2011 NBA Preseason: What We Now Know About the Cleveland Cavaliers

To call last season rough for the Cleveland Cavaliers would be a gross understatement.

The LeBron saga obviously took its toll. There was the swing from top of the Eastern Conference to cellar. There was the NBA record set for most consecutive losses.

This year is all about moving on from that collective debacle. 

This is the year of Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson and a year of hope.

Unfortunately, it is also the year of Omri Casspi and significant rotational minutes for players like Samardo Samuels. 

That's the typical Cleveland spirit, though. Massive perceived upside mingled with a ridiculous dose of skepticism. As the year goes on, that goes through a Northern Ohio blender of pessimism and acceptance and emerges as another under .500 season for the Cavs.

But, unlike last year, there are real and firm signs of forward progress. Despite all of the acceptance and skepticism surrounding the Cavs, fans will stay devoted to their team. 

Let's look at what fans can expect this year from what we've seen in the preseason. 

Kyrie Irving Is More of a Scorer Than Expected

When Kyrie Irving was drafted, he was being touted as the number one point guard because of his passing ability. 

Kemba Walker, Jimmer Fredette and Brandon Knight were all being sold as scorers who were equal to or better at putting the ball in the hoop than Irving. What got the hype train started around Irving, though, was the massive upside he flashed and his superior passing ability. 

Unfortunately for Irving, he did not exactly inherit a roster full of scoring machines. But, neither did guys like Chris Paul, Derrick Rose and John Wall in their rookie years, and they managed to rack up the dimes regardless.

With a preseason line of 16 points, four rebounds and only three assists a game, initial views of Irving make him look like much more of a scorer than a pure point.

He looks like a tremendously gifted scorer, though. In the first preseason game, he began with a few three-point shots, and when they did not fall, began to attack.

In the second game, he came out attacking more with an array of floaters and runners, including a sweet off-the-glass runner on a horribly broken play at right around the 2:30 mark of the first quarter.

Though his field goal percentage of .346 is atrocious, Irving on the court looks like a natural scorer. He is tremendously fluid, with and without the ball, and never appears to be overwhelmed by the surroundings.

As he gets comfortable, his shooting will dramatically improve. He needs his passing to come along much more than he has shown so far, though, to keep defenses honest. 

Tristan Thompson Is a Project

Everyone knew it when he was drafted, which was why everyone was so shocked by the Cavs taking him so early in the draft: Tristan Thompson is a huge project.

Out of college, he had an effective scoring range of about eight feet. His free-throw shooting was abysmal.

He was drafted because the front office believed, from some blend of advanced statistics, that he was the big with the most upside of the entire draft class. They were also mesmerized by his 7'3'' wingspan.

But, he's gonna take a whole lot of work to cash in on that potential.

In the first preseason game, he was mainly noticeable for a string of quick fouls that put him on the bench.

In the second game, he just was not really that noticeable. 

The man who will be known as T.T. plays solid defense and is perfectly capable of scoring those "garbage points," as well as grabbing rebounds.

He looks like J.J. Hickson with a motor. While Hickson would disappear at times and fall in love with his shaky jump shot, Thompson will provide solid nightly effort as long as he can stay on the floor and out of foul trouble. 

Antawn Jamison Take Questionable Shots

By questionable I am more or less talking about every single three-pointer that Jamison shoots.

Jamison will be operating as a small forward mainly this year, to make room for Thompson's development. As a stretch type of player, he does have range.

But, he is not a pure shooter, not a small forward and he needs to make like Josh Smith and swear off the three-point line in most situations.

He also took questionable shots in general. Part of Jamison's game is the ridiculous-looking, unorthodox post hook where he twists in a weird way and sort of shovels the ball into the basket. 

That may be weird to watch, but we accept it because it goes in.

It cannot be accepted when he does it in the middle of the paint with two defenders around him, though.

He shot .320 from the field in the preseason, inexplicably horrific for someone of his size.

Jamison is a 4 masquerading as a 3 at times this year, and it will hurt his production. If he keeps his shot selection up, he will also hurt the team.

Especially when we will see who should be getting almost all of the small forward's minutes this year in the very next slide.

Omri Casspi Is the Answer at Small Forward

When the Cavs went to trade away Hickson for Casspi, many thought that the only upside in that trade would come from the protected first-rounder the Kings threw in.

The thought was that Casspi would be a bland forward who would provide tough perimeter defense and occasional offense. 

Watching him pour in 18 points on .727 shooting from everywhere on the floor, including a few vicious dunks in the second preseason game was a revelation. 

Granted, with him sitting out the first preseason skirmish, this is an incredibly small sample size. However, that does not take away from his effort. He looked incredibly focused and determined in his time on the floor, and most importantly, looked like a leader for this team.

He is not a guy to get his own shot consistently, but he looks much more offensively competent than advertised. 

The defense and rebounding ability is still there, but it looks like the trade for Casspi will be a great move for the Cavs even if that pick never makes its way to our front office. 

Depth Is a Massive Concern

Shocker.

The Cavs are searching for their five starters of the future, so depth is an afterthought at this point. But, that stops no one from being scared when any player makes their way to the scorer's table to check in.

The point guard spot is well-manned with Daniel Gibson and Ramon Sessions. Casspi, Thompson and Jamison can collectively man the two forward spots.

From there, the names speak volumes. Alonzo Gee, Manny Harris and Ryan Hollins. Oh my. 

While many of these players are fan-favorites, that unfortunately does not make them quality NBA players. But, the bench weakness is to be expected. 

The nightmarish way in which the second preseason loss unfolded does more to display just how big of a problem the bench is than any prose ever could.

Late in the fourth quarter, when Ryan Hollins picked up his sixth foul, the immortal real hunchback of Notre Dame, Luke Harangody, checked in.

There are two massive problems here. The first is Hollins getting enough time to foul out. The second is Harangody.

The train wreck unfolded as follows:

Harangody grabs a rebound with 13 seconds left and is fouled. He sinks the pair, all good and well. He then proceeds to arm tackle a shooting Austin Daye after a Casspi turnover with three seconds remaining.

Fouling is a good strategy at the end of games, when your team is losing. The problem with Harangody's foul is that the Cavs were winning 89-88.

Proceed past this massive lapse in brain activity to the Cavs inbound with three seconds left with the team down 90-89. The ball is inbounded to Anthony Parker, who makes an excellent pass to a wide open Harangody with two seconds left.

The logical course of action would be to take one wide-open dribble and make one wide-open layup, a feat literally anyone in the league could do.

The second-best solution would be to square up and take a solid set-shot, which someone like Harangody should be able to drain.

Of course, Harangody took this glorious opportunity to win the game to take an awkward, off-balance off-the-glass jump-shot that must have been the lowest chance shot he could think of at the time.

And that is exactly why the bench is a problem.