Hey, Cleveland! It's A.C. checking in from Minnesota. What's happening?

It's nice to be here early in the season for a change. Usually it's below zero and you can't even see the tops of the buildings.

Right now, the Cavaliers are feeling their way through the new lineup. The first game, against Boston, was definitely played in preseason mode. Once they got the lead, and the newness of the season and crowd wore off, they looked like they didn't know each other. And the tempo slowed way down.

They played the same way in the first half of Wednesday night's game. In the second half, they started looking like themselves.

You can see right now they have to get used to playing with Shaq - a low-post presence they have to honor. Because when the small unit was in, Mo started looking like Mo, and guys started looking like themselves. It sounds simple, but they have to start feeling that with Shaq in the ballgame. You can see that everything's in place. It's just not clicking.

On the defensive end, I'm concerned that the pick-and-roll is going to continue to hurt us going against big men who can shoot. We have to learn to defend that, because every team is going to do that to us. And we're going to see that on Friday night in Minnesota, because they have big men who can make the 15-foot shot consistently.

So, it's going to be interesting to see what we come up with to handle that, because the pick-and-roll is really the biggest problem we have right now. We're allowing too much space, and it's hard to cover that much space.

Mike Brown's staff will get that ironed out. It's early, and there's no reason to panic. We started out 1-2 last year and if we get a win on Friday night, we're 1-2 again. There's no need to worry, but the sense of urgency should start to pick up.

Shaq even mentioned that on Wednesday night. They didn't pick up the intensity until the second half. The Cavs need to start the game with that intensity. And I think the team is learning what level of energy, what level of execution on both ends of the floor is needed to win as they are constructed now. Forget about last year. The fans have to forget about last year - it's a different team now.

The thing moving forward is how do we handle the new situation. The Cavaliers are going to continue to tinker with rotations. I don't know if the Twin Towers is going to be a consistent thing. It might be situational.

With the way the team was banged up in the preseason, this first week is almost an extension of it. You've heard Coach talk about it. He wishes he had another week of preseason, but October 27^th came along too early.

I think they have been somewhat in a preseason mode, but on Wednesday night, in the second half against Toronto, we saw the Cavs starting to feel more like themselves. I think we'll see that heading into the weekend. And that's very encouraging.

Hey, everyone! It's AC - checking in. What's happening?

On the other end of the weekend is the regular season, and I'm chomping at the bit to get rolling. I can't think of a better team to start out with than the Boston Celtics. It's going to be a war.

We might not be as well-oiled as they are right out of the gate - because we have new guys that have to work themselves into gametime situations. (The preseason is not the real thing.)

So we might be a little behind as far as that's concerned. But our competitive nature - and having enough guys who know the system - will make it a competitive game. It'll be a great game to start the season off with, and right away it'll let us know where we are and what we have to work on.

Again, I look at the season's big picture. It's important to be the best team we can be going into the playoffs as opposed to always fighting to stay on top. We're going to have to work to become that well-oiled machine come playoff time. I think we're talented enough to stay close to the top while we're in the process of becoming better.

I figure out of the first 20 games, we should be able to win between 13 to 15 games. And if we do that, we'll be ready to roll. If it's a little less than that, that's OK. But after around the first quarter of the season, I think you'll start to see this team start to become that well-oiled machine, completely understanding one another on the floor.

After watching the Cavs throughout the preseason, you can see the chemistry is getting there, but not quite where it needs to be just yet. The new guys are still feeling their way. That's natural, it's going to happen.

And you can see Shaq is still figuring out the system. It's not an easy system to learn. And it definitely takes more than the preseason to adequately learn it. We're a better team on paper than the team that finished up last season. Longer, younger, more athletic. It's just a matter of how soon it'll all come together to where night-in, night-out we're playing at our top level.

The most important part of that chemistry will be between Shaq and LeBron. And it's starting to develop. Watching them play from the first exhibition to the last, you can see the synergy starting to develop. Shaq's feeling it out - learning when to roll to the basket, learning where and when guys want the ball. It's starting to happen and Shaq's a veteran who knows how to fit in.

You have to remember: most of these guys are used to Big Z's way of playing center. Z - being a pick-and-pop guy - never clogged the middle up. So certain plays just don't work the same - it's a simple matter of spacing. They have to get used to operating with less space with Shaq in the game.

That's a big difference, but towards the end of the preseason, I began to notice that they're figuring out how to play with each big man.

And I've noticed, too, as the preseason went on, that Shaq was starting to dominate down low. He's such a load to handle down there. Teams are going to have to double-team him. And if you put Shaq and LeBron on the same side of the floor, I don't know how opponents intend to handle that.

Teams will have to play a zone. Shots are going to be wide open on the weak side. And we're going to have to knock them down.

I'm still a little concerned about the defense. The newness has made their reaction time just a little slow. They're still thinking their way through things, rather than reacting. Teams are going to throw a ton of pick-and-rolls at us - especially when Shaq's on the floor. We're going to have to be able to deal with it. The anticipation on the weak side defense will be key. Guys have seen how Z plays the pick-and-roll. Now they're going to have to get used to how Shaq plays it.

Of course, we'll find out soon enough. And like I said: It's gonna be a war. The Celtics and Cavs really don't like each other.

I don't see anything wrong with that. This rivalry goes all the way back to the days that I played. I didn't like them either. It's just the way it is. I think it's a healthy thing. It's good for the league.

The Celtics have a cockiness about them. Granted, they've won all those Championships and they're a famed franchise. But they've always had this arrogance to them that I have never been able to swallow. I just don't like that. And that's just something that has stuck with me. I just HATED to lose to them.

The Celtic and Cavs rivalry is just something that's been passed down over the years. And I think it's time that someone knocked them off their throne.