Who is the "next man up"?

[Douglar]

OK, Kelly Olynyk's clumsy doofish-ness has opened up 35 minutes a night in the Cavs playoff roster. JR Smith's generosity towards his team mates has opened up another 30 minutes a game. Lebron says "next man up". Whose number will David Blatt call?

 

[MalTalm]

My guess is Shumpert and Jones will start, with Thompson and Delly being first two off the bench.

Perkins, Marion, and Harris are all possible for short stretches depending on matchups/ rotations.

 

[Omar The Horse]

 

[kimdimasan]

Stupid long-haired ugly redneck woman Kelly Olynyk, hope he will never play in playoffs again.

 

[Kypus]

Tristan Thompson, for all the good it will do us...

he cannot possibly be thinking about starting James Jones...

 

[enigmatic]

The Matrix is going to be the guy. One last hurrah before he rides into the sunset

 

[roozy]

Really sucks that our depth is nonexistent but hopefully after this season we'll have a nice deep bench with actual useful players. Honestly just hoping James Jones doesn't see the floor because he is one of the most pathetic defenders I've ever seen.

 

[Helium filament]

Really sucks that our depth is nonexistent but hopefully after this season we'll have a nice deep bench with actual useful players. Honestly just hoping James Jones doesn't see the floor because he is one of the most pathetic defenders I've ever seen.

Blatt seems to really like him. He has started him for Kevin pretty much every other game he's been out I think. :/ would love to be wrong this time, though! I agree the random 3s JJ hits aren't worth his liability on defense.

 

[Simon]

Shumpert to start at SG for the first two games....move LeBron over to PF and start Marion.

 

[spydy13]

I think Marion will fill in a good chunk of the Love minutes for the rest of the postseason.

I think Jones and Miller will be given opportunities to fill in for the next two games, and hopefully one of them can get into a rhythm from deep. Both probably get some run (maybe 10 mins/game) for the rest of the season as well. We're going to need to some more shooting.

Perkins might get some run if they are facing a traditional big or someone gets in foul trouble, but otherwise remains on the bench.

 

[Otsego Mar]

Every time I see the Love injury it looks dirtier. What a punk.

 

[Jordan]

Time for the Haywood-Option

 

[Kbiz]

Shumpert to start at SG for the first two games....move LeBron over to PF and start Marion.

This. The only issue is that we would be undersized at the 4 but LBJ is capable of pestering bigs, especially when they don't have offensive panache down low (Noah, Henson). Also, Marion and LBJ could switch off defending the PF position, depending on who's playing.

We need Marion's D defending the 2 and 3 also. I still believe he has something left in the tank. By rotating him, Shumpert, and Smith in situational lineups, our defensive identity shouldn't drop off too much.

We are going to find out very quickly how smart of a coach Blatt is. With a week to prepare, we should have multiple line-ups prepared for different situations. I really worry that a TT and Mozgov starting lineup will lead to way to much ISO ball. They really do not compliment each other offensively at all. Finding someone who can stretch the floor in Love's absence is key to our team's future success.

 

[Gus Zing]

Mike Miller and Shawn Marion should be well rested. Now is the time to come through for your team.

 

[Green Lantern]

I think James goes to PF-he really should start there for the rest of the playoffs.
Shump starts both games. Harris comes in for him for a spell.

Marion could start at the 3 then move Jones in there. Or reverse it.
Keep TT to sub for Lebron.
Perkins subs for Moz.