Cavaliers faced with forced adjustments after heavy losses at guard positions

The Cavaliers have been the Cinderella story team so far this season. But Cinderella never tore her ACL as she was racing down the steps to get into the carriage.

The Cavs, 20-15 and fifth in the Eastern Conference, lost Ricky Rubio for the season after he tore the ACL in his left knee Tuesday. They have also been without Collin Sexton after he had his season ended following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.

Those knee injuries have depleted the depth at the guard position the Cavs hoped to utilize this season. And for a team that has been playing well above expectations, some major adjustments are now needed with both Rubio and Sexton out for the long haul.

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"We obviously address the current situations that we’re facing, having empathy for our teammates and understanding what they're going through is extremely important to us, so we make sure we address it," coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on a Zoom call Thursday night. "We talk about the impact it has on our team and then how we can move forward from it. So it’s not something that we won’t discuss or that we try to sweep under the rug. There are conversations that we have that continue to help this group bond because they care about each other on a higher level than just the basketball."

The immediate situation, though, is much worse with Darius Garland out. Garland entered the league's health and safety protocols this week. Cleveland's baseball club last summer experienced some extreme difficulties with depth after three key starters went down with long-term injuries. The Cavs are headed in that direction at guard, particularly until Garland can return.

The Cavs acquired Rajon Rondo from the Los Angeles Lakers, a source confirmed to the Beacon Journal, which will help alleviate from of the strain, though he must first clear COVID-19 protocols before he can join the team.

First up, for the time being: Kevin Pangos, who received his first career NBA start on Thursday night and is in line for a significant minutes increase for the time being. The Cavs have also recently signed guard Malik Newman and guard/forward Justin Anderson to 10-day contracts via the league's hardship exception.

"I mean, one, he's extremely heady and understands the game at a high level," Bickerstaff said. "Two, he's a good pick and roll player. He can make the reads out of pick and roll, whether it's shot score or pass the ball on. And he's a competitor, so he fits right in with our group, he's unselfish. So all those things that make up our team, he has those characteristics as well."

The injuries at guard, along with the COVID-19 issue that has run through the roster in the past couple of weeks, has created the most difficult task the Cavs have faced this season.

"Together. That's the only way we can get it done," Bickerstaff said when asked about the adversity. "That’s been one of our strengths this year, is the group’s bonding and being together and carrying each other through ups and downs and supporting one another through injuries, COVID, losses, whatever it may have been, our group hasn’t fractured. And that’s the only way we’ll get through this."

Once Garland does return, he could walk into an even larger role, though Rondo could ease some of that pressure. Garland has averaged 19.5 points and 7.3 assists on 47.9 percent shooting from the floor this season, all of which are career highs.

It also means some additional scoring pressure could be applied to second-year guard/forward Isaac Okoro, who briefly enjoyed the best scoring stretch of his career — four consecutive games with at least 16 points and two 20-point games — before he, too, had to enter the league's health and safety protocols.

Okoro returned to the lineup on Tuesday, but with the guard situation depleted, he'll be needed at the 2. It doesn't mean the Cavs want Okoro trying to score 25 every night.

"He needs to be who he is, and we've talked about it before," Bickerstaff said of Okoro. "We don't need people to try to play outside of themselves, because that tends to impact the team in a negative way. We need people to be the best versions of themselves. And I think Isaac, was playing at a high clip before COVID hit, but, we just need him to get back to that and that's the best version of himself."

But isn't just the guards who will be impacted by the recent losses to the roster, either long term or short term. Bickerstaff feels comfortable getting the big men more involved in handling the ball and facilitating the offense, including Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley and Kevin Love.

"We obviously have guys we believe can handle the ball, but we’re also lucky to have big guys that can handle the ball," Bickerstaff said. "You have Lauri’s skillset, Evan’s skillset, Kevin Love’s skillset. We have big guys who can facilitate offense for us as well. So we have things built into our system where we put the ball in their hands and allow them to be playmakers. You’ll see more of that, obviously, just because we’re limited at that position."

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Cavs at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cavs. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ricky Rubio, Collin Sexton Darius Garland: Injuries pile up for Cavs