Cavs click in opener: 8 instant takeaways from win over Hornets

Instant takeaways from the Cavs 121-114 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

1. Darius Garland scored 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, but maybe more importantly, he chipped in with six assists. Garland was brutal in the first quarter and needed

2. Nance was giving Russell Westbrook a run for the first triple-double of the season. Nance came up just short, but was excellent in filling up the box score with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Kevin Love takes up keystrokes when it comes to trade rumors, but count on hearing a lot about Nance heading into the trade deadline next year. He’s been incredible for the Cavs, now imagine him on a contender.

3. Isaac Okoro made his NBA debut in Cleveland’s starting lineup. Cedi Osman, a regular starter last season, came off the bench.

Okoro was the do-everything player advertised coming out of the draft.  He finished 3-of-4 from the field (11 points). He also added five assists. He only took four shots, but that’s all that was needed as Andre Drummond, Collin Sexton and Garland combined to take 47 of the team’s 86 shots.

Okoro was the fourth most prolific scoring rookie during the preseason, averaging 11.3 points per game.

4. Speaking of Drummond, the veteran had a double double with 14 points and 14 boards.

5. Collin Sexton had a team-high 27 points and was 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. He had 12 points by the end of the first quarter.

6. I’ve hit on assists with Nance, Sexton and Garland. Moving the ball and facilitating for there was such as big problem last season, especially with the point guards. They finished the first quarter with eight assists on nine baskets. For the game, Cleveland tallied 34 assists, compared to Charlotte’s 29.

7. I’m not sure Javale McGee makes it through the season, but he played like a veteran who comes from a winning culture and it translated on the floor. He added 13 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes.

8. Dean Wade got a ton of minutes, well, a ton for Dean Wade. In 16 minutes, Wade scored 7 points.