The Cavaliers show some positives and some rust in front of a large crowd at Akron during the Wine & Gold Scrimmage.
View full sizeCavs forward J.J. Hickson is fouled by as he drives to the basket against Leon Powe during Friday's scrimmage at Rhodes Arena in Akron.With three of their top players not playing and everyone else in the midst of a blitz of information from a new coaching staff, it wasn't exactly a recipe for a polished performance.
On just their fourth day of practice and having their second workout of the day, the team looked a little rigid and fatigued at times. It was enough to persuade coach Byron Scott to schedule three more practices before Tuesday's preseason opener against the Charlotte Bobcats.
There were bright spots, though perhaps the most telling was the more than 4,000 fans who filled James A. Rhodes Arena. The attendance was as strong as it has been over the past several years, an early sign the fan base remains interested.
The highlight was probably the effort by point guard Ramon Sessions. His "wine" team beat the "gold" team, 47-41, in 40 minutes of running clock play mostly because of his efforts.
On a night when the team often looked unsure getting into Scott's Princeton offense, Sessions looked the most at home. He repeatedly created space with drives to the basket, expertly used picks and effectively ran the floor.
He had a game-high 13 points with four rebounds, four assists, three steals and just one turnover.
"There's a lot of freedom, and I can't ask for more as a point guard," Sessions said. "It has been a great fit for me and I'm enjoying it."
His counterpart on the other team, Daniel Gibson, also seemed to look the most at ease within the new offense. Gibson, who will handle the ball more this year than at perhaps any time in his career, had seven points, five rebounds and two assists. He had four turnovers but pushed the tempo like Scott wants.
"Ramon is pretty comfortable, as is Boobie," Scott said. "They are two of the guys who have a really good grasp of what we're doing."
The rest of the team is still learning, though. Often, players would pause while running plays. At dead balls, there would be little conferences on the floor with fingers pointing. That seemed to fluster Scott a bit, who understands but is expecting more.
"We've got a game in a few days and we've got a few guys who are making the same mistakes they made on day one," Scott said. "So we've got to clean that up some more."
Part of what Scott is doing on the offensive end is letting J.J. Hickson operate on the wing. Hickson had some moments, scoring eight points with six rebounds. But he is learning how to be an inside-out offensive player.
"Our biggest problem on the offensive end is we're still thinking too much, we're not reacting," Scott said. "But you expect that when you're putting in a whole new system. It's going to take us some time. Right now guys are a little hesitant. You have eight or nine guys who have a good feel for what we're doing and the other half of the guys are really not there yet."
The best the fans got to see from veterans Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison were waves after introductions. They didn't see Anderson Varejao, who is in Brazil after a death in the family.
Williams is still out with a strained groin muscle and Jamison will be shut down for a few days with soreness in his left knee, another sign of just how hard Scott has been pushing his players physically this week.
Jamison will take a couple of days off as a precaution, but there's a chance he might play Tuesday. He was bothered by knee tendinitis after coming to the team last winter in a trade.
"It's really precautionary, we're just going to give him a few days off," Scott said. "We're going to get him some treatment; I'm not going to rush him back."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: bwindhorst@plaind.com, 216-999-5166