2014 Training Camp

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After the biggest offseason in franchise history, the Cavaliers are finally set to show off the goods in a competitive game. It’s not an NBA opponent, it’s preseason and it doesn’t count – but the Cavs still want to get the win. Maccabi Tel Aviv once knocked off the Raptors in preseason and it made international news. This group has NO intention of letting that happen when David Blatt’s former club rolls in on Sunday.

That 2005 victory in Toronto, the first by Maccabi in 27 years, came at the hands of former Raptor and Cavaliers – Anthony Parker – who drilled a jumper in Morris Peterson’s face with 0.7 to play, giving the Israeli dynasty a 105-103 win. Longtime Maccabi head coach Pini Gershon was at the helm at the time. His counterpart that night, the Raptors Sam Mitchell, said afterward: “This is unacceptable.”

The closest LeBron James intends to get in terms of that experience is texting his old buddy Chris Bosh to ask him about it.

Coach Blatt often speaks of the pressures that come with coaching the Euroleague powerhouse. (Guy Goodes, who played for Maccabi in the 90s and was Blatt’s assistant over the past four years, is head coach now.) Showing none of that pressure on Friday, Blatt was in his usual jocular mood when he talked with the media, even when facing the questions about James and Mike Miller sitting out Friday’s practice.

”(LeBron’s) always around,” joked Blatt. “Like I told you before the season, he’s like that Superman line: ‘He’s always around.’”

Blatt and the Cavs have been rotating veteran players getting a practice session away from contact. Most of Cleveland’s vets have double-digit NBA seasons under their belt and don’t need to grind themselves down in early October.

The headlines will likely read something about LeBron sitting out of practice. Blatt couldn’t have stressed the unimportance of this any more clearly.

“Listen, this is really insignificant in the grand scheme of things if LeBron sits out of practice. And I probably value practice more than most. But the fact that we may need to rest him and others at different points during the preparation process and even during the season, it’s the right and the smart thing to do – because it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon and we have to be conscious of keeping these guys fresh and healthy.”

One Cavalier veteran who’s acutely aware of that is Anderson Varejao, who had a bounce-back season last year – rebounding to play in 65 games after being limited to just 81 combined over the previous three seasons. It hasn’t been an easy stretch for Varejao, who made the Playoffs in all but one season during LeBron’s first stretch.

“(The current situation) is a great thing,” smiled Andy. “The last four years, we went through the rebuilding process. It wasn’t fun. It was tough. Talking about myself, I had some injuries that I want to forget about. It was really, really tough. So it feels like everything is new. I feel healthy. I feel good about having LeBron back and the whole situation.”

Andy’s scoring numbers were down last year –8.4 ppg, his lowest mark since 2007-08 – but he was once again one of the league’s top rebounders. He finished 13th in the NBA, averaging 9.7 boards per contest. Among Conference leaders, Varejao was 6th in offensive rebounds per game (2.9) and 6th in defensive rebounding (6.8).

Those numbers are maybe why, when someone asked if he needs to prove himself all over again this year, Andy responded: “Who, me?”

The last four seasons have been tough on veterans like Andy, who were used to annual playoff appearances. But it’s also been a rugged road for fourth-year forward, Tristan Thompson. Thompson came into the league during the 2011 Lockout and, fighting through the rookie wall and a coagulated schedule, started the final 25 games at center.

He’s been in the lineup ever since. And while he may or may not be still in the starting lineup, he knows he’ll be playing some center this season.

“I’ve worked a lot this summer, trying to get stronger, especially with the new additions to our team,” said Thompson. “You’ve got to be ready to play the 5 and the 4. If I’m playing the 5, I’m playing against bigger, stronger guys, so I want to be prepared for that. And I think it’s paying off pretty well.”

Like Varejao, Tristan’s coming off another solid season on the boards. Last year, he had a team-best 36 double-doubles, which tied him for 5th place in the East and the most by a Cavalier since Drew Gooden posted 37 in 2004-05.

During an interview last year, Thompson made no bones about which opponent he least likes going against: Kevin Love. Now, he’ll find himself playing across from Love as a small-lineup center.

