs to their only championship, but it seems clear now, his heart wasn’t in guiding the post-James roster. We don’t blame him for feeling that way, but we do wish both sides would have analyzed the situation better before training camp started.

No one could have foreseen the injury to Love a week into the season, but Lue wanted to play at a fast pace, which might be appropriate for an experienced team, one that knows how to make the right pass and when to make it too.

And if you had Love, George Hill, JR Smith, Thompson, and Kyle Korver on the floor, it would have worked. But outside of those five, and perhaps Nance, who has a knack for passing, the rest of the roster were young players that couldn’t handle it.

The veterans knew “how to play”. Remember who struggled in the playoffs last season. Guys like Jordan Clarkson and Rodney Hood, who couldn’t adapt on the fly.

Unfortunately, you have to have a system for the entire roster, because how many times a game were the vets, who knew how to make the right play, on the floor?

With all of the young players on the roster, including your first round draft pick, Collin Sexton, you needed some structure on offense and a better defensive system.

Drew has tried to run more plays offensively and slow down the pace, but it would’ve been better had that been the plan when training camp opened.

And of course, a new coaching staff would have meant a new coach in charge of the defense, and that’s needed right now. Perhaps the Cavaliers would have a better foundation on that side of the ball had that happened.

It doesn’t seem to have been a lot of thought put into the decision, and parting with Lue amicably in July would have been the smart move.

Let’s hope the Cavs’ ownership and front office learn from this mistake.

Cavs Need Size To Improve Defense Too.

In the past week or so, there has been a spotlight put on the defense played by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or really, the lack of it.

Giving up 133 or more points in three of the last four games will cause that, especially when your team gives up 140 points in back to back outings versus New Orleans and Houston.

Among the reasons for the issues is the inexperience of the roster, but that is a lazy excuse because the Cavs’ problems in this area have extended since the championship season of 2015-16.

They ranked 21st in the NBA in the following season (2016-17), and dropped to 29th last season (2017-18), and now rank 30th.

In the first two of those seasons, Cleveland was a veteran team, led by LeBron James. No young players received more than 1000 minutes in either of those two seasons.

What was the reason for the poor results in those years?

We have in the past pointed the finger at assistant coach, Mike Longabardi, and though we still think his schemes are a main cause for the problem, there is another reason for the defensive issues.

The Cavaliers have a problem with height on the roster. Meaning they don’t have much of it.

In a sport where size matters, even in today’s game, the Cavs’ front office has basically ignored it since Tyronn Lue took over the team.

When the wine and gold won the title, they had Timofey Mozgov on the roster, a legitimate seven footer. By the end of the year, he wasn’t a factor, but he could provide an inside presence if needed.

Channing Frye (6’11”) and Tristan Thompson (6’10”) also received post minutes, and of course, Kevin Love (6’10”) was a mainstay at power forward.

The following season, Mozgov was gone, and the front office signed Chris Andersen to replace him. Andersen (6’10”) got hurt early in the year and never was replaced.

In the meantime, Golden State, who everyone praises for their small ball approach, had three players (JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, and Kevin Durant) over 6’11” that received significant minutes.

This season, with Love out because of injury, only two players, Thompson and Ante Zizic (6’11”) rank in the top ten on the team in minutes, and Zizic is 10th.

Most nights, Larry Drew starts Cedi Osman, who is really a wing player, at power forward. Osman showed good defensive instincts a year ago for the Cavs, and Lue used him as a defender at the end of games last year, but he’s not a power forward, and shouldn’t be expected to guard players taller and thicker than him effectively.

Looking at the top teams defensively this season, the top rated teams are Oklahoma City, who have Steven Adams (7’0″) and Nerlens Noel (6’11”) along with other long players like Paul George, Jerami Grant, and Patrick Patterson.

Indiana, with Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis (both 6’11”) anchoring the middle, and they have Kyle O’Quinn and T.J. Leaf getting minutes as well.

Third is Milwaukee (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, Ersan Ilyasova, and Thon Maker), and next is Utah with Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors.

