Hey, Cleveland! It's A.C., back in town. What's happening?

Things couldn't have gone too much better this week down in the Florida. The Cavaliers really reestablished themselves.

Of course, I'm loving J.J. Hickson in the starting lineup. He gives us more speed and power, more length. And once he learns how to use his length ... well, right now, he's just scratching the surface. But you can see what the potential is. And he's starting to get comfortable and learn the pro game.

J.J. is getting the opportunity to really shine and I think playing him in the starting lineup makes him focus more. Now, he's made it to first base. Now, he needs to get to second, third and home. And if he does that - continues to grow, develops that curiosity about the game and about his opponent - the sky is the limit. He needs to diagnose what he has to do against opponents defensively and what to do offensively.

If he continues to grow as a professional, there's no question he's going to be quite an athlete.

Against Orlando, a lot of people said that particular game doesn't mean anything. But it does mean something.

That was the first time we'd beat them there in six or seven games. I don't care that Rashard Lewis wasn't available. We had them pretty much by 20 the entire time. And we were without Delonte, so it's not like both teams weren't missing key people.

I think this was a huge trip for the mental psyche of this team.

Orlando has to recognize that we're a different team with Shaq. Because now we have a low-post presence that we can go to, basically to start the game - attacking teams right where it hurts, in the middle.

And that also gives you an understanding of how you have to substitute him. You want him to give you that first quarter, and give it strong. Let him rest, then bring him back. There was a whole lot of things we learned on this road trip.

Maybe the hottest guy on the trip was Mo Williams. He's as good as he was last year or better.

He's finally understanding the new positions and players on the floor, understanding the terminology. He's becoming a little more in-tuned with what Coach wants. And I think that's helped him relax out on the floor.

The first two or three games, Mo was so worried about putting people in the right position, that he stopped playing his position. And now he's playing his position and the point guard part is coming back to him, because he sees his own game.

It was a great week, but the Cavaliers can't rest on it. They've got Utah here on Saturday and four-in-five-nights next week. Washington always gives us a tough game, especially in D.C. So we have another tough week.

This week in Florida, we reestablished ourselves. Next week we have to validate what we did down there.

Yo, Cleveland! It's Austin - what is happening?

This should be an interesting week for the Cavaliers - a tough back-to-back in Florida and the Jazz at home on Saturday night.

I love New York, but I'm kind of glad our only trip there is over. It was nowhere near as lethal as times we've been there in the past - (even last year). It's calmed down, actually. Honestly, I think they realize that really, they aren't a player in this situation.

Why would LeBron want to go there and start from scratch? I think a lot of them realize that it's not feasible. For starters, he'd have to leave money on the table, and the only player in the history of free agency to do that is Shaq (when he went to L.A.) I don't see it.

Personally, I don't think LeBron would want to be known as someone who's been "bought." That's not LeBron.

Having that behind them - and taking care of business at the Garden - is a good thing. It was nice to see the Cavs bounce back after a tough loss to the Bulls on Thursday.

One of the bright spots this year - an unexpected one - has been Daniel Gibson. He's been a big lift for the team, especially coming off the bench and with Delonte's situation.

Everybody knows he's a catch-and-shoot guy, with a little bit of penetrating point guard to his game. He's starting to see the game through a point guard's eyes, as well as what I feel is his natural position - the two-guard. To me, he's a two in a point guard's body.

Boobie's also playing better defense. Opponents are trying to post him up, but he's more physical now, after being able to work on his body this offseason. And now the team is starting to get back into understanding him and where he's going to be. LeBron is definitely back in tune with Boobie. It's really encouraging this early in the season. I just hope he's able to stay healthy.

Delonte's also been good off the bench. Right now, he's a little up and down. But that's natural considering what he's going through.

He was great right out of the gate. Right now I like him coming off the bench, but personally, I'd like to see him starting so we can get back into that groove. But until we know exactly what's going to happen, I don't see that. He's been solid coming off the bench. But it's like I always say - he's the point guard, Mo Williams is the two. Mo plays better in that situation.

The backcourt is looking good. In the frontcourt, I think Coach Brown is still working out the kinks. I know he's been going pretty steadily with the "Twin Towers" of Shaq and Z.

