Written by Sam Amico

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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- After two days of practice, the new-look Cavaliers appear energetic, optimistic and ready to run, run, run.

In fact, running seems to be the name of the game, with new coach Byron Scott living up to his reputation as man who knows how to put together one demanding camp. The good news is, no has passed out. Yet.

“Guys came to camp in a lot better shape than I expected,” Scott said from the team’s practice facility in Independence, admitting he cut the running short on the first day. “We even got some basketball in there as well, so it was real good.”

Of course, cutting it short is a matter of opinion.

“We didn’t feel like it was cut short as players,” guard Daniel Gibson said with a large grin. “But thank you, Byron.”

Even veteran forward Antawn Jamison, who was well aware of Scott reputation for taxing practices, seemed a bit surprised, calling the first day a “shocker.” But Jamison admitted that an entire day in bed after practice did the body good. At least a little.

“And I’ll probably be (spending what’s left of the day in bed) again tonight,” he said.

 But mastering it takes a little time.

“The players grasped everything we’re trying to do pretty quickly,” Scott said, mentioning that Jamison has a “head start” after running the same system in Washington. “You could see that he’s comfortable in it.”

In fact, Scott said he was particularly pleased with how the offense was executed by a practice squad made up of Jamison, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins.

What makes that most interesting is Sessions ran the famed (and very different) Triangle offense last season under Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis.

“It’s night and day in this offense,” Sessions said. “I’m sure more comfortable in this offense than the Triangle. That’s more for a shooting point guard, a Derek Fisher or a Steve Kerr. I’m more of a point guard coming off pick and rolls and having the ball in their hands a bit more.”

Charity Stripe Chatter

One area in which the Cavs definitely can’t get any worse is free-throw shooting -- as they were a miserable 72 percent from the line last season, worst in the league.

But Scott’s teams in New Jersey and New Orleans always shot them pretty well, and he plans to have his team in Cleveland do the same.

“We shoot a whole lot of ’em,” Scott said. “We’ve got a system that if you’re making 80 percent, you only have to make 25 per day,” Scott said. “But if you’re hitting only 69 (percent), you have to make 100 free throws a day before you leave this gym.”

Scott added, “The teams I’ve had have always been in the top five or 10. Guys are rewarded for shooting them well, and the who are not obviously have to do more work. Then again, we haven’t even played a game yet. So we’ll wait to see how the preseason unfolds.”

Free Scrimmage Friday

The Cavs will stage their annual Wine & Gold intra-squad scrimmage Friday at the University of Akron at 7 p.m.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the scrimmage is free with a voucher, available at all FirstMerit banks throughout Northeast Ohio (see cavs.com for a complete list of bank locations). There will also be a FanFest outside James A. Rhodes Arena on the Akron campus Friday at 5 p.m.

Also, single-game tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.

Sam Amico covers the Cavaliers for NBA.com and is a frequent contributor to SportsTime Ohio and The Cleveland Fan. Follow him on Twitter at @SamAmicoNBA.