For the Cavs, Zizic is kind of an afterthought for this staff, and Thompson made his reputation as a guy who can defend out on the floor better than in the paint.

Larry Nance Jr. can block shots, but his slight build makes him a bad matchup against true post players.

Our recommendation going further would be for the Cavs to get some big players, people who can guard the rim.

They need a new defensive plan, but without someone on the back line, it still could be problematic.

They can’t ignore size any longer.

The Cavs’ Slow Down Offense.

We have discussed a few times how the Cleveland Cavaliers have changed their offensive style of play since Larry Drew took over as head coach six games into the season.

The Cavs are one of the most workmanlike teams in the NBA with the ball, ranking ahead of only Memphis and Houston (surprisingly) in pace of play, and ranking last in the league in assists (tied with the Knicks).

They are also dead last in scoring, but is up to 14th in the association in defensive scoring, despite being behind only San Antonio in worst field goal percentage against.

The wine and gold haven’t turned into playoff contenders under Drew, but they are 5-13 since he took over the reins, and the most points they’ve allowed in a game under the new head man is the 129 allowed last night against the defending champion Warriors.

They allowed more than 130 twice in the first six games under Tyronn Lue.

Part of the reason for last night’s performance was the Cavs got caught up playing Golden State’s game.

And we have said many times, you try to play that way against them, they are better at it than you.

Four times since Drew became head coach have the Cavs held teams under 100 points, which never happened in the first half dozen contests.

This isn’t to say the Cavs are suddenly a decent defensive squad or that Lue was a terrible head coach. We are saying that the slower pace seems to be suiting this group of players better.

Which brings us to the Cavaliers’ offensive strategy, which allows them to control the pace of play.

While they certainly run when they get an opportunity, mostly off of turnovers, not defensive rebounds, when Cleveland gets in a half court situation, they are very deliberate.

On many possessions, they run the shot clock down to around ten seconds, and run a play, a lot of times some kind of curl move into the paint which results in a decent shot, a mid range shot.

If the defense reacts well, the Cavs don’t get a good look. We guess that’s fine with Drew because his club is controlling the tempo.

Cleveland is also in the top ten in offensive rebounding, led by the irrepressible Tristan Thompson, who is second in the league in the category. The extra possessions helps slow down opponents too.

And that could help explain the low assist totals. Thompson gets a lot of hoops that way, and there is no passing helping him.

The Cavs also don’t take a lot of three pointers, even though they are in the middle of the pack in percentage. In watching the games, they do take the wide open looks, but they aren’t forcing long jumpers.

We know the analytics say to take three pointer instead of long twos, but is it better to miss a three or make a two?

While the Cavs aren’t winning, other teams are having success playing slower. Among the teams playing with a slow pace are Memphis (13-9), Indiana (14-10), and the most successful team is Denver (16-7).

It seems some teams are figuring out you can’t beat the Warriors playing their style.

We will have to see how the offense evolves when Kevin Love returns to the lineup. He should provide better spacing because whoever is playing the power forward, whether it be Larry Nance Jr. or Cedi Osman, aren’t a threat from behind the arc.

However, controlling the pace is the best way for the Cavs to remain competitive most nights.

That’s good coaching.

What Does Drew Do With Returning Cavs?

The Cleveland Cavaliers had their best game of the season Tuesday night when they beat the Charlotte Hornets convincingly at Quicken Loans Arena.

They followed that up the next night getting hammered by the Washington Wizards on the road.

That’s the life of a team trying to discover themselves after they lost the beat player in the league. They have to realize what happened the night before has no bearing on the next game.

You have to have sound habits and solid defense every night to win in the NBA. Consider that game one of the “lessons” former coach Tyronn Lue talked about when training camp started in September.

Larry Drew’s next challenge will be fitting in the returning injured players. For whatever reasons, and we know analytically it doesn’t make sense, the Cavs have played better with Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. at the big man spots.

So, it would seem putting Cedi Osman back at the small forward spot is a no-brainer. JR Smith has played well defensively, but he is still shooting just 35% from the floor, and just 32% from three. Osman hasn’t done much better, but might be better served with the slower pace, taking more mid-range jumpers and getting to the rim.