Right now, I see that as a spot situation. You can't have a steady diet of it because of how it affects you on the defensive end. What teams are doing is, whoever Shaq - or Z - is guarding, they're going to put them in the pick and roll. And they're not going to roll towards the basket - they're going to pop out for the 15-footer.

If you play against teams like Toronto, with the bigs they have, they're going to get any shot they want by doing that. So that situation has to be a spot situation. I can't see a steady diet of that.

I'm sure we'll see some variation on it when we travel to Orlando. That's going to be an interesting ballgame.

Facing Orlando this early is good for one reason: to see if the moves we've made will help us defending that team. (Miami, to some extent, as well.) But it's going to be interesting to see how we handle back-to-back tough games like that early in the season.

I understand they want to look at it like "just another game," but at the same time, you want to see what effect our new personnel has on that team. Rashard Lewis won't be back quite yet, but I think Vince Carter will be back. They'll be close to full-strength - so let's get it on. 

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.

Hey Cavs fans - it's A.C. here! What's happening?

Well, I liked what I saw on Tuesday night in the first exhibition game. The starters didn't play much, but they looked good when they did.

When Shaq and LeBron are on the same side of the floor, it leaves a lot of open avenues - not only for those two, but for players on the opposite end of the floor. It really puts the defense in a bad position.

There was one play where LeBron got the ball, was headed to the basket off a pick-and-roll from Shaq, and the defender was caught between the two. (That's a bad choice to have as a defender.) He chose to double Shaq, and LeBron went right in for the layup.

If Anthony Parker is going to start at the two-guard, they're going to have to get him more shots. He's doing a lot of running around and didn't get many touches. We need to get into his game - find out where he likes the ball - because you're going to need points from that position. The two-guard has to put points up to balance Shaq and LeBron.

It's no secret that the Cavs have some adjustments to make. They've never really had a low-post guy who demands the ball as much as Shaq does. They have to understand that a lot of our offense is now going to run through Shaq. Shaq passes the ball well - he gives it up. But when he gets low-post position, you have to give him the ball. You have to. That's his position. And he can still overpower one man.

There are adjustments they have to make; they see it.

One player that really impressed me against Charlotte was J.J. Hickson - someone we talked a lot about over the offseason.

J.J. looks like a new man. His confidence is there - he's more sure of himself. He knows what Coach Brown wants now as far as his defensive effort is concerned. A couple times he got beat because he didn't close out properly. That'll come with time. But as far as reacting offensively and protecting the basket defensively - it's like night and day.

His confidence is there and that's huge for a young player. It's positively affecting his free throw shooting and his jump shot.  You can see that he's ready to break out.

That was a smart move by LeBron this summer - taking J.J. under his wing and showing him the ropes. You can see that's helped him mature and he's starting to understand what it takes to be a professional on a nightly basis.

That's all you need as a rookie or a young player - just to learn the ropes. He's beginning to understand how to act socially and professionally, on the floor. It's good to see.

When I was a young player, the guys who did that for me were Lenny Wilkens and Nate Thurmond. Lenny came first - I learned so much from Lenny. And then Nate came in and put on the finishing touches.

Young guys need veterans to help them understand the ins and outs of professional life - on and off the floor. And that's just a solid job by LeBron.

There were less distractions than when I played, but you still need that guidance. But the key is if you're willing to listen. If you're not willing to listen - I don't care if you have the most experienced NBA vet showing you the way - you're going to fall on your face. You must be willing to listen.

A lot of people that go back into Cavaliers history are comparing Shaq's arrival to Cleveland with Nate Thurmond's. And that's an apt comparison.

Shaq brings that energy. (He's already brought the excitement. The community has welcomed him with open arms - as they did with Nate.) Now, he just needs to bring the play on the floor. Nate's presence galvanized our team. And we were extremely tough to handle when that happened. And I see Shaq's presence as similar to that.

You saw it firsthand on Tuesday night. Guys came to the rack and Shaq put them on their butt. There's no ifs, ands or buts about it. Don't come in here.

We've not had that. And the beauty is, Darnell Jackson does that to the next guy that comes into the paint. The mentality, the toughness of protecting the lane seeps into the whole team. Even the guards start thinking that way.

Defensively, that makes you a lot tougher, when teams know that there's no going into that paint.  And we all know that this team takes great pride in their defense. And that should make for another successful season.