Cleveland Cavaliers show what they are capable of in first victory

Well, it took a little longer than most thought, but the Cleveland Cavaliers got their first win of the season last night over the Atlanta Hawks 136-114.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ home opener also was against this same Atlanta Hawks team, and while they hung around for three quarters, Atlanta’s strong final quarter (41-25 scoring edge) propelled the Hawks to a 22-point victory earlier this month.

On this night though, the Cavaliers came into the game with a renewed sense of energy and played more sound basketball under interim head coach Larry Drew.

After Tyronn Lue‘s dismissal as head coach, general manager Koby Altman described this coaching change as a “complex situation,” and also noted how the Cavaliers didn’t see Lue as the right fit, per Sam Amico of Amico Hoops.

The Cavaliers also were again without Kevin Love and will have to get used to him not being out there on the court. Love’s foot injury is worse than initially thought and the Cavaliers new centerpiece of the franchise will be on the sideline for at least the next weeks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst.

Though the loss of Love will be tough to overcome, the Cavaliers do have the luxury of having a capable player to step in for Love. Cleveland locked up big man Larry Nance Jr. this past summer, and he will be asked to step up and earn that contract with more playing time coming his way.

That youth movement Altman spoke about wanting seemed to be in full swing last night. Veteran Kyle Korver was on the floor just 15 minutes, while J.R. Smith and Channing Frye did not see any game action. The game would largely be played by young guys, trying to find their role on this team.

Cleveland’s mix of mainly youth and a couple of veterans battled back and forth with the Hawks for the first 24 minutes, taking a one-point lead into the half. However, the Wine & Gold came out strong in the third quarter.

Veteran point guard George Hill set the tone early with eight points in the opening quarter. However, Hill saw just 20 minutes of game time, as interim head coach Drew put rookie Collin Sexton out there to get valuable game experience.

Rodney Hood and Cedi Osman led the way for the Wine & Gold at the start of the second half and showed flashes of this combinations’ potential on the floor together. Hood put up 11 points in the third quarter on 4-of-5 shooting, while Osman poured in nine points of his own.

In total eight players recorded a point in the quarter, as the team shot 62.5 percent from the floor. While Atlanta did score 30 points of their own (on 57 percent shooting), the Cavaliers’ offense carried them to a 12-point lead after three quarters.

While it is just one game in a long season, this game showed us the potential of what this team is capable of doing. Talent is not the main issue; it is mixing and matching the right players on the floor and having each player excel in their role, while not trying to do too much.

The rookie point guard, Sexton, led the Wine & Gold in fourth quarter scoring (with nine points) and in total saw nearly 28 minutes of game time. Sexton also did a solid job of driving to the basket and getting to foul line. His nine trips to the line led the Cavaliers, and Sexton cashed in eight of those attempts. His 17 points in the game were a career-high for the youngster.

For the game, Hood poured in a game-high 26 points and looked extremely comfortable on the floor all night. He will be asked to score the ball for this team early and often. Hopefully, tonight was a sign of things to come for the young shooting guard.

Another vital sign for the Cavaliers in this game was that they were able to close out a ball game. Basketball (especially nowadays) is a game of runs. Cleveland never let their lead slip enough to cause concern, and the young guys on the floor showed resilience, outscoring the Hawks 37-27 and captured win No. 1 of the season.

The ever-so-streaky Jordan Clarkson joined his bench backcourt running mate  in Sexton and scored in double digits. His 15 points were crucial to the Cavaliers’ success last night. Overall it was a solid night for those donning the Wine & Gold, but it is still evident there is plenty of work to be done.

A key note to take away from this game is that several players thought they moved the ball exceptionally well as a team. Ball movement, in general, is critical for any NBA team, but for a young team trying to find their way, ball movement is extremely crucial. It shows these players have faith in one another to make a play. The less the ball sticks, the more easy looks the offense will get, which will only bode well moving forward.

Yes, it is only one win, but we all got to see the capabilities of some of the young pieces of the Cavaliers’ core, who will be relied upon to help this team succeed. The Cleveland Cavaliers should not be judged solely on wins and losses this season, and they should be judged on how they can develop their young core.

If the young pieces can come together, this season will be a step in the right direction for a team looking to build a team the old-fashioned way. The wins may not come as often, but this Cavaliers team should be a fun one to watch grow and develop.