LeBron James called it a "transition period."

Coach Mike Brown said: "We will get better."

The cynic in me started to ask why Boson's transition seemed so much easier, but there is an easy reason. Boston's new guys — Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels — are off-the-bench role players.

The Cavs' new guys, right now at least, are core starters. And one of them will be a secondary focal point of the offense. That would be Shaquille O'Neal, who looked a little uncertain at times.

It just wasn't all there. Not yet at least.

And the Cavs don't sound in the least concerned or worried about it.

As James said: "I don't want to look too much out of one game."

Random thoughts …

—There was a lot of hoopla about the game. Early pregame crowd. Lot of excitement. All that stuff. It carried over into the first quarter. But after that it was pretty much all Celtics. They are a bunch of pros, after all, and they understand how to play the game. The Cavs have shown an unnerving habit of racing to a fast start and then losing the lead and the game.

–Of course that happened against Orlando and Boston, two pretty good teams.

–There were still too many times when the offense devolved into the James-on-five game. He scored 38, but it's just not going to work every game. His late three off no movement or passes with the Cavs down 87-83 was simply not a good shot.

–Mo Williams looked uncomfortable being the third guy in the offense. Last season, he was No. 2. Now he has to pound the ball inside to O'Neal, or give it to James and let him do what he does. The Cavs need more from Williams, who looked more like the guy who struggled against Orlando than the guy who was so good in the 2008-09 regular season.

–Delonte West's absence is huge, because it screws up the guard system. Without West, Anthony Parker has to play 40 minutes, and he wasn't signed to play 40 minutes. Without West, Daniel Gibson becomes a backup point guard, and it's not his forte. Without West, the entire guard system is thrown off.

–This could be a concern all season.

–For a good part of the fourth quarter, Brown had Zyrdunas Ilgauskas and O'Neal on the floor together. Late in the game, he brought Anderson Varejao off the bench. I expected him to replace O'Neal and take Shaq's free throw shooting out of play, but he went in for Ilgauskas.

–Brown admits he's searching for the right substitutions and patterns. He admitted he didn't do a good job of working his lineups during the game.

–James had two more of those chase-down blocks that are becoming his signature.

–At one point, Ray Allen was guarding James. Could he not have done what Allen did when Allen saw Gibson guarding him and go to the low block?

–Said Shaq: "I've been around 17 years, won the first game, lose the first game … we've just got to get better. We're still a fairly new team. We're still learning each other."

When West showed up at the Cavs media day, I thought he looked very thin. Then he started talking about being back on his meds, and I thought it odd, at best quirky. He didn’t seem together, but I’m not a psychologist and amateur analysis didn’t seem appropriate at that time. (Yes, one could fairly wonder why it's appropriate now; I've not gotten my degree in the interim.)

Well it seems West still is not together. The other night he didn’t play in a team preseason game after it was announced that he would. He’s left the team again.

The Cavs will support him. His teammates have been gracious and very supportive.

But at this point I hope the Cavs give him all the time and space he needs to get things together before he returns.

He’s working through what seem like some serious things.

Delonte West has missed two days of practice

This situation simply does not seem good. And it seems like it will linger.

This comes from the Washington Post about why West was carrying two loaded handguns and a loaded shotgun while driving a three-wheeled motorcycle on a highway in Maryland, outside Washington, D.C.:

“West's father, Dmitri West, said, ‘All I can say is Delonte was looking behind his back and protecting himself.’” He said his son was looking out for both specific people and because he was generally concerned about his well-being as a high-profile athlete. He declined to say who might be targeting the NBA star. ‘Bottom line is there's a lot of not-too-nice people out here,’ Dmitri West said.”

Wow.

Just.

Wow.

West was originally pulled over for making an unsafe lane change on Interstate 95 while driving a three-wheeled motorcycle and confessed to carrying a pistol. Police eventually found the other two weapons.

Details are sketchy, though the picture painted by the Washington Post is not pretty.

The guns on West's possession included a .357, a 9-millimeter and a shotgun in a guitar case he was carrying.

