Cleveland Cavaliers' Title Crusade Off to Encouraging Start

CLEVELAND — LeBron James and Dwyane Wade exchanged their trademark handshake moments before the Cleveland Cavaliers tipped off their home opener against the Miami Heat.

For Miami, the pleasantries quickly ended there.

The Cavs showed just how little heat remains in Northeast Ohio this time of year, cooling off Wade and Co. by a final score of 102-92. James was an efficient 13-of-19 shooting en route to his 29 points, while Kevin Love chipped in 24 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

It wasn't the X's and O's or the stats that told the tale of this game, or any of Cleveland's first three, however.

Rather, it's been the overall demeanor of the team that's appeared drastically different from the start of last season.

"I felt like in general we came into this game, our first home game, in a much more relaxed and confident state," head coach David Blatt said. "We're a team that has continuity. Guys that know each other, guys that trust each other and a bench now that really comes in and contributes and makes a difference."

Blatt's description of his team, relaxed and confident, appears both accurate and inspiring for a group with just one goal in mind: The Cavaliers are officially on a title crusade.

Brandon Dill/Associated Press

Off to a 2-1 start, Cleveland's ball movement has been pristine, the defense suffocating at times, and players are accepting and thriving in their respective roles.

This is a far cry from just a year ago where the Cavs began 1-3 and eventually 19-20, where every move was questioned and thrust into the spotlight.

"I think right now, obviously, we're a better team than we were in last year's home opener," a satisfied James noted. "We played better basketball. We shared the ball, we moved the ball from side to side. Defensively, we've been communicating, flying around trying to help each other. Like I said, it's more that we know who we are as a basketball team. Last year we didn't know who we were, we were trying to figure that out."

James and the rest of the Cavaliers are trying to shake what plagued them at times last year: unfamiliarity, uncertainly and a suspect bench.

Now, suddenly all of those previous weaknesses are turning into strengths.

Cleveland's bench has been fantastic, led by Tristan Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova, a now-healthy Anderson Varejao and newcomer Richard Jefferson.

Against Miami, Thompson shook off whatever little rust he had left from missing training camp by starting 6-of-6 from the field, culminating in 13 points, nine rebounds and an earth-shattering block of Chris Bosh at the rim.

Dellavedova, holding on to the primary reserve point guard role until Kyrie Irving returns from knee surgery, collected 10 assists without a single turnover. Varejao, in a much more friendly 16-minute role, pulled down eight rebounds and was a plus-11 on the court.

While the offense continues to flow through James and Love, confidence has spilled into the second unit as well.

"It's great. We have so much confidence in every player on this team. We have guys that might be sitting for lengthy periods of time that come in and affect the game in different ways—some might not even show up on the stat sheet," Love said.

"We have a couple guys out right now that tend to do that as well in Shump [Iman Shumpert] and Kyrie. They bring a lot to the table, but right now we have a ton of guys stepping up and playing good basketball."

This kind of production was by design, Blatt noted.

"We really placed an emphasis on strengthening the bench this summer, and we stressed and hope our bench would develop an identity as being a very important, integral part of the team. At least thus far we're getting that."

The Heat, a likely playoff team in the Eastern Conference, looked like a little brother that was clearly outmatched, no matter what rotation was on the court. Miami's second unit combined to go minus-78, while Cleveland's registered a plus-47.

As Heat forward Chris Bosh said postgame, "We've got a long way to go. They know their rhythm, they know their rotations, they know their plays, they know where the ball is going, and that's one of the huge advantages they have on us."

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

While it's way too early to compare records, standings or strategies, the Cavaliers are practicing what they believe will lead to sustained success on a championship run. When asked if putting together wins was necessarily the most important thing as this point in the season, J.R. Smith told Bleacher Report: "I don't think it's that important, really. The big thing for us is maintaining effort and keeping guys healthy, playing good defensive basketball."

While the present is good, the future can be even better. The eventual return of Irving and Shumpert will mean an even deeper bench and added offensive firepower. For now, just the addition of quality veterans mixed in with a plethora of familiar faces makes the Cavs that much more dangerous.

"We added some good pieces in R.J. [Jefferson] and Mo [Williams] to go along with 11 guys returning," Smith added. "We know each other, guys have been around. Fortunately our veterans have played against the guys we added and we know what type of game they like to play. We know guys can make shots. We're very talented offensively."

While Cleveland possessed the talent, when healthy, to win a title last season, the beginning of this year already has an improved feel to it.

Relaxed and confident as they go, the Cavaliers' title crusade is off to a promising start.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. Follow him on Twitter, @CavsGregBR. All quotes obtained firsthand.