Still, Love's absence was felt in a variety of ways during Monday's loss against the Dallas Mavericks.
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DALLAS -- Shortly after tipoff the Cleveland Cavaliers got some positive news about Kevin Love's MRI results.
There was no structural damage and even though he will miss Wednesday's game, with an uncertain return at this point, it was the kind of report that allows the organization to breathe a sigh of relief.
Still, Love's absence was felt in a variety of ways during Monday's 104-97 loss against the Dallas Mavericks.
Here are five observations:
Rotation change - Head coach Tyronn Lue finally started to get his lineups settled.
Iman Shumpert was flourishing with the starters and the LeBron James-led second unit finally gained stability after swapping DeAndre Liggins for Kay Felder.
Then Lue was forced into a change, putting Richard Jefferson, one of the mainstays of that five-man second unit, in the starting lineup.
"It's the way they started their last game against San Antonio, starting Harrison Barnes at the 4 and Dirk (Nowitzki) at the 5 so that'd be a tough matchup for James Jones trying to guard Harrison Barnes," Lue said. "We decided to go with R.J."
Before the game, Lue admitted he didn't know what to expect because of the change and turned out to be prophetic.
"Starting R.J. at the 4 was good for us, but then again you can't run all the sets you're accustomed to running because he doesn't really know the 4 that good," Lue said. "The other thing is it limits your rotation. Your rotation goes down, especially on a back to back when guys didn't have it tonight and we clearly didn't have it."
Doing more - Not having Love also put more of a burden on James and Irving, which is probably the last thing the team needs at the end of an ugly month.
And if one of the All-Stars has an off night it's hard for the Cavs to find enough production elsewhere, which is what happened against the Mavericks.
"We're down a few guys right now so for us we just, we all have to be better and it starts with myself and being more efficient," Irving said. "I started pressing a little bit when team got down a little bit and was taking a few tough shots, but still have to shoot them and shoot them with confidence. Just go through my preparation. In order for us to be great, especially when guys are down, I have to be more efficient."
Irving scored 18 points, snapping a streak of six straight games with at least 20. He was 7-of-21 from the field, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range. He finished with more turnovers (six) than assists (five).
As for James, he finished one assist and one rebound shy of a triple-double. But was pulled out of the game around the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter, the beginning stages of Lue waving the white flag.
Rebounds - While Love's scoring is the best it has been since coming to Cleveland, his impact on the game stretches far beyond that. And sometimes the other areas get overlooked.
"I think we needed to crash the glass better," Channing Frye said when asked where Love was missed most. "I think we needed to get back and communicate on defense. I felt like we needed to get a little more physical on defense as they were running their offense pretty well."
Love averages 11.0 rebounds per night and likely would have been able to make Dallas pay, both on the glass and in the post, for using a small lineup, choosing to start Barnes at power forward and Nowitzki at center.
Instead, the Mavericks were not only able to get away with the small-ball approach with Andrew Bogut sidelined, but also they dictated matchups.
"Tonight I thought we tried," Lue said. "They had a lot of tough matchups for us. We go to the second unit and they come out with three point guards. Kyle is trying to guard a point guard and then you have Jordan (McRae) trying to guard a point guard. With your rotation -- Kevin out and J.R. out -- your rotation is smaller so now you have to play guys in certain positions you normally wouldn't. For me, just one of those games. They were faster than us. I mean, just up and down the floor, attacking the basket and everything they did was harder and faster than us."
That's, in part, because Dallas never used a true center until two minutes left in the game. And the trio of playmakers -- Yogi Farrell, Seth Curry and Devin Harris -- playing at the same time was unexpected.
"It was new because Bron was at the 5 so it was a crazy lineup, but we have to be professionals about it and just be ready to adjust on the fly," Irving said. "Obviously, there were some matchups and miscues on the defensive end, but if we ever have to go small-ball again like that I think we will be better prepared."
Oftentimes when the Cavs downsize, wanting to take Tristan Thompson out, they put Love at the 5, with James at the 4. That, obviously, wasn't an option Monday.
Turnovers - Near the top of the list of things not to do on the road is commit turnovers.
After being so great at valuing possessions Sunday against Oklahoma City, the Cavs had 17 miscues, which the Mavericks turned into 25 points.
Irving was the main culprit. But James also had five.
"We have some guys in different situations than they've been in," James said. "We got in some foul trouble early with Tristan and (R.J.) and we had to go deeper into our bench so we had some lineups out on the floor that was kind of unusual but at the end of the day when a number is called, when a guy's number is called, we got to figure it out.
"For myself and Kyrie to have 11 of our team's turnovers together it's uncalled for and we'll get better with it."
Jordan McRae - Looked at as a promising youngster this off-season, McRae has had a tough time cracking the rotation. But Lue hinted at him playing more against Dallas. That proved true.
Off the bench, McRae scored 11 points on 5-of-9 from the field, including 1-of-3 from 3-point range.
"Offensively you saw him tonight," Lue said. "He can score the basketball and he can get to where he wants to on the floor."
That's never been questioned. Lue even pointed out his underrated passing ability. However, McRae was at the center of a handful of defensive breakdowns, which helps explain his poor rating despite the scoring lift.
"Just have to keep working with him to get better defensively," Lue said. "When he's able to do that then he's able to play extended minutes and be on the floor."