All were loaded.

West apparently cooperated with authorities, according to the Plain Dealer, and was released on his own recognizance.

The Cavs Danny Ferry released this statement:

"We are aware of the situation and take this matter very seriously. We have been in communication with Delonte and his family. We are gathering more information and will not have further comment until the appropriate time."

Obviously there are a lot of unanswered questions in this story, but it just doesn’t seem like much good can come from a guy driving erratically while carrying three loaded weapons. West grew up in a tough area … but … wow.

Among the questions lingering:

Where was West going?

Why carry so much firepower?

What will the league do about this?

Will the Cavs have their own discipline, or will they play the "let the legal system run its course" card?

West is prone to depression, and gave a very touching news conference last season discussing his struggles. Could this be a dangerous symptom?

Is there a medication issue involving the depression or other struggles at work?

The Cavs have prided themselves on signing and acquiring good guys. West has always been cooperative and fun to be around.

But two pistols — including a .357 — and a shotgun is an eye-opening reality.

No retired guys.

No ball boys.

No assistant trainers.

No contracts worth mega-millions that will run out at the end of the season (OK, maybe one of those).

Real, honest-to-goodness players.

Numerous national and local stories indicate that the Cavs will not be able to do a salary dump (i.e. trade Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic) to acquire Shaq.  So the question must be asked: Are the Cavs willing to part with a Delonte West to acquire a 37-year-old center?

Tough question, because for the second year in a row West was the Cavs second-best player in the final playoff series. But … if it means a championship, it might be worth it. Trading West would surely involve the Cavs strengthening the guard spot with another player, so the Cavs would have to make two moves. Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson are not a starting backcourt. And we've been down the Sasha Pavlovic road.

Do  I expect the Cavs to trade West? Absolutely not. But … if it means a title … they're obligated to think about it.

"We're going to see

what we're made of now.

But it's not time

to get our panties

in a bunch yet."

— Delonte West

See LeBron.

See LeBron dribble.

See LeBron dribble some more.

See LeBron shoot.

Yes, James, as he said, "had it going." He was hitting a lot of jumpers, and he was carrying his team, but it always seems like the Cavs are better off when James scores 48 points off set plays and picks and screens and ball movement rather than the stationary version it used for good parts of the Game 1 loss. That's the angle I went to on game night.

As Thursday wore on, the thought hit me, though, that Mo Williams and Delonte West shot a combined 10-for-32. And Zydrunas Ilgauskas can shoot better. And the offense in general can be better — if James allows it to function. So even if James doesn't score 49 again, the Cavs still should be OK offensively because the rest of the team can score more.

So I started to think about the Cavs defense, and the more I thought (always dangerous, I know), the more it seemed like the Cavs key to winning this series is in their bread-and-butter, their bellcow, their GDOTA (granddaddy of them all .. those who had Mr. Benander for Algebra understand).

And that is their defense, a topic I tried to address in Friday's Beacon Journal. Because if the Cavs really are as proud and as good a defensive team as we've thought all season — and they played some pretty good defense — they cannot let a team shoot 55 percent again, and they cannot let the team shoot 63 percent in the final three quarters.

The conundrum (like that word?) is that the Magic make good defensive teams look bad with their style. They murder teams that are not strong on the inside (ahem … Cleveland) with Dwight Howard, then when the defense starts to collapse they turn to their shooters on the perimeter. They have good ball movement, and they put their shooters in spots where they can make shots.

Sounds simple, but it's pretty tough to stop. And it's all pretty much the reason the Magic are in the East Finals.

Mike Brown did not seem overly concerned when he spoke to the media on Thursday. He said his team did not need to make "a ton" of defensive adjustments. Perhaps they need a half-ton? Brown has always believed in his system, and come playoff time he believes his team can shut down anyone. His players believe in his system, too.

But the system has had trouble with Orlando — unless you think the Magic winning nine-of-12 is an aberration. The Cavs have every right to believe they can win the series, but the Magic play a style that causes the Cavs problems.