And, we have always thought Osman was a solid defender too.

Kyle Korver should be back tomorrow night, but Drew has already said David Nwaba will not lose playing time, and why should he?

Nwaba has the highest offensive rating on the team (which we would say is not sustainable), and has the second best (behind Nance) defensive rating. He’s shooting 51.5% from the floor, which isn’t likely to continue, but it is what it is.

It is also hard to imagine Collin Sexton will go back to the bench when George Hill returns.

Since becoming a starter, the rookie has averaged 18.8 points per game. We would like to see more than 2.5 assists per night, but he’s shooting 48% from the field, and has made 7 of 10 from three.

And for people who said Sexton couldn’t shoot, he’s making 92.7% of his free throws. People who can’t shoot don’t do that.

Whether or not Hill will be happy coming off the bench could be an issue, but at least for now, Sexton should get the majority of the playing time.

He still needs to get better defensively, but he does seem to make an effort on that end of the floor.

Sam Dekker is still a ways from being back, but we felt he was miscast as a power forward before he was hurt, but maybe he fits better as Osman’s backup after deals are made to move veterans like Smith and Korver.

And of course, when Kevin Love returns, that will cause Drew to make another adjustment, probably moving Nance to the bench.

The point is finding the right combination of players who can play together with the new pace of play established by the new coach.

It also appears that Tristan Thompson is taking a leadership role in the locker room, something very important for a younger group of players. They need one of their own to hold players accountable.

We aren’t saying the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to make the playoffs this season, but we also don’t think this is a 2-12 team either, the Wizards’ game notwithstanding.

More changes will be coming, as it would not be shocking to see Korver, in particular, moved to a playoff contender soon. But it looks like Drew is open to seeing who is playing well, and giving them more time.

That’s how it should work.

Cavs Real Problem? Lack Of Communication Internally.

It was a week ago that the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to fire head coach Tyronn Lue, and the reaction nationally wasn’t favorable, particularly in regards to owner Dan Gilbert.

Gilbert is viewed by the media as the NBA’s version of Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones, a man who makes moves like he knows the sport, but if really just a bit more than a fan. And a fan who acts impetuously, someone who is looking for a change after a couple of losses.

The movement away from Lue wasn’t a problem for us, but the lack of a plan from the top of the organization down to GM Koby Altman is.

Firing a coach six games into a season shows a lack of communication throughout the organization.

It is pretty apparent that the Cavs wanted to get younger after LeBron James announced he was signing with the Lakers.

Didn’t Lue and Altman (and we guess, Gilbert) sit down at that point and talk about the direction for the future? Maybe they did, and then Lue decided that winning games immediately was the way to go, so that’s when the wheels were put into motion to make a change on the bench.

If Lue wasn’t going to make a commitment to playing guys like David Nwaba, Ante Zizic, and Sam Dekker, then couldn’t a joint decision have been made at that time for Lue to walk away?

Put out a statement thanking the coach for guiding a championship team, taking the franchise to two other Finals, and saying there is a change in direction for the squad.

That’s how it should have been handled.

Then, you have the whole Larry Drew as the new head coach, or interim head coach, or “new voice”, or whatever the heck he is right now.

When Altman and Gilbert decided Lue was out, didn’t they reach out to Drew to see if he wanted the full time gig, and negotiate a contract at that time?

It seems like there was no communication at all. It seems like they fired Lue, and called Drew and said, by the way, you are the new head coach.

And Drew said not so fast.

Look, we get why Drew wants security. He is 60 years old and was basically screwed out of his last two jobs because a new management team came in.

And we get why the Cavaliers wouldn’t want to be tied in with Drew through the 2019-20 season. They want the opportunity to go out and find their version of Brad Stevens in the off-season.

To fans and media alike, the whole thing looks like it was not very well thought out. A well run organization would have thought these things out ahead of time and saved themselves the embarrassment.

A new coach could’ve came in during the summer, put together their plan, especially from a defensive standpoint, and started the season developing rookie Collin Sexton, and getting the most out of the younger players on the roster.

