The chance to break out the Kyrie Irving-Dion Waiters back court duo for a test drive while also getting a first look at Tyler Zeller and another helping of Tristan Thompson made the match up worth watching.
When Irving broke his hand the day before in practice it dampened my enthusiasm some but still seeing the rookies for the first time together still brought a level of importance to the game.
The game did little to change my opinion on the two newest Cavs in any light. As expected, the play was pretty sloppy with constant turnovers and whistles dominating.
One thing I can take away is that Waiters isn't afraid to be aggressive on offense and I envision that being a good thing once paired with the R.O.Y. His Chris Webber moment at the end was a bonehead mistake but one I'd rather have him making now and one that he should learn from.
Zeller nailed some long two-pointers and really continued to do the things that made him so successful the past few years in college. I love the way he runs the floor and rebounds. Pairing him with both Thompson and Anderson Varejao is going to be great for this team's ability to keep possessions alive and should lead to a lot of second chance points.
The first time Samardo Samuels stepped on the court I had to do a double take to make sure it was the same guy who struggled to make it up and down the floor all season. Samuels must have finally listened to Byron Scott's complaints about his weight. While he still looked like the player from a season ago, it's nice to see he's taking his conditioning seriously now and could help him stick around as a big man off the bench.
The Cavs are back in action again tonight against the D-League Select Team and I expect for Waiters to look a little more comfortable in his second professional game.
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