Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards

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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Dion Waiters tried to play it cool, but his smile gave him away.

So, when was the last time his name was called as a member of a starting lineup?

"Probably like three or four years ago," the Cavaliers rookie guard said after coach Byron Scott named him a starter for Tuesday night's season opener against the Washington Wizards at The Q. "I was in high school. Just can't wait. ... It's gonna be a great day for us. Most importantly I wanna go out there and get a win in my first NBA game ever."

Waiters, who came off the bench in his two seasons at Syracuse and was named the Big East Sixth Man of the Year last season, will start at shooting guard, joining Kyrie Irving at point guard, Alonzo Gee at small forward, Anderson Varejao at center and Tristan Thompson at power forward.

Scott opted to use newcomer C.J. Miles at small forward or shooting guard with the second unit, although he played well throughout the preseason.

"That starting lineup will give us a lot of energy," Scott said after practice Monday at Cleveland Clinic Courts. "We have a couple guys who can score. Zo did a great job in the preseason, especially on the defensive end."

Scott said Waiters came on in the past week after the end of the preseason schedule. He played especially well in a scrimmage on Friday, Scott said.

"In the last week and a half, he did enough in practice," Scott said. "He's growing. He was fantastic in the scrimmage on Friday.

"He wasn't thinking as much. He knows all the plays, everything on the floor. He understood the offense. He understood the plays. When he did force it, he was able to get where he wanted to go. You could see in the week's time he was more comfortable and knew the plays."

In spite of the progress, Waiters expects some nerves on Tuesday.

"You're gonna get jitters regardless," he said. "It's a big game. It's a big step for you as a person, something you've dreamed about your whole life. But once the ball goes in the air, you've got to calm yourself down ... just play smart, don't try to do too much out there and stay within the team.

"[I'm] just happy I have a game to play in, produce in, do whatever it takes for my team to get a win."

Waiting game: Irving, who had four wisdom teeth pulled Wednesday, still hasn't been cleared to play by team doctors.

"He said he's clearing himself," Scott said. "He didn't have any setbacks from [Sunday's practice]. That's a pleasant surprise."

Scott has warned the Rookie of the Year that teams will be concentrating on stopping him this season.

"I pretty much know how teams are going to react," Scott said. "They are going to load up on him. He's not going to sneak up on guys or teams. It's one of those years where he'll get tested every night because teams are going to try to take him away. They'll try to bottle him up.

"In the preseason game at Champaign [an 86-83 victory over Chicago on Oct. 12], he said every time he came down the court, three or four guys were looking at him. I said, 'Welcome to the NBA.' That's going to happen every night to a marquee player. He'll see that on a night-to-night basis.

"I still think he's going to be pretty good."