Recap: Wine 47, Gold 57 (or, three periods and no zamboni)

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Cleveland Cavaliers basketball is back… sort of. The Cavaliers played their first basketball in front of fans since Game Six of the NBA Finals with Monday’s Wine & Gold Scrimmage at Quicken Loans Arena. While the scrimmage lacked the intensity of a real NBA game, it was a fun event that gave deprived Cavalier fans a chance to see the team they have missed these last four months. (And if you didn’t catch it, you can watch the full scrimmage here).

The fans at the Q were excited to see their team and showed it with huge ovations for LeBron James, Mo Williams, Kyrie Irving, and many others as they were shown on the Jumbotron before tipoff. The players began the activities with a series of drills, and the fans cheered for every made basket, particularly a few impressive dunks by James, who was conspicuously attired in a No. 6 jersey.

At first glance, the Wine Team seemed like a heavy favorite. The starting lineup of Mo Williams, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, James Jones, and Timofey Mozgov, will likely be the starting lineup when the season opens on October 27th, with the exception of Kevin Love starting ahead of Jones if healthy. On the other hand, the Gold Team had a starting lineup of Jared Cunningham, Joe Harris, Austin Daye, Sasha Kaun, and Anderson Varejao. The contrast was noticeable, as Daye and Cunningham may not even make the team, Harris is unlikely to be part of the rotation, and one of Kaun or Varejao may also not see much time whenever Tristan Thompson finally signs. While injuries and holdouts might have caused the lopsided lineups, it should be noted that Richard Jefferson and Matthew Dellavedova also came off the bench for the Wine Team.

The game itself was broken into three segments. The first two were ten minutes each, and the last one was five minutes. Austin Daye gave the Gold the first lead of the night with a quick bucket, only to watch the Wine quickly take the lead behind a James Jones three. From there, the lead went back and forth as players pushed the pace, but rarely took great shots. It was encouraging to see Anderson Varejao running around with his usual energy, even though he wasn’t particularly effective. The highlights of the first segment were old man James Jones stuffing Nick Minnerath, a steal and dunk by LeBron James, and the ovation the crowd gave Kevin Love during the first timeout. The first segment ended with the Gold leading 17-16.

That was the end of the night for LeBron James, as he started the second segment on the bench, never to return. J.R. Smith also started the second segment on the bench, but returned to the game after a few minutes. It was interesting to watch the contrast between Williams and Dellavedova as they took turns running the point for the Wine Team. Dellavedova brings some solid skills to the table, but Williams is simply better running a team and getting it into its offense, and especially at getting his own offense.

It was at this point that the camp invitees—who obviously had more incentive to play hard in their fight to make the roster—began to make their marks on the game. D.J. Stephens and Jared Cunningham had some incredibly athletic finishes at the basket, Austin Daye hit a three, and Quinn Cook began to take over while running the point for the Gold. At the end of the second segment, the Gold led 45-39.

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The third “quarter” featured the kind of back-and-forth chucking that would do any All-Star Game proud. Cook continued to do a nice job at point guard for the Gold, and finished with 13 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Cunningham continually attacked the basket to finish with nine points, and the Gold pulled off the upset with a final score of 57-47 over the Wine.

A couple of quick notes:

• While none of the starters were especially impressive, they seemed to be playing with much less focus than those who are fighting for minutes or to simply make the team. This was totally natural whether or not it was particularly entertaining.
• While it’s unlikely that any of the training camp invitees have any real impact on the team, the perimeter invitees Daye, Cunningham, Cook, and Stephens were all much more impressive than the big men. Minnerath and Chris Johnson did little of note, and power forward Michael Dunigan didn’t play at all.
• For all of Cunningham’s athleticism and ability to attack the basket, he still lacks an outside shot. It’s hard to see David Blatt wanting to use the last roster spot on Cunningham, considering how much the Cavaliers’ coach loves shooters who can space the floor.
• Sasha Kaun played well on his way to eight points and six rebounds. Hopefully, he can give the Cavaliers more than Kendrick Perkins and Brendan Haywood did.

It was good to see the Cavaliers back in actions after what seemed like an eternity. The best thing about it may be knowing that things will only continue to ramp up from here.