Lue must weigh rest against winning conference

The Cavaliers at times look like a tired bunch when they play elite teams, an eightcylinder luxury vehicle wheezing to the finish line with half the cylinders misfiring.

No longer the Beasts of the East, the Cavaliers head to Boston on April 5 for the second half of one of those infernal back-toback engagements the players hate for what could be their biggest game of the regular season.

The Cavs, after crushing the Orlando Magic, 122-102, on April 4 at Quicken Loans Arean, are tied with the Celtics for first place in the Eastern Conference at 50-27. That makes the game in on the parquet floor of TD Garden in all likelihood a duel for the conference championship, and that means Cavs coach Tyronn Lue has a decision to make: How does he weigh finishing with the top seed in the conference against resting his key players?

“It’s a fine line,” Lue said before the game with the Magic. “You want to make sure we go to the playoffs healthy and guys are rested, but if you can get home-court, you want to get that, too.

“We’re great at home. During the playoffs (last year), we didn’t lose any games (at The Q) until the Finals. We know when we play at home, we’re

tough. We just have to make sure our guys are healthy. That’s the most important thing to me, but also still chasing the No. 1 spot if you can get it.”

Lue is a big picture guy. Rest is really 1B and home-court 1C to what is most important to the Cavaliers coach.

“For me, it’s more important to get our rhythm going down the stretch,” Lue said. “We won two in a row. It’s a big game for us tonight, especially being at home.

“You want to establish some kind of rhythm going into the playoffs. The guys know that. We’ll just see how it goes.”

The Cavaliers have now won three straight — all against teams with losing records. They had little rhythm for 24 minutes against Orlando and trailed, 55-53, at halftime. But then they exploded for 43 points in the third quarter.

Ball movement was the key in the third period; they converted nine of 13 shots from behind the arc. They finished 18 of 36 on 3’s.

Sometimes the Cavs have the rhythm of Fred Astaire. Sometimes they have the rhythm of — me

The Cavaliers finished second in the East in 2015 at 53-29, seven games behind the Atlanta Hawks. They met the Hawks in the conference finals and neutralized their home-court advantage by sweeping the first two games in Atlanta. They won the next two at The Q to glide into the NBA Finals against the Warriors.

Golden State had homecourt advantage in the Finals last year. That didn’t stop the Cavs from winning Game 7 in Oakland.

Finishing second to Boston in the East should not cause panic in Cavalier Nation. The Cavs have already won in Boston this season. The Cavaliers could have to play 28 more games after the regular season ends on April 12 with a home game against the Toronto Raptors.

There are no back-toback games in the playoffs. The Cavs have one more back-to-back set in the regular season following the game in Boston. They play in Atlanta on April 9 and in Miami the next night. Note to Commissioner Adam Silver: Expect to see LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love rested in one of those games.