I suppose it makes sense that there could be some bumps after so many changes to the roster, but this is ridiculous. Before you get the wrong idea, no I’m not panicking. Well, not anymore at least. I actually was panicking at halftime of game 2 of this season as the Cavs sauntered off to the locker room down by 18. To the Raptors. But the team’s third quarter performance brought me back from the brink.

The Cavs’ struggles in their first game against Boston have been well documented. That’s why I was so disappointed to see them continue to make the same mistakes Wednesday night in Toronto. That first half against the Raptors was one of the worst halves of professional basketball I have ever seen. The Cavs were just a bad, bad basketball team for those 24 minutes. We’ve seen some atrocious offense from our beloved Cavaliers the last couple of years, but one thing has remained pretty consistent during that time. That’s defense. Normally, even if the shots aren’t falling, the Cavs are playing aggressive defense and trying to build off of that.

This is what made me so angry last night. Their defense was awful and they had nothing at all to build on. Mo looked like a kid who lost his puppy. He was sort of wandering around in a daze for 2 quarters, turning the ball over and jacking up horrible shots from the perimeter. Shaq did some damage inside early, but was lost on defense. Ditto for Anthony Parker and even LeBron, who couldn’t seem to find the right play to make on either end. Toronto was getting any shot they wanted, and scoring them at a very high rate.

So at halftime I was panicking and trying to resist the urge to throw my remote through the T.V. What brought me back was the fact that the Cavs came out in the third quarter and played defense the way we usually see them play. The perimeter guys were up in the ball-handlers’ faces, Shaq was filling up the paint, and they were getting stops. Very quickly then, on the other end, they started making shots. Mo apparently found his puppy in the locker room and looked like the guy we know, driving to the hoop and nailing his shots and free throws, while keeping his man in front of him on defense. The reality for this team, and apparently for any Mike Brown team, is that they MUST start with high intensity defense, or everything falls apart.

Now, a lot of people, including some members of the Cavs organization, keep saying that it takes time to get used to each other and they have new faces, etc. Hogwash. Absolute garbage. Here are the two main reasons the Cavs are 0-2 right now:

1. Mike Brown. If a talented team starts off a season and looks totally unprepared, it’s the coach’s fault. This goes for all sports and it’s an iron clad truth. I don’t want to hear excuses about missing players or the flu. He knew what had to be done and he failed. They shouldn’t need more time. The Celtics hit the ground running 2 years ago, despite bringing two new superstars into their starting lineup. Orlando added Vince Freaking Carter this year and, frankly, have looked dominant both in pre-season and the first game of the regular season. What is Mike Brown’s problem? We also know Brown can’t coach offense. Losing John Kuester was huge, but supposedly Mike Malone was supposed to take over offensive coaching. Is he? So far the offense looks very Mike Brown-esque. If Malone isn’t running the offense, he should be. And if he is and this is the result, then Danny Ferry needs to hire an offensive coordinator. Like, yesterday.

2. Delonte West. When I referenced earlier that Mo looked like a kid who lost his puppy, Delonte is the puppy. The whole team looks like it has no character, no swagger and honestly, no confidence. It seems apparent now that all those things flowed from Delonte last year. This team needs him back in such a bad way, that I probably will revert to panic mode if it turns out Delonte is lost for the year. As big a personality as Shaq is, he’s just not the same. He’s not Delonte. In addition to the lock down perimeter defense he brings (no WAY Ray Allen torches Delonte like that), the Cavs clearly need his attitude and approach to the game. Even having the real Delonte on the bench would be huge. They lost him for several weeks last year when he injured his wrist, but he was on the bench, cracking jokes and providing encouragement. Without that, the Cavs’ heart from last year has essentially been removed.

Last night’s third quarter in Toronto gives me hope that the Cavs can get things going. Mike Brown needs to quickly analyze which lineups work and which don’t (no more tall trees against fast teams, please) and get some screens and LeBron-in-the-low-post going to open up space for his shooters. He cannot just say, “Well, you guys are pretty talented… go out there and play. Seriously, it’ll be fine. Just use your instincts!” He needs to coach. To guide. To lead this talented group to the right spot, let them get comfortable, then let them run with it. We’re not there yet and it may take some time. Until they get it together, I may have to cover my remote control in rubber, just in case it “slips out of my hand” in the direction of the T.V.

The Cavs are in Minnesota Friday, and then home against the Bobcats on Saturday.

Kevin Hignett hawks insurance during the day. He spends the rest of his time being a dad and dreaming of a mid-June parade in downtown Cleveland. You can follow him on Twitter: @KevinHignett