Once the music stops and David Blatt settles on a rotation, some Cavaliers veterans will be stuck facing a painful truth: There will no longer be a chair for them in the lineup.
A healthy roster is a wonderful luxury and the Cavs are enjoying it for the first time in more than a year. The downside, however, is cutting the minutes of guys worthy of being on the court.
Anderson Varejao has been dealing with it all year. Now it's Mo Williams' turn. Richard Jefferson could be next. The Cavs simply can't play them all. How the veterans handle the benchings/drastically reduced minutes will go a long way in determining whether this uneventful Cavs season continues whistling anonymously toward April.
"Guys gotta understand and I've told them this, only so many guys can play," Blatt said. "That's just the reality of the limitations of the game. Some guys may find themselves for no other reason other than that not playing many minutes or not playing at all. Not because they're not good enough or they're not doing their job, it's the reality of how many guys you can play and what the situation is on the floor."
Williams returned to Cleveland to be the starter while Kyrie Irving was mending, but the front office made it clear to him last summer the day may come when he's not part of the rotation. Williams' offense is a luxury when this team is whole, but his defense remains a liability. To his credit, he has acknowledged that all season.
Williams received his first DNP-CD (Did Not Play-Coach's Decision) in a win last week in Phoenix, which followed less than five minutes in the loss at Golden State and 10 minutes in the bad loss in Portland. Williams went 0-for-7 in his combined 15 minutes, and if he isn't scoring he isn't going to find a place on the floor.
There are more DNP-CDs in his future, particularly if Irving's wish he doesn't miss any more games comes true. Williams can be a sensitive, emotional player. He came back here to play, but he also came back to win. He may do the second without doing much of the first.
Blatt sidestepped multiple questions this weekend about his point-guard depth and refused to designate a depth chart, even though it's clear at this point Irving is the starter and Matthew Dellavedova is the primary backup.
"It's more situational than anything else," Blatt said. "And those guys could (be) playing together."
Indeed, part of Williams' appeal to the Cavs was his ability to play off the ball. Dellavedova has also started games at shooting guard and even Irving is adept at playing off the ball after LeBron James handled it for large chunks of last season.
Jefferson is in a similar category. His DNP-CD against the Warriors did not sit well with a number of the veterans in the locker room, according to multiple team sources. Things that get overlooked in wins aren't so easily dismissed in losses. This is Exhibit A.
Blatt might soon have to decide on either J.R. Smith or Jefferson for one rotation spot, one source with knowledge of the team's thinking said recently. Blatt trusts Smith and has spoken highly of him for a year now. It's hard to envision him leaving Smith out of any rotations.
Smith remains a starter for now, but it's likely he and Iman Shumpert switch places once Irving's minutes are back up to normal. That could be soon. Blatt said Friday that Irving won't suddenly start playing 40 minutes, but the days of having to keep him around 25 are essentially over.
Shumpert's defensive tenacity matches well with Irving's scoring, while Smith's range fits well on the second unit alongside Dellavedova's defense. That could leave Jefferson without a home.
Jefferson is versatile enough to play anywhere from guard to power forward, similar to Shawn Marion last season. Jefferson has more left in his legs than Marion did, however, which makes benching him more painful. But it's clear Blatt is still figuring out how to use him.
Entering Saturday's game against the Orlando Magic, Jefferson's minutes in the Cavs' past five games have been 4, 0, 26, 19 and 13. It's that type of inconsistency that frustrates veterans, but the frustrations are easier to handle after wins than losses.
Survive and advance. It applies to more than just the playoffs.
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