CLEVELAND -- Most of the talk surrounding the Cavaliers lately has centered on the off-season, and more specifically, the NBA draft.
And the summer will most certainly be filled with promise.
As for the here and now, about the only positive the Cavs can take from Sunday's 99-83 home loss to Atlanta was the play of Baron Davis.
The veteran point guard will, by all accounts, be a member of the team next season -- and with any luck, he'll be joined by other veterans such as Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varejao, as well as a couple of high draft picks.
But these days, Davis often must try to do it by himself. He directs the offense, scores the points, coaches his younger teammates, and on Sunday, he even blocked the shots (leading the team with two).
Those reasons and more are why Davis seems reborn during this later stage of his career, conducting himself like the ultimate pro and teammate when all else appears lost. He finished with team-highs of 19 points and seven assists, also grabbing four rebounds.
In other words, Davis is proof that the Cavs' upcoming player movement doesn't necessarily have to be all about youth. And it's good to know a talented and tested player such as Davis acts like he wants to be part of the organization moving forward.
So if you can take anything from the Cavs' 14-58 record, perhaps that is it.
On the downside, most of the rest of the team has a ways to go -- and some Cavs will only get the remaining 10 games to prove themselves worthy of another year.
That may be bad news for some, especially since Cavs coach Byron Scott has been repeating himself a lot when it comes to what ails this team. Scott said it all again Sunday, when he watched his mostly young bunch get utterly dominated by Atlanta's frontcourt of Marvin Williams (31 points), Al Horford (20 points) and Josh Smith (13 points, 18 rebounds).
"We just didn't come out with the energy and aggressiveness that we needed, for whatever reason," Scott said.
Ramon Sessions scored 13 points for the Cavs, and J.J. Hickson had 10 points and 13 boards. But the Cavs never led and were rarely ever in it after falling behind 8-0.
"It's just a matter of us coming out individually and getting ready to play," Hickson said.
Clearly, Davis has done that. Now it will be up to those who remain after the season, and the newcomers who join in the summer, to follow suit.
Tait makes return
Longtime Cavs radio play-by-play man Joe Tait returned to the broadcast booth for the first time this season Sunday, his final season before retiring.
Tait checked into a Houston hospital with pneumonia following a preseason game in early October, then underwent double-bypass surgery and heart-valve replacement surgery Jan. 7.
"There are mixed opinions in the medical world whether this was the smartest thing I've ever done in my life," he said of his return. "I wanted to give it a shot."
Tait, 73, was with the Cavs in their first season in 1970. He was hired after sending a demo tape to then-coach Bill Fitch, who passed it on to then-owner Nick Mileti.
"I wanted to go out standing up," Tait said. "I wanted to go out working as opposed to staying out there at the farm and letting the season end and not coming back for a few games. We kept pushing that date back and back and back. Hopefully, I can do the final five (home games).
"I didn't want to fold up my tent and silently slip away."
FOX Sports Ohio will air a one-hour special devoted to Tait on April 13th.
