The Cavaliers have been hit hard by injuries to begin the season and have struggled a bit as a result, but the team would be remiss to believe that the return to health of Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert will cure all that ails them, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. LeBron James apparently shares Haynes’ opinion, saying, “I hope we don’t think that way. It’s never that way. When you get your guys back, you prepare just as you prepare before. There’s only one guy ever in the world that everything will be all right when he comes back and that’s Jesus Christ. Other than that, you can’t bank on nobody being OK.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Clippers shooting guard J.J. Redick was shocked when the Magic dealt him away to the Bucks in 2013, and though he is happy playing in Los Angeles he still has fond memories of his time in Orlando, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. “If you have a family, if you have a wife, it’s just a great place to play,” Redick said. “L.A. can be a little more stressful in that regard. My wife and I joke all the time, like, ‘Man, life was simple in Orlando. The rent was so low. We didn’t have to deal with traffic or state income tax.’ There’s all these other things out here. But playing in Los Angeles, playing in a big market, playing for a high-profile team — those are things that I wanted in free agency. I wanted the chance to win. So I’m happy, man.“
- The Hawks have assigned Lamar Patterson to the D-League, and he will report to the Spurs’ affiliate in Austin as part of the flexible assignment rule, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution relays (via Twitter).
- Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy appreciated the abilities of Greg Monroe, who departed as a free agent and inked a deal with the Bucks this past offseason, but he couldn’t justify tying up a large chunk of the franchise’s cap space between Monroe and Andre Drummond, Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel writes. “I think Greg played some at the four obviously and was good, but his best position is at center,” Van Gundy said. “He knew that. We knew that. What of your resources are you going to tie up at basically one position? Or were you willing to play with two centers in a league that’s going the other way? It didn’t have anything to do with the person, really. It was the situation where we had to make a decision. I miss Greg, I do…. He’s a great rebounder, and a great competitor and teammate.“