Even though there is a serious depletion in overall talent across the roster, last year's 61-win, championship-contending, Cleveland Cavaliers team and this year's seemingly middle-of-the-pack group share a common affliction:
Uncertainty in the starting five.
The 2009 team used 14 different starting lineups throughout the regular season. Injuries were the primary reason—once coach Mike Brown was set in his core of Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, J.J. Hickson, and Shaquille O'Neal, someone would get hurt and Brown was forced to tinker with his lineup.
Mo Williams suffered a shoulder injury in late January and missed 13 games.
Shaquille O'Neal broke his thumb in mid-February and sat out the final 23 games of the regular season before returning in the first round of the playoffs.
And in the midst of all that, the Cavs acquired Antawn Jamison just before the trade deadline and were forced to integrate another player into the rotation.
Williams, Parker, James, Jamison, and O'Neal started together for the first time during Game 1 of the opening round vs. Chicago.
J.J. Hickson, w ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Eric Felkey
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