Cleveland Cavaliers: What's Gone Right, Wrong in the Early NBA Season

Three games into this young and confusing NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers are sitting at one win and two losses. Really, that's not surprising; what's surprising is that they could have, should have, would have been 2-1 after last night's contest against the Indiana Pacers.

These Cavaliers are definitely a team with flaws, we saw all of them on display in their first game against the Detroit Pistons, but there are some diamonds in this sea of rough.

As he has been known to do, Coach Byron Scott is getting the most of the talent that he's been given, and the players seem to buy into what he's preaching, and that's no surprise.

Last year, the biggest vocal sparring partner Scott had on a regular basis was JJ Hickson, and the guy that everyone always had concerns about was Baron Davis.

Now, both of those guys are wearing different uniforms (well, one is wearing a suit) and it seems that Scott really has control of these guys.

So, after three quick games, and the only ones they'll be playing in 2011, let's take a look at what went right and wrong so far this season.

What Went Right: The No. 4 Pick

Early in the season, I expected both Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson to struggle, but for the most part, Thompson has gotten into the season in mid-stride.

Thompson isn't setting the world on fire with his numbers, averaging eight points and four rebounds, but the way he is playing has impressed me so far.

He is scoring efficiently, shooting nearly 60 percent (although he's struggling from the line), blocking shots with four through three games (only Boston's Greg Stiemsma has more blocks with seven in two games) and he's just playing tough, hard-nosed defense.

What Went Wrong: A Fast Start

The Cavs had a chance to get off to a fast start with their first two games against two of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference, but they finished 1-1 in that stretch.

There's no reason to be upset with that, especially given the team at hand, but they did lay a bit of an egg on opening night.

While nothing went right on opening night, Cleveland surely turned it around in their win over the Pistons, so I guess you can call it an up-and-down start.

What Went Right: Kyrie Keeping His Head Up

After a poor start to the year to the tune of six points on 2-of-12 shooting (with seven assists, mind you), Kyrie Irving looked to be struggling like every young point guard does out of the gate.

Going into their game against Detroit, I expected that to continue, but he proved me wrong with 14 points and seven assists, and more importantly, did so on five for nine shooting.

The next game he came out and scored 20 points on 42 percent shooting and looked to be the leader of the offense when he was on the floor. That's the most important thing to look at in his early development.

So long as he plays game to game and doesn't let one poor game get him down, he's going to be fine.

What Went Wrong: A Last-Second Shot

Speaking of Kyrie Irving, I say he looked like a leader in the Cavs' game against the Pacers, and he did after the second half.

He was effectively running the offense, and Byron Scott liked what he was doing so much that Irving played 33 minutes in the game, including all five of the overtime minutes. Even better, Irving was a huge part of the 11-point comeback the team made to get it into overtime.

Of course, we wouldn't have had to see those five overtime minutes if it weren't for an overly rounded rim that spat out a sure-thing last-second layup from Irving that would have won the game.

Even though Irving missed that shot, I love that he has not only the confidence to take it, but the wherewithal to penetrate into the lane for the best shot possible. Next time, that one will fall.

What Went Right: Hustle

The only way a coach's game plan can work is if the team completely buys into what he has to say, and you can tell if they are or not by seeing how they play on the court.

For Byron Scott, the Princeton Offense is what he preaches, and the only way it can work is with constant movement and hustle.

The one thing I noticed in Cleveland's last two games (their first game saw everybody come out flat)? How much everybody was moving.

Cleveland was constantly rotating players around for the screen on offense, actively shaking their guys and just running their hearts out. What's more, their hustle bled over on defense, which has led to success thus far.

What Went Wrong: Omri Casspi's Start

The Cavs shipped JJ Hickson away mostly as a move for the future, as they think they'll end up with a first-rounder out of that trade within the next few seasons.

However, they got a player back in Omri Casspi, who has all the potential in the world to be a good player, and it seems like he's come into a system where he will thrive.

But through the first three games, Casspi hasn't looked great offensively (he's been pretty good on defense), as shots just aren't falling.

Chalk it up to learning a new system or to having to come into a new city and make new friends, but he's shooting just 27 percent from the floor and 17 from behind the rainbow.

Beyond that, he is 1-for-10 in the Cavs' two losses.

What Went Right: Defense

Like I said earlier, the Cavaliers have played with a great amount of hustle in two of their first three games, which allows them to make up for their lack of skill and weather the storm when shots aren't falling.

In their first three games, they've allowed an average of 97 points per game, which is the 15th best in the NBA.

That may not seem like an accomplishment, but when they allowed 104 a game last year, it's like a breath of fresh air.

What Went Wrong: Shooting...From Everywhere

Cleveland probably should have won their game last night if they just did right the one thing that you're supposed to do right. Shoot free throws.

The Cavaliers were just 18-of-31 from the free-throw line last night, which is just a terrible 58 percent. Beyond that, they were just 5-of-25 from three-land, which is good for just 20 percent.

Beyond that, they were 34-of-88 from the floor, which amounts to 38.6 percent.

Bwaaaah.

That's been a trend, as the Cavs are 29th in shooting percentage at 43 percent, 23rd in three-point shooting at 34 percent and 24th in free-throw shooting at 75 percent.

What Went Right: Excitement

For all the flaws that are evident in the games Cleveland has played, they have been fun to watch.

Even in that first game when the Cavs were pretty incompetent against the Raptors, Alonzo Gee was flying around, Ramon Sessions was putting up his floater, Anthony Parker was splashing threes and it's hard not to be enthralled by Cleveland's two rookies.

I've been into every last one of these games and the Cavs have yet to put in the guy who has the highest potential for excitement in Christian Eyenga.

Bonus What Went Right: Surprise Depth

It has surprised me that most of the time when a guy comes out for Cleveland, the guy coming in to replace him either is similar in skill level or brings in the energy to make up for that lack of skill.

After their starting five of Kyrie Irving, Anthony Parker, Omri Casspi, Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varejao, they have a solid replacement for nearly every player.

Ramon Sessions comes in for Irving, Boobie Gibson for Parker, the athletic Alonzo Gee for Casspi, tough rookie Tristan Thompson for Jamison and scrappy, mean Samardo Samuels for Varejao.

It may not be depth like Oklahoma City or Portland, but they don't lose much from squad to squad.

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