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NBA pre-season is hard to draw lessons from, but….ahem…..this year is gonna be just nuts. The Cavs 116-94 pre-season victory over the Wizards last night was remarkable for the following.

– The Cavs allowed 41 points in the first quarter. Bad. They allowed 53 points in the final three quarters. Very, very good. Mike Brown is serious about this defense talk.

– Lebron James played only 25 minutes…when was the last time that happened?

– And get this…LUKE JACKSON scores 12 points, goes 4-8 from the field, 2-3 from the 3-point arc. If we got Luke Jackson playing well, that’s just sick.

An ESPN reporter has been hanging around Cavs camp, and sounds just a little caught up in the hype…

In addition to hearing from the critics, Hughes has also heard from the supporters, those who believe he and LeBron could be a Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen-type combination. “Everybody needs help and I’m here to help LeBron,” Hughes said. “That duo [Jordan and Pippen] did it on the offensive and defensive end and they also won championships. That’s what you have to do to be considered one of the best. I think last year I was part of the best duo [with Arenas], and this year it can be the same way with LeBron.” Actually, it could be much better.

This is starting to get scary.

Against the Wizards. Four games in six days…now that’s a grind. Mike Brown sounds a lot like Romeo Crennel.

“The preseason is a month long because it allows teams to get reps [repetitions], and we need reps,” he said. “We’re not good offensively. We’re not good defensively. We don’t know it yet. But the guys have gotten better. Every day there have been strides. As long as that continues, I’m happy.”

Why doesn’t every coach talk like this?