Tristan Thompson and Lebron-less Cavaliers look strong despite Grizzlies victory

The Cavaliers lost 96-92 to the Grizzlies on Wednesday — albeit a meaningless, preseason matchup — but Cleveland looked strong in defeat behind a solid game from Tristan Thompson and despite not having LeBron James, who was a DNP by head coach David Blatt.

Some of the takeaways:

KYRIE IRVING

The high-scorer was Kyrie Irving with 16 points. The former Rookie-of-the-Year returned from a brief hiatus because of an ankle injury sustained earlier this preseason. He shot a very respectable 7-11 from the field to go along with one three and two assists in 24 minutes. I’d like to see him facilitate the ball more, but there’s nothing entirely wrong with Kyrie looking for his shot on a night that LeBron sits. It worries me that it’s games like tonight when he’s given free reign to showcase his interests and abilities on the court and he shows that he’s perhaps inherently not a pass-first point guard a la Steve Nash or Chris Paul, but I won’t look too much into his lack of distribution tonight. It’s Oct. 22 for crying out loud and he’s arguably the best point guard in the entire league on any given night.

What I liked about the Cavs tonight was their balanced attack. No, they didn’t win, but they continue to establish ways to gel when LeBron is not a factor. It’s important, as we saw with the Heat being caught off guard in the biggest stage last June when LeBron had to sit out for various reasons during crucial moments.

TRISTAN THOMPSON

The biggest takeaway from tonight was the play of Tristan Thompson, who finished with an efficient nine points, five rebounds and two steals in a mere 17 minutes. That he made all three of his free throws is all the more incredible. If he’s going to split time between power forward and center this season, he’s going to be looking at many games where he’s playing 35-40 minutes per game. He averaged 31 minutes per contest last season, so if his production tonight is any indication, Thompson is in store for a potential double-double year.

DION WAITERS

Dion Waiters also showed some of his flair, going 3-3 from deep en route to 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting in 24 minutes. There’s no reason to think that between starting many games as the shooting guard and his leading the second unit, he’ll get his open shots as defenses focus so much on James, Irving and Kevin Love.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Waiters averages five more minutes per game this year than the 29 he averaged last season. His career may end up being a legacy of playing like a one-trick pony, but if he’s going to only contribute in one category,  he might as well do it well. There’s plenty of room in the league for instant-offense players like Waiters, as frustrating as he will be sometimes. He’s got Most Improved Player potential this year.

The regular season gets underway in about a week with a matchup at home vs. Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks on Oct. 30. We all know what LeBron will look like, and tonight we got a taste of what’s to come from the rest of the Cavs.