Instead, we have one of the worst teams in the NBA playing a style to which it is poorly suited.

All because it doesn’t look like the front office (including the owner) and the head coach didn’t communicate very well over the summer.

Lue Wasn’t A Good Fit With This Roster

We were going to write a piece today about how Tyronn Lue is coaching the team he wishes he had rather than the team he had. We were about halfway done with it when the news came down that Lue was fired this morning, six games into the season.

We are sure many people will hammer on Dan Gilbert, but really, it was Lue’s inability to adapt to the talent he had on the roster.

Yes, Lue was the head coach when the Cavaliers won their only championship in 2016, but in our opinion, his chief role on that team is he wasn’t David Blatt.

That’s not as harsh as it sounds. The players, led by LeBron James, didn’t respect Blatt, but because Lue played the game, they would listen to him.

And it paid off with a title, and Lue will forever be remembered fondly in Cleveland for that reason.

However, Lue couldn’t adjust to life without James.

His mantra was to “play fast”, but the Cavs’ best player is Kevin Love, who isn’t built for playing that way.

He seemed obligated to play veterans like Tristan Thompson, who also cannot play that style either.

Instead of trying to play like the Golden State Warriors, who play up tempo and have defenders who can play the switching style favored by Lue, and his defensive assistant, Mike Longabardi, why not try to play like Boston, a team who stresses individual defense (aka guarding your man).

We watched the Atlanta game, where the Hawks just set screens until they got Trae Young being guarded by Love. Heck, the Cavs did the same thing to the Warriors in the ’16 Finals, waiting until Steph Curry was on James.

It is early, but Lue didn’t seem to realize who his best players were.

Certainly Love and Cedi Osman appear to be the best players, but Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. have shown they are among top guys, and they rank 7th and 8th in minutes per game, behind Rodney Hood, George Hill, and Thompson.

The firing may have come quicker than normal because of the owner’s impetuousness, but it does make sense because it was becoming increasingly obvious the coach and the front office weren’t on the same page about the future of the team going forward.

We are sure management wanted to see Ante Zizic play more.

One of the things we questioned over the last year was the ignorance of size for an NBA team. Lue and his staff seemed to ignore the need for size in today’s game.

Even, the Warriors had five big guys on the roster. If a team played a big man, the Warriors had alternatives. Lue never seemed to warm to having Zizic on the roster, until all his big guys were hurt.

Defense never seemed to be a priority either. David Nwaba had a reputation for being a solid defensive player with the Bulls, but he couldn’t get off the bench here.

Was it unfair that Lue was fired six games into the season? Probably not, but he probably shouldn’t have been brought back at all. That was on the front office, hoping Lue could be different.

It will be interesting to see what else happens in terms of personnel. Will Kyle Korver and Thompson, two Cavs with some trade value, be moved sooner than later.

Lue should be thanked for being a part of the group who brought a title to Cleveland, but he wasn’t a fit for where the franchise is now.

Now is the time for a teacher to be brought in.

To Get Better, Cavs Must Improve Defense

It is no time to panic yet, because the Cleveland Cavaliers have played just three games.

The players are still getting used to not having LeBron James having the ball in his hands most of the time on offense, and it is also the first training camp for many wearing the wine and gold, including those acquired in the deals at the trading deadline.

However, there is still something that was a problem a year ago, and has been a big issue during the opening three games on the schedule, and that is the defense.

The Cavaliers rank second to last in the NBA (ahead of only Dallas) in defensive rating this season. This is the exact same place they were a year ago, only then they ranked ahead of only Phoenix.

We thought some of the defensive issues in the regular season came out of trying to get rest for James for the playoffs. No reason to exert a lot of effort on that end of the floor when you know the end game is playing into June.

But James is no longer here and the defense hasn’t gotten any better.

Tyronn Lue’s squad has allowed more than 130 points in two of the three games played. Opponents are shooting almost 50% from the floor (49.5%) and almost 44% from beyond the three point line.

Lue and his lead defensive assistant, Mike Longabardi, have said they want a defense that switches at every position. We believe that approach is foolish.

