Scott helping his Cavs forget about LeBron

NEWARK, N.J. - How long did it take Byron Scott to get over the fact he wasn't going to be coaching LeBron James this season?

"About five minutes," a poker-faced Scott insisted Tuesday before Cleveland's game against the Nets at the Prudential Center.

Scott, who was hired to coach the Cavaliers a week before James announced his departure for Miami this summer, figured he couldn't really get upset about losing something he never had. It really didn't sink in how much James' decision hurt Cleveland until Scott was driving home to his hotel in the city the night of "The Decision" and saw a crowd gathering on the street.

"I saw the big LeBron poster up there and they were taking it down, cops around it and people throwing stuff," Scott said. "I thought, 'Oh man.' "

It was then that Scott realized just exactly what the loss of James meant to northeast Ohio. And his team. It was also then that he knew it was his job to help them get through it.

The Cleveland team that Scott brought to New Jersey last night isn't the 60-win team that went deep into the playoffs the past two seasons. But it may not be the dreadful team everyone predicted it would be either.

The Cavaliers defeated the Nets, 93-91, last night, getting double-figure scoring from five players in the first game of a home-and-home series. Cleveland is 4-3 and in first place in the Central Division. They were riding high after weekend road victories over the 76ers and Wizards. And they were buying into Scott's Princeton offense and his message that they are a team that could surprise a lot of people.

"We know what we have in this locker room," forward J.J. Hickson said. "And we have confidence in each other to go out and win games. It doesn't matter what other people think. We know what we can do."

Hickson has been the team's No. 2 scorer, while guard Mo Williams expands his role. Williams, who missed the first three games with a groin injury and came off the bench in the fourth, has provided a big boost since returning to the starting lineup. In the wins over Philadelphia and Washington, he averaged 25 points and totaled 10 assists, seven rebounds and five steals.

Scott believes his team is over the loss of James, but wasn't quite ready to say the same thing about his new city. Scott, who was fired by both the Nets and New Orleans despite having been fairly successful with both teams, said he can identify with what Cleveland fans have gone through.

Said Scott: "I fit in pretty well with that. The city's had a lot of bad breaks, let's put it that way. A lot of bad breaks over the years. I think the city feels a little disrespected at times. I kind of fit in well with that - somebody who has always been kind of the underdog. Obviously, getting a chance to play in Los Angeles and win some championships affected that a little bit, but someone who's also been knocked down a few times and got back up."