SALT LAKE CITY: Timofey Mozgov concedes now that last season with the Cavaliers was the best stretch of basketball in his career. He has followed it up this season with one of his worst.
Mozgov remains in the starting lineup, but only because coach Tyronn Lue believes Tristan Thompson wears down against some of the league’s bigger centers. Mozgov’s minutes, and his productivity at both ends, has been slashed.
“I’ve got a lot of [stuff] in my head,” Mozgov said. “I’m not going to share it to nobody. You ask me what’s going on in my head, you’re not going to find out. Only Sasha [Kaun] knows. You don’t want to be there, trust me.”
Mozgov’s collapse has been baffling. He has no explanation for why he fit so well last year or why he has struggled so badly this season. He has alluded to personal problems for the past few months, but won’t go any further in discussing them. Meanwhile, his on-court productivity has suffered. He’s averaging 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds, but it’s the defensive breakdowns that have been more concerning.
The Cavs overhauled their pick-and-roll coverages last season following Mozgov’s arrival, but he hasn’t been as effective at protecting the rim. He’s playing less than 18 minutes a game this season after averaging 25 minutes last season.
When he is on the floor, most of the defensive breakdowns are followed by teammates barking at Mozgov, pointing at him or both.
“His minutes have been inconsistent; I don’t think he’s really had a chance to get into a great rhythm,” Lue said of Mozgov. “Then with Tristan playing the way he’s been playing, it’s easy to throw Tristan in when we need him.”
Mozgov has cost himself millions this season. He will be a free agent this summer, and after the way he flourished following the trade from the Denver Nuggets last season, he seemed in line for a huge payday. Now he’ll turn 30 this summer and it’s questionable whether he’ll be back.
“I’m not frustrated. I have to be optimistic,” he said. “To me it’s simple, I have to do what I’ve done all my life: keep working. You can’t turn nothing around if you don’t work.”
Hayward scratched
Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward was scratched from Monday’s game with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Joe Ingles. It’s the first game Hayward missed this season.
“He’s played a lot of minutes and there’s not too many guys that bring his versatility and impact scoring, rebounding and passing. It makes it hard. We’ve been playing with injuries all year and this is just one we just haven’t dealt with yet.”
Rest coming
Since LeBron James and the rest of the Cavs’ starters were available for Monday’s trip finale against the Jazz, Lue is looking for places to rest guys. They host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, followed by a weekend back-to-back at Orlando and Miami.
James, of course, already sat out the first game this season at Miami. There appears at least a chance he will sit out again.
“During that three-game stretch I’ll look to rest guys,” Lue said.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.