Maybe it's going to be one of those years.
The Cavaliers had their starting five intact exactly once since Dec. 30 in Miami. They were whole in the Detroit game on Sunday, but that ended Tuesday. They celebrated the return of shooting guard Delonte West on Sunday -- his first action since Jan. 15. After he scored 25 points, he experienced soreness in his right wrist and was held out of the Memphis game Tuesday.
"We've gone through our ups and downs with injuries," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "We haven't missed a beat. When guys have gone down, we've plucked guys in and they've accepted the challenge."
West said he's not surprised the Cavs have remained so competitive with the injuries the team has had. The Cavs are 13-4 with him out of the lineup.
Guard Tarence Kinsey, starting in place of West, matched his season high with 11 points against Memphis. Guard/forward Wally Szczerbiak had a season-high six assists, while rookie J.J. Hickson had 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
"We just have guys step up night in and night out," Brown said. "Whenever a guy goes down or someone is having an off night, we've got to get production somewhere else."
CAVALIERS 94, GRIZZLIES 79: Guard Daniel Gibson had a game-high 19 points in the Cavaliers' victory over the hapless Memphis Grizzlies at Quicken Loans Arena.
It came at the most opportune time. The Cavs (44-11) were playing without guard Delonte West, who had soreness in his wrist.
Also, the Cavs are about to embark on a rugged, four-game trip that starts in Gibson's hometown of Houston.
"Gib's swagger was good to see," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "He was aggressive offensively. He did a nice job shooting the ball and driving the ball. He had a nice mix. Because of it, we went to him. He helped us create that separation."
Gibson, who has been in a season-long funk, scored the first seven points of the second quarter as the Cavs opened up an 18-point cushion, 34-16. It was all downhill from there for the Grizzlies, who dropped to 3-22 on the road.
On the night, Gibson connected on 8-of-14 attempts from the field and 3-of 7-from behind the 3-point arc.
The Cavs are 8-0 when Gibson has 15 or more points and 9-0 when he connects on three or more 3-point goals.
"I couldn't stop smiling," Gibson said. "It's been frustrating knowing that you'd have a good game and other games just being out there."
LeBron James managed just 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds. It's only four off his season low set against Indiana on Dec. 5.
