Cleveland Cavaliers Struggle to Balance Winning, Rest, New Players in March

CLEVELAND — March has truly turned into a month of madness for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who look to hold on to their top seed in the Eastern Conference, all while integrating new role players and finding games to rest their starters.

So far, the best-laid plans have gone awry, as the Cavaliers have hit the skids to begin the regular season's last full month.

It's not just the 1-3 record to start the month that is alarming for Cleveland. The Cavaliers lost a key piece before they seemingly even had him, as Andrew Bogut broke his leg less than a minute into his team debut. Meanwhile, Cleveland has been able to rest its stars in just one of four games this month, and LeBron James has averaged over 39 minutes per game in the other three contests.

Regardless of what the record is or what other injuries surface, the rest will eventually come for the Cavaliers.

"We're going to rest guys," said Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue. "Other guys need to step up like we've been doing all season. We'll be ready. We've got to be able to rest guys when it's time to rest."

And that rest might not come in the form of missing complete games. Lue said he will look to trim minutes when he can.

"For a few games we've been able to do that," Lue said. "We've been able to ride our second unit out. We've been able to keep Tristan [Thompson] out. Keep Kyrie [Irving] out. It's been good for us."

Cutting minutes might be the short-term solution (or the solution in home games, as Cleveland rarely rests a player at Quicken Loans Arena), and nine of its remaining 13 games this month come on the road, which should provide some opportunity for rest. Furthermore, the Cavaliers have four separate back-to-back contests that could be used as chances to rest starters.

With the additions of Deron Williams and Kyle Korver as well as the looming returns of J.R. Smith and Kevin Love, the Cavaliers have some extra motivation to rest players so that new pieces can get up to speed.

"We have to fast-track it a little bit more because of the time that we have," James said. "Those guys have been playing high-level basketball for a long time. A lot of the systems are the same, it's just the terminology. We have to get the terminology right for them."

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This isn't a situation that is unique to this season for Cleveland. In 2015, the Cavaliers had to integrate Timofey Mozgov, Iman Shumpert and Smith after midseason trades. Last season, it was Channing Frye who had to be worked into the rotation.

The team will soon welcome back its injured rotation pieces with Smith being the first player due back. The veteran swingman is expected to return to action during the team's upcoming road trip. His presence has given the team a boost of energy at a much-needed time.

"I heard guys started saying a few things," said assistant coach Larry Drew, who has been filling in for Lue while he's been sick. "I'm sure they're really excited about having him back. Just seeing him out there—his presence out there. We know what he brings to this basketball team."

This might be the third straight season the Cavaliers have rested starters and developed the bench during March, but those first two seasons saw more success. Cleveland was 11-4 in March in 2015 and 11-5 in 2016.

The rough start to the month has not raised any concern or caused any deviation from the plan.

"This is about trying to create something that can last forever and not just a moment," James said.

What has helped—the other Eastern Conference teams have fallen on hard times. The Boston Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10 games and the Toronto Raptors just moved to 6-4. Cleveland remains three games up on the conference.

Yet even if the top seed slips away in favor of rest and working in pieces, it won't discourage Cleveland, which has far bigger goals this season.

"We all know what we're here for," James said. "We're all here for one reason, and that's to defend our title. And that's the main thing. You understand that when you sign. Everyone who signed up to be here, everyone that decided to come here knows what the situation is about."

CAVALIERS NOTEBOOK

LeBron says his son is even better

With every highlight video that comes out featuring 12-year-old LeBron James Jr., the buzz continues to grow about the Cavalier star's son. James gave his son a ringing endorsement this week when comparing the two.

"I didn't handle the ball as well as he does," James said. "He handles the ball exceptionally, and he shoots the ball a lot better than I did at that age. I've always had the ability to pass the ball. It's good to see him doing it as well."

James stressed that his son's team will do things the right way when it comes to AAU basketball, but he does have some concerns about the youth basketball league's system.

"For me it's created some friendships and brotherhoods that have lasted forever," James said. "I also feel like it's been for the game sometimes too...I don't believe the game is taught properly all the time in AAU ball because you're just trying to win a tournament or a coach is just trying to satisfy his star player."

Tristan Thompson gets more defensive

With more than a month left in the season, Thompson sits at 70 blocks. That's already one short of his career high, and he's done that in 20 fewer games. With Love hurt, Thompson's role has become even more important, and he's given the team an anchor on defense.

"We talked about it early in the season that he needs to anticipate more," Lue said. "He's gotten better at it. Just being in the right spots and now you're there for the block instead of coming all the way across the paint and then trying to do it with your length."

No player has topped 71 blocks for the Cavaliers since James did it in 2009-10 with 77 blocks.

LeBron ready for All-Star changes

In the wake of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's comments about making some adjustments to the All-Star Game, James said he believed it was worth a conversation and was willing to discuss his ideas.

"We just have to figure out a way for the game to be a little more competitive," James said. "I've been wrapping my head around for ways we can make it better...I have my ideas and I'll take them to Adam."

When asked how he felt about a 10-point or four-point shot, James didn't offer much of an opinion and just said it was worth discussing.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Stats are accurate as of March 8, 2017, from Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.