Love expected to return when Cavaliers host Nets (Dec 23, 2016)

The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to get one starter back for Friday's game against the Brooklyn Nets, but they'll still be short another. In fact, they're acclimating to life without J.R. Smith for the foreseeable future.

While Kevin Love is expected to return Friday after missing two games with a knee injury, Smith will likely miss at least a month with a fractured thumb that will require surgery. DeAndre Liggins is the stop-gap choice to replace him in the starting lineup, but Liggins is better known for his defense and remains offensively challenged.

Still, coach Tyronn Lue is in no rush to make changes to this roster, even though the Cavs are carrying three dead spots right now in Mo Williams, Chris Andersen and Smith. Williams says he's retired and Andersen is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Cavs are still searching for a backup point guard, which would allow Iman Shumpert to slide into Smith's spot with the starters. For now, Lue and general manager David Griffin are remaining patient.

"I told Griff to take his time," Lue said. "We're a good team. And we don't want to settle for just any point guard, we want to make sure that we have the right piece that we bring in here that could help us win a championship. That's our goal. I mean, with Griff at the helm I know he'll get something done. He always pulls out something magical, so let him to his thing and I just gotta to continue to coach the team with what I've got."

The Nets, meanwhile, have the unenviable task of facing the two teams that played for the championship last season on consecutive nights. The Nets led the Warriors by 16 at the half Thursday, but the Warriors scored 17 of the first 19 points in the third quarter and ultimately won by 16.

The Nets have lost four straight to tumble into a tie with the Philadelphia 76ers for the worst record in the NBA.

"Somehow we have to figure out when teams do turn up their juice ... that we're ready to handle it," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. "Especially when you have a lead against a really good team, you know they're coming after you. We just have to figure that one out."

The Cavs and Nets are both ranked in the top 10 in scoring, but Brooklyn is last in the league in points allowed, surrendering more than 114 a night. That's not a good match for an explosive offense like Cleveland's, which is fourth in scoring.

Even without their sharpshooter Smith, the Cavs still made 15 3-pointers in Wednesday's win against the Milwaukee Bucks. They entered the night averaging 13.5 per game.

"Our Big Three are doing a great job of making sure everyone else is getting shots, getting touches and they're playing well," Lue said. "We're going to miss J.R., his effort on defense, his tough shot making. But that's no excuse for us. Next man up, we've got to be ready to play and we've got to be ready to help J.R. out until he gets back and gets healthy."