Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue's plans to rest LeBron James and win the No. 1 seed in the East seem to continue to change.

In February, Lue said he wouldn't seek to sit James and other out of games until the Cavs had put a "cushion" between themselves and Toronto for first place in the East.

James has missed three games since despite being healthy, the Cavs are still in a dogfight with the Raptors, and Lue's plans remain unclear as his statements regarding priorities for rest versus rhythm heading into the playoffs continue to shift.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Tyronn Lue said Tuesday night that nothing had changed for him regarding his regular-season goals for the Cavaliers.

"I still want to win the first spot," Lue said after the Cavaliers lost at home to Houston, 106-100, with LeBron James resting on the bench. "I still want to be No. 1 in the East."

Except, eight days ago, Lue said resting players was more important than finishing first in the conference, if he were forced to pick between the two.

It's why James sat out against the Rockets, even though he was healthy and the Cavs hadn't played since Saturday night.

Lue wants James as fit as possible for the playoffs. Without him, the Cavs are now 1-3 this season and 4-13 over the past two. Their lead over Toronto is down to 2.5 games with eight to play.

"Winning is winning," Kyrie Irving said after the game. "We’re obviously aware of where we are, but winning is winning."

Irving's point is there is no confusion among the players on the message coming from the top.

But Lue's message on this topic -- when and how to rest players before the playoffs -- almost never stays the same.

Here's a look at Lue's competing statements on managing the roster as the season winds down, and the potential pitfalls created by his evolving plan.

(Photo by Chuck Crow, Plain Dealer)

Next: East cushion

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East cushion

On Feb. 18, as the Cavs returned from the All-Star break with 30 games left and a 3-game lead over the Raptors, Lue said "I talked to our team about the most important thing right now is to try and get home-court advantage for the East.

"If we can get a little bit of a cushion, then we can try to rest LeBron a lot," Lue said.

The message was clear: Lue wanted the East locked up before he would actively seek to rest James to prepare him for the playoffs.

As it stands today, the Raptors are still alive for the No. 1 seed, and James has missed three games as a healthy scratch since Lue made the comment. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have also rested in games this month.

The question is, what changed?

(Photo by Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

Next: What changed?

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What changed?

Forget what Lue said Tuesday night about their being no change in his thinking.

There's been at least one, if not two in a little more than a month.

On March 21, Lue said: "We definitely want the No. 1 seed if we can get it, but I think we have to rest our guys also. I think health going into the playoffs is more important than the seeding."

There it is. The obvious change.

What probably precipitated it: James' really bad game on Feb. 23.

It was on the second night of back-to-back games. James scored just 12 points and shot 12-of-18 from the field in a home loss to the Pistons. He looked tired and sluggish.

Lue actually said he had a feeling he should sit James that night. But James was in the lineup anyway, with Lue's previously stated goal of securing the East far from finished.

After the loss to the Pistons, Lue said James would probably sit more often in similar situations moving forward.

Only, it hasn't happened.

(Photo by Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

Next: Back to back

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Back to backs

Since Feb. 22, the Cavs have played in six back-to-back scenarios -- or games on consecutive nights.

Of those 12 games, James has only sat once, on the front end of a back to back in Washington on Feb. 28.

Asked last week if Lue was largely going to use back-to-backs to rest his players, he said: "I think it’s the smartest way. Back-to-backs, they are hard on your body."

Not only did James play in last week's back-to-back games against Milwaukee and then Brooklyn, but it appears he's set to play this week against the Nets Thursday and then in Atlanta Friday.

An argument could've been made for playing James against the Rockets -- a team fighting for its playoff life -- and rested him in one of the two games later this week, potentially maximizing Cleveland's chances of claiming the top seed and getting James the extra rest.

(Photo by John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

Next: Seeing red

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Seeing red

There is an explanation for Lue's roster management.

"I have to listen to the training staff," he said Tuesday. "And if they say guys are banged up a little, or tired, you know, we have to go with that. And the way our thing is set up with Alex Moore (Cavs strength coach) and those guys, when our guys’ limit is in the red and it gets kind of dangerous, and in the danger zone, then we have to tend to listen to that."

Lue means the Cavs medical staff is monitoring the on-court minutes, the pace, the contact, and the general stress each player is putting on his body. The team is taking into account minutes played this season and over a career to determine how much rest is needed for the playoffs.

In James' case, he's averaging a career-low 35.6 minutes per game. He's rested three games in the last 30 days. He's not in any immediate danger. Rather, Lue said James rested Tuesday because it was a chance to give James four days off without missing more than one game.

But the nights off Irving and Love have received both came at peculiar times.

In Love's case, he sat out on March 4 against Washington -- which was the front end of a back to back. But the Cavs had a rare lull in the schedule in which they didn't play for three full days.

Irving sat Saturday night against the Knicks, instead of Thursday against Brooklyn on the second night of a back to back. Irving shot 6-of-22 against the Nets that night.

He was probably in the red.

(Photo by Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

Next: Opposite end

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Opposite end

Lue said he plans to rest James, Irving, and Love again before the regular season ends April 13.

He also hopes to sit Matthew Dellavedova, J.R. Smith, and possibly others as well.

And yet: "I’m looking at hopefully probably five or six (games) to have our full team."

That's five or six, out of just eight remaining.

The Cavs still have two back to backs left; this week and then April 5-6 at Milwaukee and Indiana.

Now, the Raptors could play a part in this, perhaps rest their own players or fail to make up the necessary ground to catch the Cavs -- making it a moot point.

But the way Lue has managed the roster to this point, and with the plan he articulated Tuesday, it appears the Cleveland will essentially rest its players in the heat of a race for the top seed, and then ramp up for the playoffs over the very last games of the season -- when most teams give their stars extra time off.

That was Lue's original intention.

(Photo by Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)