Cleveland Cavaliers' No.1 pick Kyrie Irving delivers strong preseason debut

He was not in the starting lineup, nor did he see more than 26 minutes of court time; however, Kyrie Irving, in his preseason debut against the Detroit Pistons, certainly gave the Cleveland Cavaliers faithful something to be excited about this holiday season.

It was a No.1 overall pick-worth performance by Irving, who galvanized the Cavaliers and seemingly led the charge as Cleveland held off Detroit, 91-87. And it wasn't just the production - Irving finished 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists - it was the way he did it.

Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer has the skinny on Irving's debut and what it meant for Cleveland as the team moves forward in the post-Lebron era.

Early in the second quarter of the first exhibition game, the new face of the franchise wore a pained expression. Irving clutched his left ankle after tumbling to court, his off-balanced shot violently swatted into the ether by Detroit's Jason Maxiell.

But as Cleveland fans braced for the worst -- they are conditioned for it, after all -- Irving rose to his feet and showed tantalizing glimpses of why the Cavaliers selected him No. 1 overall in the NBA draft.

He got to the basket. He went to the foul line. He dove out-of-bounds attempting to save a ball like a training-camp invitee. Not a bad start to his pro career, even if it is just preseason.

It wasn't all fun and games for the Cavaliers' lottery picks, as No.4 overall pick Tristan Thompson can attest to. The power forward out of Texas showed he has some work to do, registering four fouls and zero points in the first half against the Pistons. Thompson did, however, weather the storm in the second half, scoring 8 points and nabbing 4 rebounds.

Detroit also trotted out its own lottery point guard in Brandon Knight, the 8th-overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft.  Knight's debut was not nearly as nice as Irving's, as the former Kentucky Wildcat had as many turnovers (4) as he dished out assists (4).

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© 2011 Neal J. Leitereg -- All Rights Reserved