Cleveland Cavaliers: Old and New Compete for Rotation Dominance

The Cavaliers' mental lapse at the end of the fourth quarter resulted in a loss in Tuesday night’s preseason finale (following Friday’s opener) against Detroit, but the competition between the old and new guard of the Cavaliers was the more interesting battle in downtown Cleveland.

With Daniel Gibson and Omri Casspi in action, Byron Scott appears to have temporarily based his playing rotation on the groups of Sessions-Parker-Gee-Jamison-Varejao and Irving-Gibson-Casspi-Thompson-Hollins. The two closely-matched sides convey a feeling of past and future to the Cavaliers franchise after the past year in flux.

The reserves won the night’s battle by outscoring the starters 46-41.

The second rotation is fueled by the Cavaliers' offseason moves, yielding a trio of players Cavs fans should become familiar with as the season progresses.

Omri Casspi was introduced to the Cavaliers faithful in an impressive display of well-rounded play, from three-pointers to thunderous dunks to hustle on the defensive end. Casspi finished with 18 points and five rebounds while going 8-for-11 from the field. Casspi led the team in minutes with 29 after missing the opener.

The Cavs started the night slow, falling to a deficit of 10 halfway through the first quarter. Byron Scott changed the momentum by injecting Casspi, Irving and Thompson into play, erasing the lead by the second quarter’s midpoint.

Kyrie Irving was at his finest during this time, filling the mold of the prototypical point guard in today's NBA, able to score on his own by driving to the hoop, as well as increasing his teammates' production by a well-timed pass.

Following the bench’s neutralizer, Antawn Jamison led the starters through a mid-game surge, building their lead to 11. Jamison capped the game at 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting.

The Cavaliers sputtered into the fourth quarter with a lack of direction on the offensive end, possibly stemming from Kyrie’s lack of involvement in driving the offense. A lineup of the game’s top performers, including Irving, Gibson, Casspi and Jamison, made a late run to regain the lead, but a turnover from Casspi while inbounding the ball and a wide-open miss from Luke Harangody cost the Cavaliers the win at the buzzer.