CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Prior to Saturday night’s game against Washington, the Cavaliers announced the addition of veteran guard Tim Frazier by way of a 10-day contract.
It’s a band aid on a gaping wound.
The Cavaliers are without All-Star Darius Garland due to a bone bruise in his back, Rajon Rondo, who sprained his right big toe and Caris LeVert, out with a sprained right foot.
Filling the void and staying afloat amid a tight Eastern Conference playoff race is the challenge head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his team now face.
“Their step up has to be – one, who they are, and two, in their effort,” Bickerstaff said. “It can’t be anybody trying to replace Darius or Do or any of those guys. They have to be themselves and they have to compete at a level that exceeds maybe what they’ve done or play the game selflessly more, but it can’t be stepping outside of yourself and trying to be somebody else. And that message has been pretty clear to the guys.”
Brandon Goodwin got the start for Garland, who is basically day-to-day resting the injury, Saturday night against the Wizards.
Rondo went down Thursday and is expected to miss approximately two weeks following an MRI taken Friday.
“He doesn’t remember the play when it happened,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s one of those things, more like a turf toe almost so we’re really unsure of when it exactly happened.”
LeVert, acquired earlier this month from Indiana, is expected to be sidelines 1-2 weeks.
Cedi Osman might have to help run the offense off the bench, a less than ideal situation but one Bickerstaff is confident Osman can handle if needed.
“That’s difficult for him,” Bickerstaff said. “Obviously he has experience. We’ve used him there last year. When he’s played with his Turkish national team, he’s played with the ball in his hands, so he does have some experience playing with the ball in his hands. Obviously, for us, we want to make sure he’s as comfortable as he possibly can be because that’s when he’s most effective and helps us the most. At this point, it’s all hands on deck and we just try to figure out what we can, but again we’ll try to keep people in positions of comfort as well.”
Frazier’s impact isn’t expected to be significant.
Frazier has appeared in 287 career NBA games with 84 starts for Philadelphia, Portland, New Orleans, Washington, Milwaukee, Detroit, Memphis and Orlando. He boasts career averages of 4.9 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game.
Cleveland entered the game riding a three-game losing streak dating back to before the All-Star break with the most recent loss coming at Detroit Thursday night.
Bickerstaff, who is often candid with his team and reporters, was not pleased with what he saw in the Motor City.
“The message was blunt and clear,” Bickerstaff said. “And it’s to a man, they’ve been made aware of what is necessary for them to help this team as we go through this and the expectations and what our standards are that we have to live up to every day.”