Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 things to watch for in preseason action

#1:  The rookies’ approach, as in whether or not they look comfortable or are pressing

Meaning no disrespect to veterans such as Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Clarkson, Brandon Knight and others, the first thing to watch for in preseason when it comes to the Cleveland Cavaliers to me is the rookies’ approach in games.

The Cavs know what they have in their veterans, though I am interested to see how Beilein utilizes Larry Nance Jr. a bit in preseason (who could be an especially key big man passer), but again, by and large, the preseason for me is more about getting to know a bit more about less-experienced pieces.

Garland only appeared in five games at Vanderbilt, due to a reported meniscus tear, but he clearly has star potential with the way he flashed as a scorer in that small sample size even with less than ideal talent around him and limited spacing, as he had 16.2 points per game on 63.9% effective field goal shooting (per Sports Reference).

Unfortunately for both Garland and Porter (who reportedly had a nagging hip flexor injury dating back to a pre-draft workout), though, they weren’t able to participate in NBA Summer League with the Cavaliers, in both the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas sets of games.

That being said, I would hope that in nearly two months from now, those two players can be ready to go in preseason play, even if it’s just appearing in one or two of those four games, as that could get them a taste of NBA basketball, even if it is only preseason. Windler was a participant in most Summer League games, and I would imagine, benefitted from that.

He also had nice showings for himself, and was able to showcase some secondary playmaking ability, too.

Windler had averages of 10.3 points on 44.0% shooting, to go with 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 25.3 minutes per game in three contests in SLC, and had 11.0 points on 40.0% shooting (though many were deep three-point looks), to go with 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 20.3 minutes per game in three contests in Vegas (both per NBA.com).

So again, though, I’d like to see if the three rookies in Garland, Windler and Porter are pressing a bit and/or forcing the issue to get themselves going offensively, or if they are comfortable in letting opportunities come to them in the flow of things.

In addition, what I’ll be looking for is whether or not their offense seems to affect their defensive intensity, particulary if there are struggles.

What are you looking forward to seeing in preseason play, Cavs fans?

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