I watched the Thursday night nationally televised debut of the new Cleveland Cavaliers and I couldn't help get a large dose of déjà vu. I am a big supporter of Paul Silas and wanted him to be the next Cavaliers head coach even before those clueless Hornets owners fired him. Paul Silas decreed that every player had a clean slate when he came to Cleveland and therein lays the problem. Fans who suffered through last season are seeing the same ideas being played out that didn't work last year and no real belief that they will work now.

Darius Miles is not a PG. Sorry. He will never be one. In that regard I have some empathy for Miles. He is still the same over penetrating, lazy with the ball, bad decision making Miles from last year just healthy but with that in mind he is continuously being put in a position where cannot possibly succeed. Miles is a SF and needs a PG or someone else setting him to be effective but here in Cleveland his only role is to be force-fed the PG position. With James, Davis and Newble all able to play SF and all here for at least 4 more years Miles is left as the round peg in a square hole entering the last year of his contract. It all seems so familiar hence the déjà vu. It was just a year ago around this time that DaJuan Wagner was supposed to be the PG and the team was envisioning a lineup of Wagner, Ricky Davis and Darius Miles all on the floor together. However, at some point the thinking changed and when Wagner was able to play after suffering a bladder infection he was moved off the ball and Miles was forced to play PG. Fast forward a year and LeBron James was supposed be handed the keys at PG with the team envisioning a lineup of James, Ricky Davis and Darius Miles all wreaking havoc on the floor but again something changed and James is not to be the PG (well at least not right now) and Miles is forced into playing PG again. Now Miles may be mentally reinvigorated but unless that process had him develop the necessary skills to be a PG what makes anyone think it work this year? The difference is that instead of having Milt Palacio and Smush Parker as an alternative Silas has Kevin Ollie, an upgrade, which the Cavaliers have made a 5-year investment, sits on the sidelines.

Another thing is the high post/UCLA offense, which indeed is a good offense, and could be every effective but we saw this last year from Keith Smart. Ilgauskas is the only big man on the roster who can consistently make passes from the high post. I saw Boozer getting stripped just like last year and Diop and Mihm holding the ball looking, looking and looking for a place to pass the ball until they either throw it away or whomever is on the wing has to come way out to get the ball. Again déjà vu. When Silas goes to the bench he cannot run the same offense. Also, I thought after raving about Z's skills the "throw it to Z and stand around" offense was a thing of the past. I saw the Cavaliers throw it to Z clear out and stand around while he made a move. When the Lakers doubled on the catch he made good passes out of the double team. When the Lakers doubled after Z starts his move then there were the same problems as last year. Déjà vu.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention LeBron James of whom I will say this. LEBRON JAMES CAN'T SHOOT! I REPEAT LEBRON JAMES CAN'T SHOOT! But, we all knew this coming in. He was wildly inconsistent in high school and if he has to be a SG/SF in an NBA offense he was really going to be exposed. Wing players in the NBA in most systems must be able to spot shoot along with come off screens and shoot and James cannot do that right now. Paul Silas' edict of "you must shoot the open jumper or come out of the game" maybe shouldn't apply to James right now. James is best able to help this team by handling the ball, penetrating and making plays not shooting like Cedric Henderson. If he isn't quite ready for that role damn the expectations and sit him down and bring him along more slowly. Silas' decision to deflect pressure off James but enable him to hoist 18-20 foot jumpers all day may backfire and put more pressure and criticism on him as the 4-15 shooting nights mount. Nobody cared about James' assists, rebounds and steals against the Lakers it is the shooting numbers that made all the headlines. I keep hearing about these expectations for James but no one ever quantifies what they exactly are. I don't know if Silas is attempting to knock down his rookie a peg and make him realize how difficult the NBA truly is but on this current pace it will do more damage than good. I understand that the entire offense isn't in yet but James is being left out to dry as a result of not being placed in his proper role in the offense. As mature and grounded as James appears he is still only 18 years old and has never really failed on the basketball court. As much criticism he has gotten it has been outweighed by the adulation. No one knows what will truly happen when that pendulum swings the other way. The Cavaliers were already hearing boos at their first preseason home game.

Everything is not gloom and doom after 5 preseason games but it is frustrating to see the same experiments that we were told as fans had to happen painfully being played out again. Silas has a lot of bad habits to break on this team like Z shooting every time he gets it in scoring position without a double team, Miles driving wildly through the lane missing lay-ups, perimeter players getting beat backdoor again and again, one pass and shot offense, players going on their own when things start to go bad, etc., etc., ad infinitum. As fans me must be realistic and reality calls for patience. The tendency nowadays is to overanalyze every game and little instance whether it counts or not (see Browns and Indians) But, I just can't help but think if Silas had bothered to break out the game DVDs of last year I wouldn't be so frustrated already and the Cavaliers would be further ahead in their development. The same things we saw didn't work last year Silas wouldn't have tried and he along with Paxson would have moved on to different plans. I mean if last year was about seeing what the Cavaliers had why is Silas still seeing what he has in Darius Miles, DeSagana Diop and Chris Mihm? What was last year for again? Someone tell me? I praised Paxson for his offseason moves in a previous article and he should have received some praise for finally executing and clear and concise offseason plan for a change. But, what do grade do you give for the A execution of a C+ plan?

The Cavaliers aren't a playoff team this year. A complete Laker contingent even in preseason in preseason playing mode blow the Cavaliers out by at least thirty points. In less than two weeks an apparent nationally televised ass whipping will take place at the hands of the Sacramento Kings minus Chris Webber.

Let's see if it gets better and the déjà vu turns into some new experiences.