CLEVELAND -- Cavs coach Tyronn Lue broke into the NBA and won championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. Now he concedes he is surprised the league's marquee franchise has struggled luring some of the top free agents the last couple of years.
The Lakers arrive at Quicken Loans Arena fresh off their first victory in December after beating the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday to end an eight-game losing skid. It has been a difficult month after a surprising 10-10 start under first-year coach Luke Walton.
Meanwhile stars such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love have all bypassed the chance to sign with the Lakers in free agency the last two years.
"You would think that they would attract more free agents, but it depends who the free agents are," Lue said. "There's a lot of pressure when you put on that purple and gold. You have to win, and if one great player goes there and he can't carry a franchise, there's a lot of pressure on him. I don't think it's because of the franchise or organization I just think it's a lot of tradition that follows. For a guy to go there, go by himself and not be able to win, it's a lot of pressure."
Walton has done his best to keep the Lakers' spirits up despite a skid that unraveled what was a promising start. Walton thought the coaches and players began putting too much emphasis on wins and losses rather than growth and seeing improvement. Once he corrected that course Friday morning, the Lakers produced one of their better defensive efforts of the season in beating the Sixers.
Guard D'Angelo Russell is still working his way back from platelet-rich plasma therapy on his right knee. He has appeared in five games now since the procedure, although Walton still doesn't believe he's all the way back.
"He still didn't look fully healthy to me," Walton said Friday. "He looked great early, but later in the game he looked like he was laboring a little bit. I wouldn't call him 100 percent, but he looked good."
Walton is a former Cavs forward who is friendly with Lue because of the Lakers ties the two share. They also share a craps table every July during summer league in Las Vegas.
"We meet at craps table No. 6 every night at 9 o'clock," Lue said. "We meet there every night during summer league. Me, him and (Richard Jefferson). But R.J. is terrible, so we keep him away. He's not serious enough. Me and Luke are pretty serious about it."
Lue is also serious about winning and keeping the Cavs fresh for what should be a deep playoff run. He was sharply criticized for leaving LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving at home for what turned out to be a loss at Memphis on Wednesday on the second night of a home-and-home with the Grizzlies. But all three stars will be back on the floor against the Lakers. For Irving, it represents a full week off after he complained of tired legs last Saturday.
"Of course you don't want to upset the fans and let the fans down," Lue said. "You know they want to see LeBron and Kevin and Kyrie play. ... I feel sorry for the fans but my biggest thing is I have to protect our team and make sure our team is okay."
The Cavs learned late Friday they'd be without reserve center Chris "Birdman" Andersen for the rest of the season. Andersen, 38, tore the ACL in his right knee during practice Friday and will need season-ending surgery to repair it. He played sparingly this season, but his loss leaves the Cavs with just three healthy bigs in Love, Tristan Thompson and Channing Frye.
