Cavs forced to scramble at guard after West injury

INDEPENDENCE, OHIO - With Mo Williams out for four to six weeks with a left shoulder strain, the Cavs' point-guard position figured to be in good hands with Delonte West.

That was until one of those hands suffered a fracture. During Thursday's 93-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, West fractured the ring finger on his left hand, his shooting hand.

West did not play against the Oklahoma Thunder on Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena. Beyond that, the Cavs will wait to see how the finger heals. West will be day to day until eventually being re-evaluated.

The loss of West puts the Cavs in a precarious position. With two of their best ball-handlers out, the Cavs will sign point guard Cedric Jackson to a 10-day contract, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Jackson is playing for the Erie Bayhawks, the Cavs' NBA D-League affiliate. Jackson, a 6-foot-3, 190-pounder out of Cleveland State, is averaging 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game for the Bayhawks.

Because the Bayhawks run some of the same offensive sets, the Cavaliers chose Jackson over signing a veteran point guard.

Daniel Gibson will take over the starting spot, but Cavs coach Mike Brown has other options.

But Brown is concerned about putting too much on James and Parker, worrying that ball-handling duties might take away from each of their games. For James, that could include what he does best -- close out games the way he did against the Lakers.

That puts the impetus and spotlight on Gibson, who has been an important member of the Cavs but has had his playing time diminish recently.

Gibson worked on his point-guard skills during the offseason, and it showed when he returned for training camp.

"The thing he has done is opened up his game so that he's not relying on just that catch-and-shoot 3. He can go make plays for others," Brown said. "He hasn't had the opportunity to play a lot of point guard here during games, but in practice, he's been great."

And after going from point backup to starter in a matter of hours, Gibson said the extra work during his free time has prepared him for the job.

Gibson said that hasn't changed, but he doesn't view his job to be particularly difficult in this instance.

"[There's] no reason for pressure given that we have the best record in the East and those guys will be back sooner than you think. It's just a matter of taking care of my business," he said.

He considers taking care of business protecting the ball and ensuring that he gets the team into the offense to get a shot.

"I don't have to try to go out there and do something amazing," Gibson said. "We have a lot of guys out on the floor who are capable of doing big things.

"So what I have to do is go out there and be solid. That's my main focus. Play great defense. Keep guys motivated and make a couple of shots easier for my teammates."

He has a case. Williams averages 16.9 points per game and 5.1 assists on the conference's best team, numbers that are comparable to last season's All-Star numbers.