Fansided

Kevin Love out for rest vs. Washington Wizards

By John Buhler

Feb 28, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) drives to the basket as Washington Wizards forward Jared Dudley (1) defends during the first half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) drives to the basket as Washington Wizards forward Jared Dudley (1) defends during the first half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue plans to rest starting power forward Kevin Love Friday night when Cleveland takes on the Washington Wizards.

According to Tom Withers of the Associated Press, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue will rest Kevin Love Friday night in Cleveland’s home game versus the Washington Wizards.

It seems that Lue is attempting to give the star players on his top-seeded Cavaliers some needed rest in the final weeks of the 2015-16 regular season. While Cleveland is only up two games on the second-place Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference standings, for Cleveland it is all about being at full strength come playoff time. Cleveland is the runaway favorite to represent the East in the 2016 NBA Finals.

Lue previously rested small forward LeBron James on Sunday when the Cavaliers lost in DC to the same Wizards team that is fighting for its playoff life down the stretch. Though Cleveland hasn’t clinched anything this season with their 42-17 record entering play Friday, it seems that Lue is willing to take a play out of Gregg Popovich’s play book with the San Antonio Spurs in resting star players in the second half of the season.

Last year, Popovich’s main disciple in Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer opted to rest his starters during the second half of the season when Atlanta was running away with the East en route to their 60-win season.

Since Cleveland doesn’t need home court advantage to win the East, Lue can comfortably pick and choose when to play and rest his essential players. Anything less than a second consecutive trip to the NBA Finals will be considered a massive disappointment for the Cavaliers.

Lue took over for fired head coach David Blatt mid-season and wisely wants to ensure that James, Love, and point guard Kyrie Irving can be fully healthy and energized come playoff time. Expect Lue to continue to rest players on his roster for the next month plus leading up to the 2016 Eastern Conference playoffs.

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