LeBron homecoming ruined by Carmelo and the Knicks

(Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

It was supposed to be a glorious night for the city of Cleveland and LeBron James, but no one told the New York Knicks that. Carmelo Anthony and company spoiled the opening act to the Cavs season, beating them 95-90.

With the spotlight shining as bright as ever has on him, LeBron James seemed like he did not want to be involved in it. After a four year hiatus to Miami, LeBron returned by the giving the fans an abysmal performance. He scored 17 points (5-15 field goals), grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists, but had a game-high eight turnovers, which cost the Cavs in a big way.

Carmelo Anthony shook off his opening night performance by scoring 25 points (9-17 field goals), including a big-time jumper with LeBron tightly guarding him to give the Knicks a four-point lead with under a minute to go.

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love came to play tonight, each doing their best to make up for LeBron's subpar performance tonight. Irving had 22 points (8-15 field goals) and seven assists, while Love had 19 points (6-14 field goals, 3-6 three-pointers) and a game-high 14 rebounds. Outside of those two, no one else managed to play well.

The offense struggled, but the defense was just as bad. We constantly talk about the Cavs defense and how that is their biggest weakness, the offense was what seemed to hurt the Cavs tonight. Despite shooting 45 percent from the field, the offense had no flow and the ball was sticking in LeBron and Kyrie's hands. Credit the Knicks and head coach Derek Fisher as well for the way the defended the Cavs.

0-1 is not what any Cavs fan should want, but this could be a good thing. These are the types of struggles they need to mold themselves into the team they want to be come playoff time. LeBron won't have another game like this, and head coach David Blatt will find a better way to get open shots on offense and mix the rotation.

Lucky for Cavs fans, the season does not end after one game.

Three Things

1. Give it time.
Many people expected us to roll the Knicks, especially with it being LeBron's homecoming. Everyone didn't expect a bad game, let alone a loss, it is exactly what they got. LeBron stressed patience in his letter when returning and also during the media day. The Heat struggled in their first few games with LeBron and company, and you should expect the same with the Cavs. April is a long way away from now and that is when you should be worried about the Cavs play. As for now, there are still 81 more games to figure everything out.

2. Something about the LeBron bring out the best in Carmelo.
It's no secret that Carmelo is one of the best scorers in the league, and he always seems to bring a little extra when he plays against LeBron. After a poor start against the Bulls last night, Carmelo took it too himself to give the Knicks their first win of the season. When the Knicks needed a bucket, Carmelo would give them it.

3. Where's the bench?
Depth was a question for the Cavs coming into the season, and that showed in a major way tonight. Outside of Kyrie and Love, most of the Cavs played bad, especially the bench. The Knicks out-scored the Cavs bench 41-12 and dominated the Cavs second unit all night. Blatt didn't show much of the bench either, playing LeBron and Kyrie 43 minutes each in the game. If the Cavs want to be as good as they think they can, they need to bench to step up in a better way than they did tonight.

Statline of the night: Carmelo Anthony. 25 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds. 9-17 field goals.

If there was anyone in the league that LeBron has trouble guarding, it's Carmelo. He ruined Cavs fans splendid day by hitting big shot after big shot, including the biggest one over LeBron.

What's next: Oct. 30, on the road against the Chicago Bulls. 8 p.m.