CLEVELAND — Sometimes it’s wise to pay attention to a coach.

Especially in the NBA, where coaches do not play the games of coaches in other leagues that don’t use a round ball.
The past week or so, Mike Brown has talked about this Cavaliers team taking some early lumps, having some tough times.
Even LeBron James joined the chorus, stating Monday that there could be rough spots as the Cavs learned about each other.
For one quarter in Tuesday night’s opener, the Cavs were magical.
They blew out of the gate strong and fast, scoring 28 points and leading by seven.
Then they went into befuddlement mode. As in they seemed befuddled as to how to make the new parts of this team — including Shaquille O’Neal — fit.
The result: A 95-89 Cleveland loss to Boston, one of its main rivals in the East.
Early bumps? Rarely have a coach’s words rung more true.
The opener actually was reminiscent of last season’s playoff games against Orlando in Quicken Loans Arena. Everyone remembers. The Cavs took big early leads, only to see the Magic come back and take the game.
So it went against Boston.
At one point, the Cavs led 21-7.
By the third quarter, Boston led 61-47.
That would be a 28-point swing.
It happened for a reason.
Boston understood its plays, had players filling roles and got big contributions from Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels off the bench.
The Cavs seemed to have trouble with plays, had a shaky guard situation thanks to the absence of Delonte West and looked like a team trying to find itself.
The absence of West seemed to alter the entire guard rotation.
Lost options
Anthony Parker wound up playing a lot of minutes, with Daniel Gibson becoming the backup point guard — when he seems better suited to the “two.”
The ability to use and switch Mo Williams and West in different patterns was lost.
Parker had 10 points and four assists, but it’s hard to think that the overall plan had him playing 40 minutes when the Cavs signed him in the offseason.
On a key possession in the final minutes, James drove and passed to an open Parker for a 3. The ball glanced off his hands — almost as if he wasn’t used to those kind of passes.
It also was not too long ago that O’Neal said he needed to start memorizing the team’s plays. He might know them, but there were times when O’Neal had to be directed.
He, too, had a good game, with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but he missed several shorter-than-short jump hooks. And there were times when he did not seem sure of the offensive plan.
At one point in the third quarter, O’Neal sent Kevin Garnett hard to the floor.
After a brief time, Garnett bounced up and pounded his chest as he strode to the free-throw line. Paul Pierce crossed midcourt pumping his fist.
And then O’Neal could not handle a pass from Williams on the offensive end.
A big deal?
Not in itself, but it illustrated the feel, the vibe of the game. Perhaps more important, it illustrated the feel, the vibe of the team.
Uneasy Ilgauskas
Then there was Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who came off the bench. It seemed — based on this one night at least — that Ilgauskas might have a hard time adjusting to this role.
He needs to be in the flow of the game, to get his long frame loose and ready to go. Coming off the bench is not real conducive to that.
There are many ways to illustrate the uncertainty on offense, but one might be the Cavs’ shot distribution.
James finished with 22 shots.
O’Neal had half that many — 11.
Nobody else on the team had more than nine.
James had an outstanding game, with 38 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
But somehow all these stat lines did not add up to an impressive team performance.
Down four, the Cavs had another key possession in the final minute. The Cavs spread the floor, James dribbled to the top of the key and took a standing-still 3.
No passes, no basket, no points.
And after one game, the Cavs have one-half as many losses at home as they did all of last season.
None of this signals panic time. Don’t forget that last season, the Cavs started by losing the opener in Boston and then went on to win 66 games.
The plan is that the Cavs will click.
Brown has never wanted his team playing its best in January. He’s always pointed to the playoffs and has accepted bumps and lumps during the season.
The Cavs still plan to be a very good team.
They just might not start the season a very good team.