CLEVELAND, Ohio -- This is not what the Cleveland Cavaliers were expecting.

Not when they celebrated a rare win on Thursday afternoon, believing all of their hard work, hours of research and countless phone calls in the previous months had paid off when they agreed to a deal sending two expiring contracts -- John Henson and Brandon Knight -- along with a future second-round pick to Detroit for two-time All-Star Andre Drummond. Not when they spoke about a brighter future because one of the league’s premier centers could become a pillar of the rebuild. Not when they thrust him into the starting lineup immediately, extolling his rim protection, rebounding, size, athleticism and the many new aspects he brings on both ends of the court. Not when the surprising trade was labeled a “f------ steal.”

Or maybe it was what they were expecting. At least, in the short term.

“They came in strong and we were not good and way out of sync in so many ways,” Cavs head coach John Beilein said after Cleveland’s 133-92 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. “While it’s not acceptable to us, it’s understandable given the new dynamic of our team. Andre certainly gives us some great things. At the same time, timing is everything in basketball. In one day we couldn’t do that.”

Excuse or logical explanation?

Beilein could sense it immediately. Within minutes. He saw a juiced up team that was fixated on force-feeding the new teammate. That’s natural. It’s when he knew it was going to be a long night. They all did.

“I think we’re going to be a really good team,” Drummond said, undaunted in the face of the worst home loss in franchise history. “Have to work out my kinks. It was my first game here, we had no practice time, so it was expected for us to come out and look lost obviously. We were trying to figure out plays and I didn’t really know any plays yet. Defensively we are still trying to figure each other out and where we need to be. I think with this break (in the schedule) coming up it’s going to be good for us to get some practice and learn each other.”

The Cavs have two days before their next game against the Atlanta Hawks -- ironically, the last team they beat at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. That was Dec. 23, 2019. Feels like an eternity.

There was a buzz in the building Sunday night, one of the many things that makes the loss sting. Fans were geeked about the ballyhooed trade prize -- the most accomplished player to switch teams at the deadline -- and gave him two huge ovations.

But Beilein had this fear. He said as much the other day at practice, urging his players not to veer from the offense -- even with Drummond in the middle and getting into a favorable mismatch. Easier said than done.

That’s why Beilein has preached patience since Drummond landed in snowy Cleveland on Friday. It’s the same message coming from players.

Drummond had one practice -- and it wasn’t even that lively. He stayed after to work on dummy sets. He’s pored through about eight hours of film the last few days, feeling like he has learned quite a bit about his new team. He spent Sunday afternoon, the downtime before the game, at his downtown hotel, watching what he estimates as 100 clips of Kevin Porter Jr., Darius Garland and Collin Sexton -- a trio of youngsters he wants to help most.

But there’s no substitute for reps. The Cavs skipped usual shootaround at Cleveland Clinic Courts, opting instead to have a walkthrough at the arena hours before tipoff Sunday night.

A weird decision, given the need to fully integrate Drummond. It’s going to take time before that happens. But will every outcome in the meantime look like Sunday? And how long before it’s sorted out?

“I wish I knew the answer to that,” Beilein said. “All I know we’ll work at it. We’re going to do some work tomorrow with some of the guys and again Tuesday, then we go right into the All-Star break where we’re going to miss him for a bit. Then have two days before the next practice. All we can do is work at it. It depends a lot on everybody -- him, our guys, everything -- but it was difficult.”

Increasing the challenge, Kevin Love said -- multiple times mind you -- the team didn’t run any sets. It was a basic, simplified, predictable offense, not wanting to overwhelm the newbie.

“The only time we really ran anything was after we came out of timeouts,” Love said. “And that’s just a product of Dre getting in yesterday and us just trying to simplify everything before we built it all out. Probably shouldn’t have looked quite like that, but we were just trying to, I think find a way to play with each other. We weren’t making many passes, weren’t really making the next play. So it was a little bit of everybody. A lot of it’s to be expected, but we just need to continue to grow and once we push past the next game and All-Star break, I imagine it’ll take a few more games after that, but then we’ll hit our stride eventually.”

For Love, he hasn’t played with a Drummond-like big since, maybe, Timofey Mozgov. There was no space for Love around the rim. He pointed out that all of his shot attempts came at least 20 feet away from the hoop. Of his eight attempts, seven were launched from beyond the arc. The only one that wasn’t came so close to the line that it was reviewed after the fact and a point was wiped away.

That’s an adjustment for Love, who had been on a torrid stretch, morphing into the offensive focal point again while getting touches inside and outside.

The eight shot attempts? His fewest since Dec. 7 -- a night Love disengaged, played just 20 minutes, sat on the bench with a hood on his head and spoke about how much the season was wearing on him.

While Love has expressed joy over Drummond’s arrival, a move that may even alter Love’s Cleveland future, it’s going to be an adjustment for him as well.

“Tonight I was probably on the perimeter like 90 percent of the time, and that’s just because our particular action, he’s down there and he’s gobbling up the rebounds and I’m trying to sprint down the floor,” Love said. “As a shooter, we’re spreading the floor and I’m just going to the perimeter, but that was our primary action the entire time because that’s all we were running. I think that’ll change and I think eventually I’ll get back to being me. I think it’s something that is going to take a little bit of time, and yeah, it was in some cases stopping us in our tracks and not allowing us to play with continuity and how we wanted to play. But that’s not because of him, it’s more because of us not being used to it, or accustomed to it. But I think eventually we’ll get there.”

With 3:41 remaining in the game, Drummond exited. He finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds. It’s his NBA-leading 43rd double-double. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Drummond’s 14 boards are tied for the third-most in a Cavaliers debut. Well that’s something positive in his introduction.

Another: His leadership.

Despite only being with the Cavs a few days, he’s tried to provide guidance. He talked in huddles throughout. He pulled teammates to the side. He offered encouragement. He was telling Garland, Sexton and Porter what he was seeing on pick and rolls and how they could get cleaner looks.

Then, he used his voice in the locker room.

“I think the team really just asked me to speak up,” Drummond said. “Whatever I see they tell me to say it and I’m not trying to step on anybody’s toes or take anybody’s shine or anything like that. If someone asks a question I do a really good job of responding back and giving my insight of what I think. I’ve been on a winning team. I haven’t won a championship. Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson have, but I know what it’s like to win.”

Drummond’s tone was, believe it or not, optimistic. He wants to bring a positive attitude to a team that’s been beset by finger-pointing and arguing. He wants to lift the slumped shoulders and quell the frustration. Wants to keep the team from overreacting after one loss -- no matter how awful it was. If that’s even possible.

“We’re not looking at the scoreboard. I said it when I first got into the locker room,” Drummond said. “I said, ‘I don’t care about the record. I don’t care about the scoreboard. I just care about did we get better today?’ Obviously we are not going to win every game the rest of the way, but our goal is to win some games. We’re not going to sit down and allow teams to blow us out. We are going to play to the best of our ability each and every night. My goal is to push these guys and keep them positive and just continue to work hard. We show no quit. Trying to help our team get to a good situation.”

The question remains: How long will that take?

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