”I played a little center my first couple years here, so it’s nothing new to me,” said the former Longhorn. “And if you look at our league now, the 5-men are becoming a little bit more mobile. You look at the Spurs, they have Tiago Splitter. They had Chris Bosh playing the 5 a little bit in Miami. The 5’s kind of changing. Besides Marc Gasol and Roy Hibbert, the 5’s aren’t really as big as they used to be. So I’m prepared; I watched a lot of film over the summer on the centers in the league.”

We’ll probably get a look at that lineup when the Cavs open the preseason and face off against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Sunday night.

The Wine and Gold beat the international heavyweights in the 2006 preseason. I’m not sure who was guarding Cleveland’s power forwards for Maccabi that night, but Drew Gooden posted 21 points and eight boards and Donyell Marshall tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. They’d better hope they have a better answer for Cleveland’s new duo this weekend.

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Joe G's Practice Notebook (10/03)

We’re one day away from the Quicken Loans Arena debut of the revamped Cavaliers squad – one that missed the postseason in each of the last four years but should make some seriously loud noise when this year’s tournament rolls around.

After the Cavaliers wrapped up official practice, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving stayed late to work on their three-point shooting – from varying spots outside the arc, receiving the ball in assorted ways, etc. It was just another living example of LeBron’s influence. Great things happen when the team’s best player is also its hardest worker.

Other notes from Tuesday’s workout at Cleveland Clinic Courts include …

* Fans expecting to see the Wine squad duke it out with the Gold squad on Wednesday night might be disappointed. Sounds like there’s going to be lots of jersey-swapping in the annual “Wine and Gold Scrimmage” at The Q. With the team’s upcoming trip to Brazil affecting the practice/preseason schedule, David Blatt announced he’ll be playing with the lineups in the inter-squad matchup.

“We thought about that and we’re going to mix it up,” said Blatt. “We’re not going to play one specific team against the next. We want to see different combinations and we’ll use that time tomorrow to mix and match players and combinations.”

Blatt hopes to use Wednesday’s game to see if the squad is “meeting our own set of expectations with everything that we’ve done to this point. We just want to show some flow and some continuity in how we’re playing offensively. And defensively, the concepts we’ve covered and the intensity that we’re asking from them will hopefully come out tomorrow.”

Coach Blatt did acknowledge that LeBron, Kevin Love and Kyrie will spend some floor time together on the same team.

* It hasn’t been all smooth sailing through Dion Waiters’ first two years as a pro. But it’s been hard to get the smile off his face heading into his third season in Cleveland. He worked out with Kevin Love in L.A. in the offseason and LeBron has admittedly taken him under his wing since returning.

“(LeBron and I) are just working together, building that chemistry,” Waiters admitted. “At the end of the day, I want him to take me under his wing. He’s won championships, he’s a proven player – he’s the best player in the world. Why not learn from a guy like that?”

“I will continue to stay on (Dion),” said James. “I want him to continue to learn the game mentally and physically. He’s a very good player – if not a great player in our league. But our game is more mental than anything. Thinking the game before you physically play the game, I think he’ll be even more dynamic. And I’ll stay on him about that.”

Waiters is listening to more than just LeBron – leaning on all of the new group of veterans.

“You got guys like Mike (Miller), (James) Jones, the Matrix (Shawn Marion),” Waiters continued. “They’re easy to talk to. The locker room is totally different from the first two years I’ve been here. It’s a different type of vibe. Everybody’s talking, outgoing. And you have the vets – it’s easy to go talk to them.  It’s just a great thing to be a part of.”

For those of us who watched LeBron enter the league as an 18-year-old, it’s cool to see him embracing his leadership role as an experienced veteran.

”As a leader, you can’t lead everyone the same way,” added the four-time MVP. “So, I’m still figuring out everybody’s personalities on and off the floor. That’ll allow me to lead guys in different areas.”

* The best David Blatt one-liner of the day – and there’s at least one a day – came when he was asked how the Cavaliers are progressing this week while learning his offensive system.

“I think we’re going to graduate from first to second grade sometime this week, and I’m happy about that,” quipped Blatt. “I remember when I did it; it was a big moment for me.”

* The only player remaining from LeBron’s first go-round with the Cavaliers is Anderson Varejao. The two are close friends on and off the court and have been through plenty of battles together in the Wine and Gold. James is tied with Brad Daugherty for 7th place in all-time games played at 548. Andy is tied with Phil Hubbard for 10th with 469.

LeBron was asked if there’s anything different about the Wild Thing from his first stretch in Cleveland.

