Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: March 19 at Cleveland Cavaliers
By Adam McGee
Major key for Cleveland – Survive when the bench comes in
The Cavaliers are dealing with extensive injury problems at the moment, leaving them with limited options off the bench.
Against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, LeBron James was joined by George Hill, Jose Calderon, Jeff Green and Ante Zizic in the starting five, while the rest of Cleveland’s rotation consisted of J.R. Smith, Jordan Clarkson, London Perrantes and John Holland.
Kevin Love, Cedi Osman and Tristan Thompson have already been confirmed as out of Monday’s game, but the Cavaliers will be hoping to get at least one of Kyle Korver, Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood back on the court too.
If they don’t, the Cavs really will be stretched thin. Foul trouble for Ante Zizic could leave Cleveland without a traditional big man, while they’d need the very best of streaky bench scorers, Smith and Clarkson, to just have a chance of not losing ground with bench-heavy lineups.
LeBron James may be the great equalizer, but if the Cavaliers are just as depleted on Monday night as they have been recently, even he’ll have his work cut out for him.