It is hard to believe that the NBA season has reached the 30 game mark, and Cavaliers’ coach David Blatt is still searching for the proper player rotations.
This is what happens when you have had the injury problems the wine and gold have suffered through over the summer, during training camp, and even more since the season commenced.
The recent additions of Iman Shumpert and then Kyrie Irving to the active roster have caused the head coach to reshuffle minutes, and as of right now, he’s still searching for a healthy medium.
Those two missed all of camp and the exhibition games. Timofey Mozgov has struggled with off-season knee surgery, and even LeBron James missed the last two weeks of training camp with back issues.
Since the season started, JR Smith and Mo Williams have both missed some time with bumps and bruises too. Even Matthew Dellavedova sat out one game with a bad calf.
That has caused Blatt to have to scramble to find a rotation that works on a night to night basis.
Even going into tonight’s game against Denver, Blatt will not have Irving available because the Cavs don’t want him playing in back-to-back games just yet.
That means Dellavedova will start and probably Williams will get more time.
Dellavedova is a different type of player than Irving, and that’s what make it tough for the coach and the players.
Blatt moved Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup for Mozgov last night, which takes a rim protector off the floor, but they get a better defender away from the hoop instead.
That also forces a change in the substitution pattern.
The good news is the Cavaliers have three and a half months to have everyone be healthy (cross your fingers) and develop a rotation Blatt can go to on an every night basis.
The problem with Williams is Blatt doesn’t trust him defensively. He said they moved him out of the starting lineup because of the inevitable return of Kyrie Irving, but really it was starting point guard torching the Cavs with penetration.
That was the reason for our indifference in signing Williams in the off-season. He’s not a good defender and in the playoffs, that’s what the wine and gold’s success was built on.
The other player usually mentioned when playing time is discussed is Anderson Varejao. The Brazilian’s problem is the Cavs have three solid big men in Kevin Love, Thompson, and Mozgov, and when Cleveland goes small, they shift James to power forward.
It simply doesn’t leave a lot of time for the veteran.
Our guess is that the coaching staff is taking it slow with Varejao because of his long history of injury and he will get more time as the season goes on.
He can still rebound and defend, and he has a pretty reliable jump shot from the elbow. Those are all things any team can use.
It is tough to be patient for fans because they have been waiting so long in northeast Ohio, but the constant shuffling of players because of injuries is partly to blame for the Cavs’ inconsistency.
There is still more than half of the season to go, and our guess is Blatt will settle on a rotation that will work and the Cavaliers will go on another hot streak.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 