The Cavaliers have reached the quarter-pole of the season, which is typically when teams begin to make self-evaluations, but coach Tyronn Lue isn’t ready to do that quite yet.
Despite his team being the defending champions and holding the best record in the East, Lue still doesn’t think the Cavs are a finished product. Therefore, now isn’t the time to make any grand assessments.
“It’s going to take more than [20 games],” Lue said. “Until we get a backup point guard. When we get a backup point guard, we can understand what our rotation’s going to be. We don’t have to switch it on a night-to-night basis, so our team can get in a better flow.”
The Cavs enter Friday’s home game against the Miami Heat muddling by just fine with what they have. Their record is a two-game improvement over this time last season and they seem to have fixed their defensive concerns, allowing a total of 60 points in the paint the last two games after averaging more than 51 allowed in the previous five.
They set a season high with 22 3-pointers in their win Wednesday at the New York Knicks and they’re doing it all without J.R. Smith, whom Lue has often referred to as his best perimeter defender and their best 3-point shooter.
Smith remains sidelined with an injured left knee. He missed his homecoming game against the Knicks because of it and isn’t expected back against the Heat. DeAndre Liggins is likely to remain in the starting lineup in his place.
As for the backup point guard position, that could get easier to fill in a week when players who signed contracts last summer as free agents will be available to trade beginning Dec. 15.
This will be the first time LeBron James will see his old team without Dwyane Wade on the other side. This trip will serve as a reunion tour for the Heat’s Udonis Haslem, the last remaining member of those championship teams. After playing James and the Cavs on Friday, the Heat will face Wade and the Bulls on Saturday.
The Heat have been wrecked with injuries, including to former Cavs guard Dion Waiters, who isn’t expected to play because of a torn muscle in his thigh. They are down to nine healthy bodies for Friday’s game.
“I might have to guard LeBron,” Haslem joked to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
At 7-15, the Heat are already fading out of the playoff picture in the East and the days of the Heatles seem a distant memory.
“It’s always easy for me to think about how special that time was,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told the Sun-Sentinel. “Look, I think it’s 20-plus years I’ve been with the Heat. Every single one of those years, we approached the season to contend for a title. But you’re also experienced to know that doesn’t always happen. When you do have a team that’s special like that, you know pretty quickly that it’s different. So when we get to Cleveland, I’ll think about those thoughts.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com.