Dion Waiters is entering his sophomore season with great expectations.
Many national pundits (me included) expect Cleveland to reach the playoffs for the first time since LeBron’s departure but in order to accomplish that Cleveland can’t finish 27th in defense as they did last season.
That’s where defensive guru Mike Brown comes in to play. However, you can’t expect things to change overnight. That’s why he’s using the preseason as a teaching tool.
In Tuesday night’s contest against Charlotte, Mike Brown wasn’t pleased with Waiters defensive effort and he addressed it by pulling the guard out of the game on multiple occasions.
“He takes me out, talks to me and then puts me back in,” Waiters said after the Cavs’ 92-74 loss to the Bobcats on Tuesday before a sold-out crowd of 4,047 at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.
Brown is aware of Waiters’ potential.
“You’re better than this,” (Brown said he) told Waiters. “To his credit, he tried harder. He has a lot of room to grow.”
It’s going to be essential for the Cleveland guards to contain penetration while Bynum is out.