The only way it works is if you have a solid defender at every spot. Golden State can do it because Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are great defenders. But, remember the Cavs took advantage of it in the 2016 Finals by setting screen until they got Steph Curry on James.

Sunday night, the Hawks forced the wine and gold to switch until they wound up with Kevin Love guarding rookie Trae Young. We don’t think Love is as bad of a defender as his reputation is, but there is no way on God’s green earth he can guard Young 20 feet away from the basket.

It seems that defense is an afterthought for Lue, which is odd because he was in charge of that side of the ball as an assistant under David Blatt.

Instead of imploring his squad to play fast, why not make the identity of your team a defensive one? Let that be the foundation of the team.

It was humorous that rookie Collin Sexton’s instinct is to fight over screens, which we feel is the correct way to play defense. Switching is a lazy principle.

The Cavs signed David Nwaba, guy regarded as a solid defender during his time in the NBA during the summer, and to date, he has played all of two minutes.

We believe the Cavaliers have some talent on the roster, and they are more athletic than they were a year ago, so there is no reason they shouldn’t be good on defense. Our thought is it just isn’t emphasized the way Boston does with Brad Stevens, or Chicago did with Tom Thibodeau.

For a young team, defense should be something the team can hang its hat on every single night they take the floor.

Again, it’s only three games, but it doesn’t look like that is the case. We felt the defense would be improved, and that was our reason for some optimism.

Unless it improves, it’s going to be a long season for northeastern Ohio basketball fans.

Changes should be made sooner than later. Really, that end of the floor should have been emphasized from day one. Unfortunately, they have seemed to ignore it since they won the title in 2016.

Moving On From LeBron

Tonight, LeBron James makes his debut with the Los Angeles Lakers in a game that will be nationally broadcast. No doubt you are already aware of that, because several networks have hyped it.

We don’t care.

You see, we are old school. We’ve been a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers since the day they were born back in 1970, and we are fans of the team, not any individual player.

Younger fans seems to follow players, they support LeBron James or Kobe Bryant or Stephen Curry, and that’s fine, that’s their right.

But James isn’t wearing wine and gold anymore, so our interest in all things LeBron has waned.

To be quite honest, we probably would have watched James’ new show on HBO, The Shop, if he was still a Cav, but since he’s joined the Lakers, the Yankees of the NBA, it’s not must see TV.

Sure, it will be cool when James starts nearing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all time scoring record, because a majority of those points were scored wearing a Cleveland uniform, but for the most part, our interest will be limited to keeping aware of what is happening in the league, just like we do any other team.

We will forever be thankful for the 2016 NBA title, something quite frankly, we never thought we would see. James was primarily responsible for that, as well as the four consecutive Finals appearances.

It’s almost as though he retired. His next glory moment here will probably be when his #23 jersey is retired by the Cavaliers, as the greatest player in franchise history.

And that event will be greeted warmly by fans in northeast Ohio, as it should be. After all, we appreciate greatness.

As for the Cavs, last night was their first game without James, and we should allow the players and coaching staff a little transition period.

First, the wine and gold may have played the best team in the Eastern Conference in the Toronto Raptors, who have one of the top ten players (some might say top five) in Kawhi Leonard.

Losing to them at home is certainly no disgrace.

However, Tyronn Lue and the coaching staff need time before we make any conclusions as to this edition of the wine and gold is a playoff team, a post-season contender, or a squad that should be looking toward the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery in May.

Already, we heard criticism of Kevin Love, because he shot 5 for 18 last night. This is the overreaction of one game. Love will shoot the ball better, he’s too good of a shooter.

Remember, this is a new system for the coaches and the players. And pretty much every guy on the roster has a new role, except for maybe Kyle Korver and Tristan Thompson. You have to provide time to get used to the newness.

Even teams with championship aspirations have periods of adjustment when new players are added in, so a team that lost the best player in the game should and will be no exception.

Let’s see what the Cavaliers look like in two or three weeks before jumping to any conclusions. After all, expectations are lower this season than the last four years.