“No, he’s the same Andy,” responded LeBron. “You ask him to run through six walls, he’ll run through seven. That’s how Andy is. He’s gonna fight after every loose ball, he’s gonna dive on the floor, he’s gonna set screens, he’s gonna roll, he’s gonna help you up when you get knocked down. Any altercation happens, you know Andy’s gonna be right there. He’s the same guy; we just need him to stay healthy.”

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Joe G's Practice Notebook (9/30)

David Blatt said it best on Friday afternoon when he channeled Marvin Gaye at the podium at Media Day when he said: “Let’s get it on.”

The current Cavaliers are like Christmas presents that are all wrapped up and waiting under the tree. You know these new toys are gonna be good. Now you’re dying to open them up and get going.

Fans and media will finally get their first look at the new-look Cavaliers on the hardwood when they suit up for the annual Wine and Gold Scrimmage on Wednesday night at The Q. It won’t be a hotly-contested affair. But it will give everyone a chance to see a team that existed only in our imagination when last season ended.

On Monday, the Cavs conducted their fourth practice of Camp – following Sunday’s two-a-day session. Coach Blatt has challenged the guys from a mental standpoint. (After praising his veteran club for coming to Camp in excellent physical condition.)

“They’re coming along pretty quickly,” praised Blatt. “We’ve thrown a lot at them in the first three days. We’re probably going to slow down in terms of information that we’ve given them and now, try to get good at what we have and then add things later. Of course, defensively, we’re going to be adding things every day. But offensively, we’re going to slow down for a little while and lock in on what we have.”

Blatt praised his players’ basketball IQ and, whether he’s running his straight Princeton offense or not, knows that he has experienced and cerebral veterans to execute his system. Leading that pack will be the pack’s leader.

“(The offense) is very free-flowing,” observed LeBron James. “It’s going to be challenging for guys. I can see it: guys are starting to think through it a little too much.  But I think when we get it, there are so many options, it’s live at every position, there’s a counter to everything the defense can do. The more and more we practice it, the more we get a feel for it. We’re able to read and react and not just think about the certain set that we’re in.”

Another adaptable vet who’s seen his share of offensive systems is 14-year vet Mike Miller, who seemed comfortable with Blatt’s plan in the early-going.

”Anytime you have Bron on the floor, the ball’s gonna move – it’s contagious,” said Miller. “Kyrie’s so good with the ball. Dion (and) Kevin Love (are) unbelievable passer(s). We have a lot of talented guys learning to play with each other. The true test is going to come from ourselves and when things go bad, when we hit a little adversity. But now everything’s good, it feels good and we’re getting through it.”

Cavs Christmas comes early – the first day of October at The Q. On Wednesday night, the city of Cleveland gets their first look the gift that keeps giving.

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Joe G's Practice Notebook (9/29)

The 2014-15 Cavaliers boast some of the most talented basketball players in the world. Those same guys might also be the planet’s least talented singers.

1)	After wrapping up the morning practice of the team’s first two-a-day session of Training Camp, the squad gathered at center court, while the rookies and second year guys serenaded center Anderson Varejao with an off-key version of “Happy Birthday” – as the Wild Thing celebrated his  32nd on Sunday.

Varejao isn’t the squad’s oldest player, but he is its longest-tenured. Andy’s played 534 regular season and 71 playoff games for the Wine and Gold. In 2013-14, he moved into 3rd place all-time in offensive rebounds, 4th place in total rebounds, 5th in defensive rebounds, 8th in steals, 8th in blocks and 9th in games played. And among Conference leaders last year, Varejao was 6th in offensive rebounds per game (2.9) and 6th in defensive rebounding (6.8).

Aside from the birthday hymn – (which Andy “conducted”) – the Wild Thing celebrated with an impromptu three-point shooting contest with Shawn Marion and Kevin Love. The best shooting form belonged to Love, but Varejao and Marion both showed off their impressive range.

Speaking of impressive range, the recent MVP of the 2014 FIBA World Cup, Kyrie Irving, spoke after practice about his new teammates and how they’re fitting together in the first few days of camp.

”As you’re walking through, it really starts to hit you a little bit,” said Irving. “That’s when the real moment came – (Saturday), when we first started. I’m passing to LeBron or I’m running a one-5 pick-and-roll with K. Love and he’s picking and popping. It’s something you watched every day in Minnesota or what Bron did in Miami, so it’s a surreal moment.”

