The Cleveland Cavaliers will keep rolling with shooting guard Rodney Hood in the starting lineup against the Detroit Pistons tonight, according to Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal.
Head coach Tyronn Lue will also start Larry Nance Jr. and bring rookie Cedi Osman off the bench — making another aggressive coaching move in hopes to spark this team for a run in the remaining 20 games of the regular season.
Hood was inserted into the starting lineup as starter J.R. Smith sat out against the Philadelphia 76ers with a one-game suspension for throwing a bowl of chicken tortilla soup at assistant Damon Jones.
Smith played and shined in a 19-point night against the Denver Nuggets, but it resulted in a second straight loss, making that three in the last four games.
Nance was brilliant in his 20 minutes off the bench, registering 14 points and eight rebounds and a plus-9 in the score sheet, which outshone Osman’s 13-point, three-rebound performance.
Lue is making the changes for both of these newly-acquired players in hopes to inject some younger legs and provide more consistent shooting with Hood, while playing Nance Jr. at his natural position, unlike Osman; a small forward.
Both of these changes are supposed to be for the long-haul, unless it ends up backfiring on Lue and he’s forced to make yet another adjustment in a season that has had just about everything but stability in this lineup.
Nance would eventually have to cede his post to Kevin Love once he makes his return, but for now, it’ll be Hood and Nance surrounding LeBron James for the next few games.
