EIGHT-MAN ROTATION
Pos	Player	Key Stat	Skinny
PG	Brevin Knight	7.7 PPG	Two worries: Can't shoot; Andre Miller
SG	Wesley Person	75 threes	Absence of Ilgauskas directly affects him
SF	Cedric Henderson	9.1 PPG	Steps in for injured Lamond Murray
PF	Shawn Kemp	20.5 PPG	Weighs at least 318, but wears it well
C	Z. Ilgauskas	5 games	Gives 15 points a night when feet are fine
PG	Andre Miller	rookie	Stellar size, defense, maturity for rookie
PF	Andrew DeClerq	7.9 PPG	Upside guy looks better off the bench
SG	Trajan Langdon	rookie	Not as developed as Miller, but can shoot

		The Cavaliers drafted well and traded for Lamond Murray, who is hurt and will be out awhile. If Zydrunas Ilgauskas comes back and plays full-time, he has a chance to be one of the premier centers in the NBA. I like their guard corps. It will be a major adjustment for the Cavs from the coaching situation, from Mike Fratello's slow-down, grind-it-out team to a team under Randy Wittman that will run at every opportunity. Shawn Kemp came in a little overweight, which is normal for him, but Kemp played hard last year. They will like the style and take time to adjust to the style. The Cavs have a chance to have a good season if they stay healthy.

Defensive specialist Mike Fratello was head coach the last six seasons. In his last five campaigns, the Cavaliers never finished higher than 24th in the NBA in scoring.

Fratello is gone, replaced by rookie coach Randy Wittman, who has vowed to open up the offense. That should come as welcome news to Cleveland's fan base, or what's left of it.

Another reason Fratello was fired after an injury-riddled 22-28 season was that attendance had dropped to 25th in the league. Wittman, most recently a Minnesota assistant, must win the fans back.

"We're going to play a more open-floor game," Wittman says. "We're not going to hold the ball and run a set play every time down."

The key question isn't whether the Cavs can run, but if they can avoid coming up lame in an uptempo game. The Cavs last season were devastated by injuries. Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed the final 45 games with a broken left foot. Shawn Kemp missed the last eight games with a sprained left foot. Point guard Brevin Knight missed the last seven with a broken left hand.

Yes, they were all injuries to left limbs. Nothing went right for the Cavs.

So far, the Cavs are picking up where they left off in May. Ilgauskas missed most of the preseason with soreness in his left foot. Kemp and Bob Sura battled nagging pains. Forward Lamond Murray, acquired in an offseason trade from the Clippers, found out early what it means to be a Cav. He'll miss the first few weeks of the season with a ligament tear in his left knee.

The Cavs, though, are hopeful that the aches and pains will subside enough to return to the playoffs. After all, the Cavs went 47-35 in 1997-98, and the talent looks better this time around.

	Player to watch
	Ilgauskas Zydrunas Ilgauskas suited up only five times last season before breaking his foot, and that killed the Cavs. That was bad enough, but now it looks like these foot problems haven't gone away. If the Cavs can have a healthy "Z" to go with Shawn Kemp and emerging Andrew DeClerq, this is a formidable rebounding team. If not, it'll be another long season.

Point guard
Knight is the starter, but will he be announced in pregame introductions all season? The Cavs selected Utah's Andre Miller with the No. 8 pick in the draft, and he figures some day to be the starter.

Knight's problems are he can't shoot (42.5% last season and 0-12 from the arc in his two seasons) and, at 5-10, he has problems on the defensive end. On the plus side, Knight is very quick, is a good floor leader and is always among the league leaders in steals.

"It's my job right now," Knight says. "Nobody has told me I'm not the starter."

There is one obstacle that could keep Miller from winning the job soon. He's not much of a shooter either. But he's 6-2 and is a better defender than Knight.

Both point guards have flaws, but the good thing is the Cavs have two of them. Gone are the days of having to slide over off guards Sura and the since-traded Derek Anderson to spell Knight at point guard.

Shooting guard
The Cavs seem to collect shooting guards, which isn't surprising because Wittman and GM Jim Paxson are both former NBA shooting guards. During the summer, they had four in Person, Sura, Anderson and rookie Trajan Langdon. The logjam was broken a bit when Anderson was sent to the Clippers in the deal for Murray.

If Person can return to his 1997-98 form, when he averaged 14.7 points and shot 43.0% from three-point range, the Cavs should be in good shape. If Person looks like he did last season, when he averaged 11.2 points and shot 37.5% on three-pointers, the Cavs will need all their shooting guards.

The Cavs believe Sura, entering his fifth season, will overcome the numerous injuries he's had and return to the form of his first two seasons. Langdon was drafted for his ability to shoot, but it might take some time for him to learn how to get open.

Small forward
Cedric Henderson, the starter the past two seasons, is very athletic and a good defender, but he is a mediocre shooter (.417 last season) and rebounder. Henderson would be best served coming off the bench, but he'll be the starter until Murray returns.

The Cavs are very interested in seeing which Murray shows up. Murray averaged 15.4 points on 48.1% shooting and grabbed 6.1 rebounds with the Clippers in 1997-98, when he was one of the league's most improved players. But last season he averaged 12.2 points on 39.1% shooting and gathered only 3.9 rebounds while losing his job to undrafted rookie Tyrone Nesby.

Power forward
Kemp was the butt of national jokes last season when he reported at 303 pounds, more than 30 pounds overweight, but there wasn't much cause for alarm. That's because Kemp was able to shed the pounds quickly and have one of the best seasons of his 10-year career. He averaged a career-high 20.5 points as well as 9.2 rebounds. And Kemp thinks he could be even better this year.

"I was in a running system in Seattle (from 1989-97), and that's probably what my game is best suited for," Kemp says. "They made me a post-up player two years ago, and that's not my best game."

The Cavs can go with the athletic Andrew DeClercq, burly Mark Bryant or sharpshooting Danny Ferry behind Kemp.

Center
There is no truth to the rumor that Ilgauskas is related to Bill Walton.

Ilgauskas has been plagued by foot problems in three of the last four seasons. He missed all of 1995-96 and 1996-97 (his NBA rookie season) as he broke his right foot twice. Last year, he broke his left. When Ilgauskas was able to play all 82 games in 1997-98, he made the All-Rookie team. That's why he earned a six-year contract for the $71 million maximum, which goes into effect this season.

If he can stay healthy, Ilgauskas is one of the finest young centers in the NBA. He runs the floor well. He can hit a 15-foot jumper. And, at 7-3, obviously he can block a few shots and grab some rebounds.

When Ilgauskas needs relief, it's from centers by committee. DeClercq and Bryant are the primary backups. Kemp doesn't like playing center, but he's also available.

Coaching
The jury is out on Wittman. Actually, the jury has not even been selected.

Wittman never has been a head coach at any level. He was an assistant coach with Indiana, Dallas and Minnesota for seven seasons after retiring as a player in 1992. Only once did any of those teams have a winning record, so it's no wonder many were surprised when Wittman was selected by the Cavs over Dave Cowens.

Paxson, a rookie general manager, simply felt more comfortable around Wittman. Paxson has been impressed with Wittman ever since he saw him coach in a summer league three years ago. One thing is for sure: If Wittman runs -- and he wins -- he'll become very popular.