Irving has been the face of the franchise since being taken with the top overall pick in 2011. He’s earned plenty of individual accolades, but he’s yet to taste true team success. Having a roster full of veterans could transform his career.

”I'm happy that Kevin and LeBron have been through that similar journey that I'm still going on,” explained Kyrie. “But all the pressure of one city being placed on your shoulders and they know what it feels like every day just dealing with that.  I'm glad I have a shoulder to lean on. Last year, I could never really connect. Everyone had a pride thing, and nobody wants to offer advice. And that's okay. But now that we have players that have gone through it, I can learn from them every day.”

Irving isn’t the only one whose NBA education is being expanded by the veterans. Even Coach Blatt admitted that his seasoned squad can teach him a thing or two.

”The great John Wooden once said – and I’ve always subscribed to this: ‘It’s what you learn after you already know everything that counts,’” quoted the Cavs coach. “I’m learning every day and it’s great – I love it.”

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Joe G's Practice Notebook (9/28)

There aren’t too many question marks for this Cavaliers squad heading into Training Camp. The talent level is as high as it’s been in franchise history, can compare with any current team in the league, and is loaded with veteran leadership.

But there are some queries surrounding the Wine and Gold as Camp tipped off on Saturday. One was how new head coach David Blatt would fare on his first day. The other – slightly more long-term – is about the Cavs’ backup big man situation.

Blatt was one of the most successful coaches in recent Euroleague history, putting up big win totals in three different countries – including international powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv – before being hired by the Cavs in late June. He’s yet to get his first win in the NBA, but after one day of practice, his new charges came away impressed.

”(Blatt) looks poised, he looks like he’s ready to lead us,” praised Kevin Love. “And everybody was very attentive. We all spoke before practice, we all spoke after Media Day and we’re ready to hit the ground running. We want to continue to get better, and today was a step in the right direction.”

“(Blatt’s) very efficient, doesn’t like to repeat himself too much,” added LeBron James. “He threw some stuff at us today, (we’re) kind of learning on the fly. He wanted to see how we can comprehend it and make it happen from there, but I think everyone was attentive. We made mistakes. But obviously it’s the first day, everybody makes mistakes, and we’re trying to figure them out. But it was a good first day.”

Coach Blatt stated during Media Day that he was looking forward to “putting some simple things in at both ends of the court (and) getting good at those things.” On Saturday afternoon, that’s what they did.

”(We worked on) defensive principles, rebounding. More than anything else, we just wanted to set the tone for a serious, working environment where everybody’s focused. And I think we succeeded in that.”

Although Blatt’s saving the first two-a-day practice schedule for Sunday, LeBron stated that he’ll be returning to the gym on his own a little later in the afternoon. James also had the line of the day, when asked if it’ll be difficult to coach stars like himself, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.

LeBron responded: “Or, he could have the alternative and NOT have me, Kevin and Kyrie.”

Blatt also addressed the second question mark – the health of Brendan Haywood in terms of the backup center spot behind Anderson Varejao. Haywood, a 12-year veteran, missed the entire 2013-14 season with a stress fracture in his left foot. But according to his new coach, looked good in his first day of practice.

”Brendan did a great job (today),” said Blatt. “Our medical staff has worked long and hard with him and he has really, really made an effort to do everything that we’ve asked of him in order to get back on the floor playing. Brendan went through the whole practice today. That was not expected two months ago or even a month ago. I’m cautiously optimistic. But that was one of the real positives from today.”

Haywood – who, along with Shawn Marion, won an NBA title with the Mavericks in 2011 – is one of the players the Cavs will look to this season for leadership both on and off the floor. He described the team’s interesting mix on Friday afternoon.

“Typically teams that are very young don't win because they don't know what winning is all about,” said the seven-footer. “So when you have a team full of young and old guys, you have the mix of young guys with that youthful bounce and exuberance, and you have the old guys that have been through the wars and know what to do from a mentality standpoint.”

Haywood and Co. will hit the hardwood on Sunday morning as Camp rolls on – with the Wine and Gold Scrimmage set for Wednesday night and a matchup with Maccabi Tel Aviv one week away.

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Joe G's Practice Notebook (9/27)

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