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As playoffs loom, LeBron thinks injury-riddled Cavs are a hard team to gauge

Harry How / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Cleveland Cavaliers team that got blown out at Staples Center on Sunday night by the lottery-bound Los Angeles Lakers was one decimated by injuries, with several key rotation players sidelined due to various ailments.

"Listen, at the end of the day you've got to want the most out of whoever you've got on the floor," said LeBron James (24 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in 31 minutes) following Cleveland's 127-113 loss, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "You want to get the most from whoever is playing, but sometimes you can't overcome this many injuries that we have.

"We have pretty much five guys out of our top nine or top 10 of our rotation not playing because of injuries. It's next man up, but sometimes you just fall short."

All-Star forward Kevin Love hasn't suited up since fracturing his left hand against the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 30. Rodney Hood - who was acquired by Cleveland from the Utah Jazz prior to February's trade deadline - is dealing with a bad back, while big men Tristan Thompson and Cedi Osman are nursing a sprained right ankle and left hip flexor, respectively.

"Can you judge what we have on the floor? I mean you don't know. You don't know," added James.

The lack of bodies resulted in head coach Tyronn Lue giving heavy minutes to seldom-used players like Ante Zizic (20) and John Holland (19) against the Lakers. Sunday marked the second time this season where Zizic totaled double-digit minutes, while Holland is working under a two-way contract.

For those players still standing, Cleveland's coaching staff is reportedly concerned about possibly overworking them during this final stretch of the season, causing more injuries right before the playoffs, sources told McMenamin.

The 38-28 Cavaliers fell to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with their fourth loss in their last six outings, placing them just 2.5 games ahead of the eighth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.

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