Cavaliers' Blatt 'concerned' about long layoff between playoff rounds

It's the old rest versus rust debate. Somehow, it gets dredged up as a talking point every year as pundits look to fill the dead air between rounds.

However, for Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt, it's a real concern for his team, who will have rested for eight days prior to Monday's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal against the Chicago Bulls.

"Honestly, it's a concern," Blatt told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group on Sunday. "And I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. Because that's a long time and our opponent obviously played games during that time. I hope we respond well. To tell you exactly what that's going to look like initially, it's hard for me to say. I don't know, with this group anyway."

Given Blatt's players are mostly healthy (minus Kevin Love, who is out 4-6 months), there's a case to be made the negative effect of a disruption of routine might outweigh any benefit for recovering bodies.

But there is one silver lining for Blatt.

"The only source I can draw on is that we had a six or seven-day layoff during the All-Star break and we came out fantastic against the Wizards. And I hope that we can do that," Blatt said.

It's also worth noting that a two-week mid-season layoff for LeBron James led to a return to form for James. The Cavaliers also posted a 16-1 record on games after two or more days of rest during the regular season.

However, Blatt does have a point. His team has mostly run five-on-five drills during practices to stay sharp, but there's only so much to be accomplished when playing with and against aged bodies like Kendrick Perkins, Mike Miller and Shawn Marion. Joakim Noah, Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic, they are not.