For Ramon Sessions, the moment is now as he displayed his playmaking skills as the Cavaliers won in Houston.
View full sizeChristian Eyenga drives for a basket in the second half of Sunday's preseason game in Houston. Eyenga scored 10 points -- including a pair of 3-pointers -- in just over 20 minutes in the Cavaliers' 98-93 victory.• Rockets' Adelman gave Scott first coaching break: Insider
HOUSTON, Texas -- When Cavaliers guard Ramon Sessions was a rookie with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2007-08, an older, wiser teammate Mo Williams taught him a valuable lesson.
Sessions never forgot it, and he doesn't hesitate when asked to name the most important thing Williams taught him.
"To cherish every moment in this league," Sessions said. "You never know when you're going to get a moment."
Sessions' moment is now. Ironically, it's because Williams, his best friend, is out of the Cavaliers' lineup with a groin injury.
In his stead, Sessions has been running coach Byron Scott's new Princeton offense, and he directed the Cavs to a 99-93 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday evening at the Toyota Center.
J.J. Hickson led the Cavs with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Sessions added 15 points and three assists as the Cavs improved their preseason record to 2-1. Chase Budinger finished with 13 points for the Rockets, 2-2, as coach Rick Adelman elected to rest starters Shane Battier, Luis Scola and Yao Ming after Saturday night's victory over the Indiana Pacers and prior to the team's flight to China.
Scott also tinkered with his lineup and closed out the game with Daniel Gibson leading a contingent of Joey Graham, Manny Harris, Christian Eyenga and Samardo Samuels.
"What I liked tonight was the defensive effort," Scott said. "I'm looking at a team tonight that started to show a lot more trust in each other on both ends of the floor. Any time you can come into this arena, no matter who they have on the court, and hold them to 42 percent shooting, you're doing a pretty good job."
It wasn't perfect. While Scott loved his team's transition defense and the improvement on the pick-and-roll defense, he was not crazy about the post or weak-side defense. But he sees hints of what he thinks this team can become.
"What I'm getting is more flashes from game one to game two to game three," he said. "Obviously, this was the best performance we've had, the best we've played on the defensive end as well as the offensive end."
Jawad Williams, making his first start at small forward, finished with 12 points, and he and Sessions combined with Anthony Parker and J.J. Hickson for a couple of textbook fast breaks in the third quarter as the Cavs pulled out to a 63-60 lead.
Harris had 12 points and Eyenga 10, including two 3-pointers, in the fourth as the Cavs broke open a close game.
"Overall you could see the trust factor coming into play on both ends of the floor," Scott said.
Sessions trusts that he'll get a chance to play with Williams, and he admits that they'll compete -- hard -- for minutes.
"I was definitely looking forward to playing with him, but it's still early yet," Sessions said. "We're going to have times when we're out there playing together.
"It's fun now, though. I get to go out there and run the ballclub, something I love to do."