It has been written before, and in many ways it is true: This is the most anticipated season in Cleveland Cavaliers franchise history.  And the reason for that is because it precedes a potentially tumultuous summer of hand-wringing – as July 1st marks the date when LeBron James can officially start flirting with other teams in the NBA…  Needless to say, everyone understands the importance of performing at the highest level possible this year. 

However, the Cavs 2009-2010 campaign has not gotten off to the smoothest of starts.  After an opening loss to the Boston Celtics at home, the Cavs dropped their first road game of the season to the Raptors the following night.  Cleveland righted the ship with three consecutive victories over the Timberwolves, Bobcats and Wizards, but then the Cavs (who were 39-2 at the Q last season) lost their second home game of the season to Bulls on Thursday night.  Heading into Friday night's matchup with the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, the Cavs were just 3-3, and hadn't yet found their footing.

And while mostly analysts and certainly everyone associated with the franchise had very high, championship-caliber hopes heading into this 2009-2010 campaign, a slow start isn't a complete surprise, especially considering the transition the team is currently undergoing.

The Cavs biggest offseason addition was obviously the addition of Shaquille O'Neal.  Much has been said and written about the impact of brining in Shaq.  But the Cavs also signed free-agent swingman Anthony Parker and wing Jamario Moon.  Factor in the precarious situation surrounding Delonte West, and this Cavalier team has had to make some pretty significant adjustments.     

Friday night, prior to the Knicks game, Head Coach Mike Brown explained the issues he was dealing with at the moment.  "Right now I am bouncing around with lineups and rotations and all that stuff, so nobody has a comfort zone or a comfort level out there.  It's a tough thing because I am doing a lot of experimenting," said Brown. 

Last season, Cleveland had to deal with the insertion of point guard Mo Williams into the starting lineup, but Brown clarified that Williams taking over the PG duties had very little actual impact on the way the Cavs game-planned.  "When we brought Mo in, we didn't play any differently than we had been playing.  We were a pick-and-roll team for four straight years.  And when it got down to it, we just put the ball in LeBron's hands and we spaced the floor with four shooters and said, 'Hey, let's go play…"

But when the Cavs traded for Shaq this summer, Brown and the Cavs were faced with a far more significant adjustment.  "It's a little different this time around, when you have a guy in the middle of the floor that is a dominant force and presence like he is, it takes a little getting used to.  But more importantly than just getting used to him offensively – our defense is starting to look decent.  I have to figure out the different combinations to have out on the floor at different times," said Brown.

When LeBron spoke with reporters before the game, he was asked about the adjustments he and his teammates had to make to incorporate Shaq into the offense.  "We still are making adjustments.  I think offensively that is why we are struggling a little bit, because we still are trying to find our comfort zone.  With four or five new players, we are not in sync right now because we are still trying to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses.  And you need a month or two for that wrinkle out…"    

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Against the Knicks, Brown decided to shake up the starting lineup a bit.  He inserted J.J. Hickson into the starting five, giving Hickson the first start of his NBA career.  This switch did two things: it allowed Hickson to gain some confidence running with LeBron and the first unit, and it also allowed Coach Brown to bring Anderson Varejao off the bench, where Andy can supply much-needed energy.

Hickson responded with some powerful dunks in the first quarter, converting three of his four FG attempts and finishing with a season-high six points.

As expected, Varejao provided a healthy spark when he came into the game as well.  He was everywhere – corralling a game high 14 rebounds, while also tallying two steals and two blocks.  And running with second unit allowed Varejao to spend more time playing alongside Zydrunas Ilgauskas (who finished with a season-high 11 boards on Friday).  Andy and Big Z have played heavy minutes together over the last few seasons and over that time have developed an excellent chemistry and familiarity with each other's games. 

All things considered, the new rotation was solid success.  The Cavs jumped out on the Knicks early and made New York look helpless.  Cleveland scored 40 points in the first quarter, shooting 73% from the field, while limiting the Knicks to just 21 points on 33.3% shooting.

From there the Cavs easily cruised home, and although they gave up too many easy baskets late in the fourth quarter (which angered Mike Brown), there were never really challenged.  Nonetheless, one can't read too much into the results from Friday night's contest, as the Knicks tend to treat defense as an occupational hazard. 

Still, this particular rotation showed a lot of promise.  After the game, Brown discussed his decision to insert Hickson into the starting lineup:  "You don't always have to start your five 'quote un-quote' best players.  Obviously I'm still searching and feeling this team and searching and feeling different lineups and rotations and stuff like that.  I just thought that we would be a little bit more dynamic, especially coming off the bench if I did it this way.  We got what we were looking for."

Brown was non-committal when asked if he would stick with the same starting unit and rotation going forward, but he was pleased with the production he got from both groups.  

Mo Williams also like what he saw from Hickson.  "I thought (J.J.) did well, very solid.  I think he plays well with us because it takes a lot of pressure off of him.  All he pretty much has to do is run and jump," said Williams laughing. 

And it seems LeBron was also a big fan of the new look.  In his post-game press conference, in between dodging questions about his plans in 2010 and his thoughts regarding the World Champion Yankees, LeBron commented on the changes implemented by Coach Brown.  "I commend Coach for making that change; I think that could really help us.  It's not even always about who starts, it's about who finishes.  But at the same time Andy's energy in the past has always been unbelievable when he comes off the bench.  His energy has never changed even though he has become a starter over the last year-and-a-half or so, but with three starters from last year's team coming off the bench it makes our bench really powerful."  LeBron continued, "And at the same time it allows J.J. to work with the first unit which gives him a lot of confidence because he may get some easy lay-ups off of double-teams from Shaq or double-teams off of myself and he can get some easy dunks.  You saw it tonight when he ran the floor and he got a bounce pass from Mo and was able to throw it down.  So it can good for both, not only the team but also for Andy and also J.J."

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With so many new ingredients, has Mike Brown found a recipe for success?  With a couple of very difficult tests upcoming – the Cavs travel to Orlando and Miami next week – we shall see if Coach Brown sticks with the same rotation and if it continues to deliver…