The fukk.
Hill: Cavs 'got to be all Robins' to LBJ's Batman
ATLANTA -- By trading away
Isaiah Thomas as part of three deadline-day deals, the
Cleveland Cavaliers officially abandoned the "Big Three" structure it rode to three straight NBA Finals appearances.
What became clear after
George Hill,
Rodney Hood,
Jordan Clarkson and
Larry Nance Jr. participated in their first practice with the Cavs on Saturday is that the pecking order has been shifted in Cleveland.
Everything will flow through LeBron James -- even more so than before -- and then everyone else will fill in around the four-time MVP and three-time champion.
"We have one of the best players in the history of the game, I'm sure he's going to dictate the tempo and things like that," said Hill. "We just got do our job, be the best role players we can possibly be. He's the Batman and we got to be all Robins. We got to figure it out."
When asked whom the No. 2 scorer will now be after James, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said that while
Kevin Love is out with a broken left hand, it could be just about anybody.
"LeBron is No. 1 and then after that, it's going to be, you know, different guys on different nights," Lue said. "We said that when the season first started. It could be Hood tonight. It could be George Hill. It could be Clarkson. It could be
Jeff Green,
[Kyle] Korver. So, you never know. Just LeBron, he's going to make those guys better, I know that for sure. But every night it could be somebody different."
Cleveland will trot out a different lineup when it faces
Kyrie Irving and the
Boston Celtics on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Lue said he will start Hill and
JR Smith in the backcourt, James and rookie
Cedi Osman in the front court, and
Tristan Thompson at center.
The Cavs are actually 5-3 in their past eight games after all the doom and gloom they've experienced in the past several months. Lue hopes the roster reinvention will keep them winning games.
"These guys, it's going to take a while for them to catch up but it's just good having them on the floor," Lue said. "Just trying to start all over again with our teaching and we'll just see how it goes."
Hood and Hill were able to participate in the Cavs' full practice, as everyone else involved in their three-team trade had already been processed in
Sacramentoand
Utah. Hill passed his physical with the Cavs and said the big toe injury that has reportedly plagued him was a thing of the past.
"Toe's great," he said. "I haven't felt my toe [injury] since last year, so, I'm happy about it."
Clarkson and Nance Jr. were sidelined for approximately the first 20 minutes of practice, according to the Cavs, while the
Los Angeles Lakers finished clearing
Channing Frye's medicals.