Cavaliers coach Byron Scott will experiment with different players in second preseason game.
Jawad Williams will get much more playing time when the Cavaliers take on the Wizards Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena. "I just want to see him with extended minutes right now," said coach Byron Scott. "I think he'll play pretty good."CAVALIERS VS. WIZARDS
Tipoff: Thursday, 7 p.m. at The Q.
TV/radio: No TV; WTAM AM/1100.
Notable: The Cavs and their fans will get their first look at rookie John Wall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft. In his NBA debut, Wall had 21 points, nine assists and four steals and was +16 in the Wizards’ 97-94 victory at Dallas on Tuesday. ... This will be Antawn Jamison’s first game against the Wizards since being traded to the Cavs last season. ... Cavs are still without Mo Williams (groin) and Anderson Varejao (personal). Varejao has yet to return from Brazil after the death of his grandfather.
— Mary Schmitt Boyer
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- To say that former Cavs coach Mike Brown's rotations were, well, dizzying would be an understatement.
Players would come from the deepest recesses of the bench to start for a few games and then disappear back into oblivion.
So it must have been refreshing when new coach Byron Scott told his players ahead of time that those who didn't play a lot in Tuesday's preseason victory over the Charlotte Bobcats would play more in Thursday's game against the Washington Wizards.
Say hello to Jawad Williams, Leon Powe, Christian Eyenga and Samardo Samuels.
Right now Cavs fans know the first two better than Scott does, and everybody is eager to see rookies Eyenga and Samuels, a free agent who opted for the Cavs instead of the Bulls after playing with Chicago in the summer league.
Williams, the St. Edward product who can play guard or forward, had the longest stint on Tuesday, with two points and two rebounds in 12 minutes -- all of the fourth quarter. Samuels, an undrafted rookie from Louisville who was born in Jamaica and can play center or power forward, checked in with 5:26 left and finished with four points and one rebound.
"I like them both," Scott said. "They've worked extremely hard. Both of them are physical, tough-type players. With Samardo, he's just young. He's really anxious out there. He just goes about 110 miles an hour. We're trying to get him to go about 80 miles an hour right now. Jawad, I just want to see him with extended minutes right now. I think he'll play pretty good."
Powe, of course, is still recovering from microfracture surgery on his left knee in the summer of 2009.
"He's a warrior," Scott said of the veteran power forward. "I love his attitude, I love the way he competes every single day. And even without two great legs right now, he's out there on the floor and he gives you something positive. I'm anxious to see him out there. Love his attitude. Love his work ethic."
Then there's Eyenga, the team's first-round pick, No. 30 overall, in the 2009 NBA draft. A native of Congo, he played last season in Spain. He's raw, but can jump out of the gym.
"Freaky athleticism," Scott said with a grin.
Though Eyenga speaks five languages, including English, communication on the court has been a bit of an issue.
"He has a good understanding on the offensive end of what to do with the ball, he just doesn't have a great understanding of where to go," Scott said.
"He crowds guys. Like a lot of young players, he chases the ball. So his spacing is kind of bad. All those things every day we're working on with him, and trying to get him more familiar with what we're doing and trying to get him more comfortable as well."
Perfect 10: Daniel Gibson got to the free-throw line 10 times -- and made all 10 -- in the Cavs' 87-72 victory over the Bobcats. He'd like to make that a regular part of his game.
"That's part of being aggressive," he said of driving to the basket. "I might not get there 10 times. I might not get there at all. But I just want to be aggressive every night I'm out there on the floor."
Hitting the Wall: Scott said he hadn't seen a lot of Washington rookie John Wall yet."But I heard he's pretty good," the coach joked. "This will be a good little challenge for us."
Wall, of course, is the point guard from Kentucky who was the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA draft.
"His speed. His quickness," Scott said. "He's very explosive when he's in the middle of the court. When he's in the open court, he reminds me a lot of Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, Chris Paul in that mode. It's going to be interesting to see how he plays."
Said Gibson, "I've heard a lot about him. Obviously he must be good, being the No. 1 pick. But it's about their team. They have a lot of guys on their team capable of doing different things. We've got to be prepared as a unit to go out and get it done."