Short-Handed Cavs Handle Timberwolves

The Cleveland Cavaliers are banged up, but that didn’t slow them down in Tuesday night’s 116-108 win in Minnesota.

LeBron James was his usual self, scoring 25 points and passing for 14 assists.

Kyrie Irving also scored 25.

Channing Frye started for the injured Love, which will likely be the case going forward. His 21 point performance is something the Cavs hope to see more often.

Derrick Williams scored 13 points in 23 minutes off the bench. It was only his third game with the Cavs.

Tristan Thompson posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, going 6-for-7 from the field.

Andrew Wiggins scored 41 in the loss.

Going Forward

Before Tuesday’s game, head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters he expects to give Frye some starts at power forward and also would consider starting James Jones based on matchups.

Frye showed what he can do when he’s at his best and more often than not, he’ll be expected to start.

As for the idea of starting Jones in some games, it appears Williams may have something to say about that sooner rather than later.

If the 25-year-old continues his impressive play, don’t be surprised if he works his way into getting starts in the near future, depending on matchups.

Jones is a veteran leader and his locker room presence is valued by the team, but there’s a reason Williams was on the court for 23 minutes in a close game, while Jones was on the bench for all but nine minutes.

Williams has put up 32 points in three games and he’s just getting started.

If this trend continues, he should only get better in the Cavaliers’ system.

The Cavs still have an open roster spot from the Chris Andersen trade and we’ll see if they finally add that backup point guard, but Irving played 37 minutes in the win over Minnesota. James played 40.

Whether those two complain about it or not, that doesn’t seem to be a recipe for keeping guys fresh for the playoffs.

Coach Lue knows he has to make changes to take the load off his two stars, but that backup point guard cannot arrive soon enough.

The Cavs play the second game of a back-to-back set on Wednesday in Cleveland, hosting the Indiana Pacers.

The All-Star Break comes at a much-needed time for this Cavaliers team, which has had quite a rough regular season road in terms of injuries to overcome.