Written by Demetri Inembolidis

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The Cavaliers played their sixth of eight preseason games at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus on Monday night. The game was a typical preseason game in the sense that the rotations didn’t appear to have as much rhyme or reason as a regular season game, but Mike Brown made a point to play more of his starters to finish the game.

The Cavs held a lead for the majority of the matchup. They jumped to a 31-19 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers. Even though they are expected to be one of the worst teams in the league in the upcoming season, it is always promising to see the starters do so well against starters from the opposing team. The Cavs had a balanced attack offensively in the quarter. Seven players scored and none had more than 6 points. They held Philadelphia to 31.8% shooting and shot 57.1% from the field.

The Cavaliers took their foot off the pedal in the 2nd quarter. They were outscored 31-23 which left them with an unimpressive 54-50 lead going into halftime. Kyrie Irving dazzled in the first half. He had 12 points and 6 assists, which would be a decent preseason performance for the third year point guard. Irving had a bevy of fun passes and drives to the basket which left the crowd of 11,276 in awe.

The Cavaliers did not have a great third quarter. They only shot 20% but managed to only be outscored 19-17 due to three of their four made field goals being three pointers. The Cavs had a 71-69 lead going into the final quarter of the game. A 33-24 run capped off the game and left the Cavs with a 104-93 victory. Alonzo Gee, Tristan Thompson and Anthony Bennett were the driving forces to the excellent fourth quarter. Gee converted on two of three of his three point attempts. Speaking of Alonzo Gee and three pointers, it was exciting to see him camp out in the corner and shoot effectively from beyond the arc. Gee can be a positive rotation player for the Cavs, but he needs to avoid dribbling at all costs and to make his shots when he is open.  Kyrie Irving acted as a conductor in the fourth. He notched 5 assists and 1 turnover. Most interesting is the fact that Irving didn’t attempt a single field goal during that span. Seeing Kyrie Irving not shoot in the fourth quarter of a game that the Cavs won is not something that we are accustomed to in Cleveland.

Tristan Thompson was spectacular. The power forward had 15 points, 16 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots in only 27 minutes. The conversation that we have been having ad nauseum about whether or not the Cavs reached to draft Thompson will be all but gone completely if he can play close to this level in the upcoming season. Henry Sims was also impressive. He made all 6 of his shots and pulled down 5 rebounds. I am not the first person to say this, but it looks like he will have a roster spot on the Cavs when the season begins.

Segey Karasev left the game in the second quarter. The Cavs are calling it a left-ankle sprain and listing him day-to-day.

Evan Turner looked like he was having fun playing at the Schottenstein Center. The Philadelphia guard had a lot of good memories playing in that arena. The crowd was very warm to him and it was a great scene. Turner finsihed the night with 14 points and 6 rebounds on 4/13 shooting. There was a funny moment before the game where I was walking in the corridor with David Zavac from Fear the Sword. Even Turner was lost and trying to find his way to the court and David said something along the lines of “you of all people should know where you are going in this building.” Turner laughed and mentioned that he was lost because he isn’t used to being in the visitor’s locker room.

76ers coach Brett Brown nonchalantly said during the pre-game press conference that rookie center Nerlens Noel is likely out for the year. Just about all of the reporter’s jaws dropped when Brown said that.

The Cavs take on the Washington Wizards in Cincinnati on Wednesday. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM.