By John Erardi
Enquirer staff writer

Charlotte's Brandon Hunter, a Withrow High graduate, puts defensive pressure on Cleveland's Robert Traylor. The Enquirer/JEFF SWINGER

The Cavaliers' Ira Newble, a 1997 Miami University graduate, scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting Wednesday. The Enquirer/JEFF SWINGER

DAYTON - Judging from the way the Cleveland Cavaliers played here Wednesday night - and the score means nothing, even though the Cavs beat Charlotte 103-77 - maybe Cavs swingman Ira Newble (Miami 1997) is right.

Maybe the Cavs are good enough to make the playoffs this season. They missed by one game last season.

The Cavs' LeBron James wowed the crowd of 7,589 at University of Dayton Arena with his above-the-rim play, but it was a healthy Newble and the slick play of newcomer Anderson Varejao that made it easy to imagine that the Cavs might be more than a highlight-reel team this season.

Some fans left at halftime to get home to catch Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, but even they got to see plenty.

First of all, Newble is 100 percent healthy from his left knee tendinitis, and he looked great running the court. He plays tough defense, hits the boards hard and shows enough slash and dash on offense (11 points on 5-of-7 shooting) to let everybody know he's going to be a factor whenever he's in the game.

But Varejao showed as much as anybody Wednesday night and might be the type of versatile player the Cavs need to make the kind of noise general manager Jim Paxson envisioned when he took over the Cavs' general manager's job in 1999.

Paxson, who graduated in 1979 from UD, where he was an All-America, addressed the crowd before Wednesday's game and said it seemed like "a hundred years" since he played here. He received a big ovation.

It is Paxson who brought in Varejao, 22, the 6-foot-10, 230-pound Brazilian who played the last three years in Spain. His last name is pronounced Vah-ray-Jean, and it probably won't be long before every P.A. person in the league learns it cold. They will have no choice, judging by the way he complements James on the floor.

Paxson acquired him, along with Drew Gooden and Steven Hunter, from the Orlando Magic in July, in exchange for Tony Battie and two future second-round picks.

Varejao can shoot it, dish it and rebound it. He has excellent court awareness, as displayed by his feed of Newble on the left wing for an 18-foot swish midway through the second quarter. Five minutes later, Varejao made a slick spin-move jam that brought the crowd to its feet.

Newble, meanwhile, was showing off his stuff, too - a quick slash into the lane followed by a left-hand finger roll in the second quarter and a one-handed follow in traffic just before half. He, too, got some love from the crowd, which well remembered his days in Oxford.

Varejao finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, tying James for the game high. Varejao had 12 rebounds, two shy of Gooden's game high.

Withrow graduate Brandon Hunter, of the Bobcats and Ohio University fame, had a tough night, going 1-of-6 from the field with three rebounds in his 17 minutes.