Neither Mo Williams nor Anderson Varejao practiced Friday, which means Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins must be ready.
View full sizeCavaliers guard Ramon Sessions, left, might see plenty of playing time tonight if guard Mo Williams has to rest because of a groin injury.CLEVELAND, Ohio — Just the other day, Byron Scott was praising his team's depth, boasting about how comfortable he felt going as many as 10 deep with his Cavaliers rotation.
Today, the Cavaliers' coach is hoping he's right.
Neither Mo Williams nor Anderson Varejao practiced Friday, and both are questionable for tonight's game against Indiana because of injuries suffered in Wednesday's loss to New Jersey.
Williams left the game in the third quarter with a strained left groin, and was limping in the locker room afterward. A similar groin injury to his right side caused him to miss three weeks in the preseason.
Varejao, meanwhile, played 35 minutes against the Nets, even after bruising his ribs in the first quarter.
For that reason, Scott said Varejao is probably more likely to play than Williams. Both will be evaluated pregame before a decision is made.
That means Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins can only wait and be ready. The two backups are potential fill-ins if the two starters cannot play. Sessions has started four games this season while Williams recuperated from his right groin injury. Hollins started all but two preseason games while Varejao missed time to attend his grandfather's funeral.
Sessions says he will be ready no matter what his role.
"Kind of my whole career has been back and forth a little bit -- starting some games, maybe the next game coming off the bench," he said. "It's something I'm accustomed to. I've just got to be ready to go."
Sessions already has earned significant time in the fourth quarter because of his quick grasp of Scott's Princeton offense and his ability to read opportunities and run effective pick-and-rolls. Even the guard admits, though, that the Cavaliers lose a jump-shooting weapon when Williams is out.
"He has that jump shot down, that full-speed pull-up," Sessions said. "That's something I'm trying to do. I'm learning a lot from him."
Hollins, meanwhile, calls Varejao one of the best defensive centers in the league, and admits to constantly trying to learn from him.
"His effort and his motor is crazy," Hollins said. "I consider myself a high-energy guy, but he's always going. I'm always trying to pick his brain, watching the little things he does, how he plays certain guys, the things he gets away with with the refs, and his timing. If I can take that to my game to make me a better player, it will be a big help. I feel like it already has."
There are strides to be made for Hollins, in particular. Though he scored 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting against the Nets, Scott yanked him from the game after three consecutive lapses on defense.
"What we're trying to tell our bigs is really attack the ball," Scott said. "We got soft and Ryan was kind of in the paint. We always tell him you're in no-man's land [there]; you're giving them the jump shot and you're giving the roll guy a chance to get to the basket."
The question is, did Hollins learn from being pulled out of the game?
"We'll find out [today]," Scott said.
Home cooking? The Cavaliers are 3-1 on the road and 1-3 at home this season, and Scott thinks it's all a matter of his young team trying to do too much to appease Cleveland fans.
"I think our guys probably are putting a little too much pressure on themselves," Scott said. "The fans have been fantastic showing up in bunches. When we're on the road, it's almost like us against the world and we go out there a little more free. At home, I think we just put a little too much pressure on ourselves. We've just got to relax and play the way we know we can play."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jvalade@plaind.com, 216-999-4654