Cleveland Cavaliers are having too many problems early in the season and they are still figuring out how to win games and be more competitive. After eight games played so far in the season, Cleveland only has three wins, and some of the losses came against bad teams. To make things worse, the Cavaliers can't catch a break with it comes to injuries, which is their biggest issue.
With a 3-5 record, the reigning Eastern Conference champions are ranked 13th in the conference. This is not what the Cavaliers expected their season to look like, but they will have to figure out how to get back on track and regain their status as one of the best teams in the NBA.
With Tristan Thompson out, however, this will be much harder as they will have to experiment with more lineups and it's questionable if they have a suitable replacement for the injured big man.
Another injury, another change
Earlier in the season, head coach Tyronn Lue benched Tristan Thompson as he inserted Kevin Love in the starting lineup. Love, who is a great rebounder, was a starting center for a few games, but it was clear that he cannot be as good as Thompson. Playing under the rim requires a lot of strength and Love struggled to do well against opposing centers.
A few games later, Thompson got his starting job back and Love was moved to his natural power forward position. However, Thompson got injured shortly after and will have to be sidelined for a month.
Because of this, coach Lue will have to figure out another starting five as he cannot count on Thompson's services anymore.
Considering that the Cavaliers don't have another great center, there is no doubt they will struggle even more. While Love is a great rebounder and a versatile scorer, he just hasn't been able to be the center the Cavaliers need him to be.
New lineup
Tyronn Lue hasn't yet revealed what a new starting lineup will be for the Cavaliers. With Derrick Rose back in action, Lue will most likely use him as a starting point guard. J.R. Smith could be his backcourt partner while LeBron James and Jae Crowder will be at forward positions.
This leaves Kevin Love at the center position, and it will be interesting to see if he can play better this time.
Next game for the Cavaliers will be on the road against the Washington Wizards, but Love won't be a center. Lue said he would give his rookies Ante Zizic and Cedi Osman more playing time.
"Just with guys being down, give them an opportunity to play, get a chance to get some experience on the court," Lue said. "They're young guys, energetic, came out here early today, ran through a lot of the plays, they knew them the best, so that was a good sign."
