Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’107-104 preseason-opening win over the visiting Pacers on Saturday.
1. You read that right. After almost a year away, Cavs basketball is back. It may not mean anything to some people. But to a lot of others, it means a lot.
2. So regardless of outcome and individual performances, it was good just to see an NBA game taking place inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavs and Pacers will do it again Monday night. Same time, same Cavs channel.
3. That’s really all that matters at this point. I went into the game thinking that regardless of what happens, you can’t get too fired up one way or the other. NBA teams have barely had a training camp. NBA rookies have had no summer league. It was bound to get ugly. And it did.
4. But it actually wasn’t all bad, either. In fact, I assumed it would be even sloppier.
5. As you may know, Collin Sexton missed the game with a tweaked ankle. That gave other players a chance to step up. Cedi Osman (23 points, 6-of-11 shooting) sure did. Darius Garland (14 points) did, too. And I really liked what I saw out of newcomer Thon Maker (10 points, 10 rebounds).
6. Let’s start with Osman. He will be battling rookie lottery pick Isaac Okoro for the starting small forward job. (Much more on Okoro in a minute.) So Osman will need to be sharp early, and consistently. It was a good start toward that end.
7. All eyes will also be on Garland. He is coming off his first pro season. It wasn’t fair to judge him last year. He played just five college games … and then all of a sudden was a starter in the pros. This will be the season that the coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the Cavs decide if the Garland-Sexton combination will work.
8. Meanwhile, Maker is sort of the X-factor in the Cavs’ frontcourt behind Kevin Love, Andre Drummond and JaVale McGee. I give Cavs GM Koby Altman credit here, because Maker is an upgrade over Ante Zizic, now playing in Israel. At worst, Maker is a younger big to develop. The Cavs should keep him.
9. OK, now for Okoro. I had my doubts when the Cavs took him with the fifth overall pick. That’s because I saw an Auburn game last season and had no recollection of him. Okoro was a freshman with the Tigers. Admittedly, that was the only time I watched Auburn.
10. So I was determined to watch Okoro more on Saturday. I liked almost all of what I saw. His defense was indeed strong. That says a lot, again, when you consider he didn’t even get to play against NBA prospects over the summer. He was thrown right into the fire, earning a starting nod with Sexton out.
11. Okoro finished with 18 points. It’s true many came late in the game, when it was more or less tryout time. But this isn’t about his points. It’s about how comfortable he looked out there with the likes of Love, Drummond and other starters. When it came to that, Okoro fit in about as well as could be expected.
12. Oh, yeah. Okoro won the game with a layup and foul off the break to snap a 104-all tie with 0.3 seconds to go. How about that?
13. Early evaluation: The kid looks promising. “There’s no fear in his eyes,” Bickerstaff said.
14. And hey, what about Damyean Dotson? You have to be a die-hard Cavs fans to know him, as the shooting guard was sort of quietly signed after three seasons with the Knicks. But he lived up to his billing as an underrated scorer in reserve, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. That included making both of his 3-point attempts.
15. Also, guard/forward Dylan Windler scored eight in his debut in a Cavs uniform. He played well late.
16. Other than Sexton, McGee and Kevin Porter Jr. were the notables who were not expected to play, and didn’t.
17. It will be interesting to see how all of these pieces fit when the games do finally start to matter. But mostly, the Cavs will be playing those kinds of games again. They can figure it out as they go along. For now, the important thing is they are back.
18. Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon each scored 16 to lead the Pacers. Myles Turner added 14.
19. Victor Oladipo finished with six points, but four turnovers and five fouls in 21 minutes. Veteran players such as Love, Drummond and Oladipo generally go through the motions in the preseason. But I still wonder if Oladipo hasn’t lost a step after suffering a major quad injury in 2018-19.
