Five Dribbles From the Cavaliers Wine and Gold Scrimmage

The Cleveland Cavaliers gathered at the Wolstein Center on Saturday for the wine and gold scrimmage, in front of a hearty 7,139 fans. It was the first chance for those in attendance to get a glimpse at the 2022-23 iteration of the Cavs.

Essentially, the session served as a glorified practice for Cleveland before they hose the Philadelphia 76ers at Rocket Mortgage Field House on Monday night. The event came with a very laid back atmosphere, that included kids coming out of the crowd to take a few shots, a dunk contest and plenty of autographs.

Here are some notes from the Cavs' wine and gold scrimmage.

Donovan vs. Darius

One of the most notable observations with the team split into two squads was that JB Bickerstaff opted to put Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell on opposite teams. Despite the low-key nature of the event and the players mostly having fun throughout the scrimmage, there were a few moments where the Cavs starting guards tried to pick up the intensity on each other, including Garland knocking down a three with Mitchell in his face. Fun as it was for fans to see that duo against each other, it will be more enjoyable to watch them play next to each other.

Jarrett Allen from DEEP in the Stein

Cavs big man Jarrett Allen was not shy about taking some shots from three-point range during the scrimmage. There were a couple of times down the floor he was left alone out on the perimeter and fired away, which drew a disappointed groan from the crowd when they didn't go down. While this may have been a byproduct of the fun nature of the event, Allen has said during training camp that if he's open he's going to take them, so it probably won't be the last time you see the veteran center fire a few from deep. 

All-Star Game Vibes

Having eluded to the laid-back feel a few times now, the vibes surrounding the event could best be described as a mini-All-Star weekend. The scrimmage featured a ton of transition dunk attempts, alley-oops and laughs from the players. There were high-fives shared with young fans in the front row, plenty of auto-graphs signed and even a dunk contest. 

Sit this one out...

Also notable was a trio of players who didn't participate in Saturday's festivities. Kevin Love, Evan Mobley and Dylan Windler were each spectators for the scrimmage. Mobley is obviously nursing an ankle sprain that is expected to have him sidelined 1-2 weeks, but is expected to be ready for the season opener on Oct. 19. At one point Love seemed to sell himself to the crowd as a dunk contest contestant but he quickly backed off that challenge.

Showstopping Moments

There were a couple of moments during the session that really got the crowd revved up. That aforementioned Garland three with Mitchell defending was one. Another came about eight minutes into the full-court scrimmage when Lamar Stevens had back-to-back breakaway dunks, including a reverse slam. He later had a crowd-pleasing dunk to start off the dunk contest (above). Maybe the most impressive moment of all came as the clock was expiring as guard Sharife Cooper nailed a full-court shot that invoked a loud cheer from the crowd.

With the wine and gold scrimmage behind them, the Cavaliers are primed and ready for Monday's preseason meeting with the 76ers.

-----

You may also like:

Five Thoughts On The Cavaliers 113-112 Loss To The Philadelphia 76ers

Evan Mobley's Status For Season Opener Not In Jeopardy

Welcome To Cavs Insider, A New Online Community For Cleveland Cavalier Fans

NBA Betting Options for Cleveland Cavaliers Basketball in 2022-23

-----

SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more coverage of the Cavaliers!

Follow our comprehensive Cavs coverage through Sports Illustrated's FanNation network here:

Website: www.cavsinsider.com

Follow Spencer German on Twitter: @Spencito_

Twitter: @CavsInsider_FN

Instagram: Cavsinsider_fn