BY JUSTIN LADA
SENIOR WRITER

Because we live in a society where everyone wants to jump to conclusions about a team quicker than Kim Kardashian’s marriage, here’s a few thoughts from the Cavs 94-84 win over the Washington Wizards.

-          It was great to see Anderson Varejao come out and hit the boards, playing like the ‘Wild Thing’ that was a key part of the Cavs playoff teams

-          Varejao was one point and one assist away from a triple double and already gave all of Cleveland a scare, after taking an elbow in the neck in the first quarter.

-          The Cavs average age is under 24 ½ years old. At 30 years old, Varejao is the oldest and the most experienced. There have been reports about trading him at some point this year. If he’s healthy and producing, he will be attractive, but can the Cavs afford to trade him? I don’t think so.

-          The Wizards were without their most talented big man, Nene, and it showed. The Cavs bullied Washington on the boards, 54-39.

-          Kyrie Irving dazzled with 29 points and leadership. But Tristan Thompson stood out the most. 12/10 is the kind of nights the Cavs want to see out of the number four pick last year. His effort was also great all night long and took on the tough Emeka Okafor at times.

-          The Cavs bench was extremely disappointing. Daniel Gibson had 10 points, but Luke Walton played 12 wasted minutes. Omri Casspi, despite a bad year last year should still be a better option than Walton. Tyler Zeller played OK defensively, but an otherwise uninspiring night for the rookie.

-          Daniel Gibson had 10 points to lead the bench bunch, but was on the floor in the fourth quarter, when the Cavs allowed 14 straight points to start the 4^th quarter. He and Donald Sloan were not adept at running the offense without Irving on the floor, and this could be a sore spot for the Cavs going forward.

-          The Cavs are a team that is athletic enough to run the open court, and it’s something Coach Byron Scott wants to do. However, they had just had six fast break points. The Wizards are an athletic team, but didn’t have two of their best players (Nene, John Wall).

-          Dion Waiters was solid. His jump shot and conditioning came a long, long way since the summer league, and even pre-season. He’s a young player and playing on a young team, so there are going to be some serious peaks and valleys with him and this team.

-          Game one for Waiters and the Cavs as a whole, to go like this, is good for their confidence going forward.

-          The Cavs  have a tough test against the Bulls, even without Derrick Rose. They need the same kind of defensive effort (held Washington to 36% shooting) against Chicago on Friday.

POSTED 10/31/2012 00:31