Cavaliers have long way to go

The coach, Paul Silas, must turn talented athletes into pro basketball players.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Has anyone seen the Cleveland Cavaliers? They seem to be missing.
Surely, it can't be them taking the floor in fashionable wine-and-gold uniforms. And all these fans waiting in ticket lines for hours outside Gund Arena couldn't be there for the Cavs, who lost 65 times last season.
Oh, and there has to be some reasonable explanation for the No. 23 Cavaliers jerseys popping up all over the place. Must have been some kind of giveaway.
But, lo and behold, the Cavaliers haven't gone anywhere. They've simply undergone a radical change.
They've changed uniforms, returning to the wine-and-gold color scheme they broke in with as an expansion team in 1970, and they've ditched the "CAVS" logo for the more stately "Cavaliers."
Cleveland also has upgraded its roster with draft picks and a couple of free agents, and the Cavaliers have hired a proven NBA coach with a winning resume.
Although some of the alterations were planned long ago, there's one major reason for the makeover: LeBron James.
The rookie phenom helped make them happen. Go ahead and record it as his first NBA assist.
"I've been here for seven years, and I've seen everything. It's a lot better around here now," Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. "Last year, we had empty crowds. Nobody cared about us. This year, everyone has smiles on their faces."
Caught a break
After more than 30 years of frustration and failure, the Cavaliers finally caught a lucky break.
By winning the league's draft lottery, the Cavs were able to draft James, the Akron high school kid who in addition to selling out the Gund hopes to one day lead his home state's NBA team to a world championship.
That could be years away, especially since the Cavs went just 17-65 last season and don't have nearly enough talent to compete with the league's elite.
James, though, has given fans and the Cavaliers hope.
"This is the most excited I've ever been going into a season," said first-year Cleveland coach Paul Silas. "I'm excited. The players are excited. The whole city is excited."
Getting the 60-year-old Silas was like winning a second lottery.
The former All-Star is a perfect fit with the young Cavaliers, whose 12-man roster will include seven players with less than four years of NBA experience.
Similar situation
Silas has been through this before. In Charlotte/New Orleans, he developed the Hornets into playoff contenders and molded youngsters Jamal Mashburn and Baron Davis into All-Stars. Now he'll try to do the same with James, Ilgauskas, Ricky Davis, Carlos Boozer, Darius Miles, DaJuan Wagner, Kevin Ollie, Chris Mihm, J.R. Bremer and the rest of the Cavaliers.
"We've got some great athletes," Silas said. "Now, I've got to make them basketball players. They've got to work. It's going to take some time for our guys to learn the system. One day, they'll have it and when they do, it's a beautiful thing to watch."
With the Cavs, Silas has installed the same "UCLA" half-court offense he used with the Hornets. However, he also wants the Cavs to take advantage of their athleticism and push the ball up the floor when they can.
"We want to be a running club," said Silas, who envisions a starting lineup of James and Miles in the backcourt with Davis, Boozer and Ilgauskas up front. "We should be able to get easy layups."
Silas is also an ideal mentor for the 6-foot-8 James, who enters the NBA with nearly $120 million in endorsement deals and suffocating expectations.
Silas won't play favorites, and he's not going to let one player divide his team. And watching him interact with the Cavs during recent practices, it appears he has already bonded with his kids.
"I'm demanding in that I want to win above all else," he said. "I've got an easygoing manner when I'm not on the court, but when I'm on the court, I'm a tiger."
Maturation process
Davis can attest to that. As an 18-year-old rookie, he played for Silas in Charlotte, and the two clashed continuously.
"He was wild," Silas said.
The 6-foot-7 Davis is coming off a breakout season during which he averaged 20.6 points and led the Cavaliers in points, assists, steals, minutes and 3-point percentage.
A bundle of energy, Davis emerged as one of the league's most exciting players.
He also shot at the wrong basket.
Trying to pad his stats in the closing seconds of a game to get his first career triple-double, Davis intentionally fired at Cleveland's hoop to get a 10th rebound.
It was a shameful moment for Davis and the Cavaliers, who had a season full of them.
Davis says it was a mistake, and the 24-year-old wants to prove he's not a selfish player.
"This is going to work," he said. "We've got a chance to be a real good team."
Hearing Davis say "we" is a positive first step. His me-first attitude rubbed teammates the wrong way last year. Now, he's going to have to share the spotlight -- and the ball.
"Ricky is one of my leaders," Silas said. "He has a chance to prove a lot of people wrong about him."
Center of attention
Ilgauskas averaged a career-high 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in 81 games, the most since his rookie season in 1997-98.
Just two years ago, the Lithuanian giant contemplated retirement after playing only 29 games over a three-year span because of foot injuries.
Six surgeries later, Ilgauskas is healthy and may be the best center in the Eastern Conference. But he takes nothing for granted, which is why he appreciates the Cavaliers' new identity as much as anyone.
"Every time I look down I see the scars," he said. "As long as they're not hurting and the bones aren't breaking, I can take everything else."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.