Brown is the Coach of the Year. Defense is his specialty. He has made some very adept moves during past playoff series. The Cavs were built with a defense-first mentality. James was second in the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year voting. The Cavs will score, but to win this series they have to stop Orlando.

Figuring out the best way to do that will be key as the series continues.

That's putting it politely. The Cavs lost Game 1 to Orlando because they quit doing the things they had done all season, things that won them 66 games. That meant ball movement and player movement. But in Game 1, too often the Cavs stood around and went one-on-five and relied solely on their MVP.

LeBron James did all he could, scoring 49 points and playing through what appeared to be some serious cramps in his right leg in the fourth quarter to time and again provide his team points.

But the problem was James didn't start taking the ball to the basket until less than four minutes were left, and by that time the Cavs were down 93-90. He was successful in those drives, either scoring, getting to the line or setting up a teammate — including setting up Delonte West for a three with 40.8 seconds left that gave the Cavs a 103-102 lead. After Rashard Lewis gave the Magic a one-point lead, James made a more conventional three-point play to put the Cavs up two, which set up Lewis' game-winning three.

The Cavs could not answer in the final seconds, and Orlando won. But the game was not lost in the final seconds, it was lost in the third quarter and early fourth when the Cavs allowed a 15-point halftime lead to fritter away.

"I don't think it's what they did," West said. "I think it's what we didn't do. I'm not taking any credit away from them, but we didn't come out with the same intensity that we have normally done in the third quarter thus far in the postseason."

The Cavs started the game with enough effort and energy for three games. And it showed. James had four assists before he scored a point, and by halftime he had 26 points.

Dwight Howard said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy told the team at halftime that the Magic "were all witnesses, and we couldn't have that." Meaning they were all standing around, admiring James.

In the second half, the Cavs offense was stagnant and Orlando's was fluid. Orlando relied on its superstar –Howard scored 30 points and was near unstoppable in the paint when he did not commit an offensive foul — but still had ball movement and plays, as shown by Hedo Turkoglu's 14 assists.

James had an amazing night, with 49 points, eight assists and six rebounds. But until those final four minutes, he was taking a lot of jumpshots. Eventually it caught up with the Cavs.

This loss does not end the series. The Cavs almost certainly will win Game 2 (they better). They'll need to win one on the Magic's home court. It's not time to panic.

But anyone who doubted the Magic should be taken seriously can now re-think. The Cavs are in a series.

Random thoughts …

 —James set Cavs team records for points in a half (26 in the first), points in a game (49) and field goals made (20, in 30 shots). He had six rebounds, eight assists, two steals and three blocks.

—The only criticism is that it would be better if those points came off more set plays, as opposed to the one-on-five approach the Cavs used so much. Too much.

—In the playoffs James is averaging 34.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2 steals per game.

—Van Gundy continually told his team that it had been in tough games in the playoffs and Cleveland had not. The looks on the Cavs faces late in the game seemed to indicate they were shocked to be losing at that point of the game.

—The way they started they should have been shocked. The Magic players all candidly admitted they played just one half.

—Howard's first dunk was a monster that brought down the shot clock attached to the top of the backboard. "I thought it was a regular dunk," Howard said.

Stating it clearly:

Mike Brown: "That's why this is a series. A series is not won nor lost after one game. I have confidence in our guys. I trust our guys. We'll be ready for Game 2 when it comes around."

 West on his last shot that didn't go in: "I got a good look at it and that's all you can ask for. You practice that shot and you step up and take it confidently and it's either going to go in or it's not. It just didn't go in for me."

Van Gundy on guarding James: "The one thing I don't leave this game with is any idea whatsoever to do with him. As a coach, you are supposed to have some idea. I don't have a clue, OK? I don't."

James: "My statistics don't mean anything when it ends in a loss. Tonight my individual performance means nothing."

James: "If we think the world is coming down on our head, we'll get beat pretty bad in Game 2."

Van Gundy on the teams' last possessions: "There was no big genius thing there. Rashard just made a hell of a shot and we came up with a stop on the last possession."