BOSTON -- There’s a word often used for doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting it to yield different results: Insanity.

It feels the Cleveland Cavaliers have reached that point. It’s time to shake things up.

Head coach John Beilein has changed outfits, going with a tie one game and then no tie. That hasn’t done the trick. He’s slightly altered his rotation -- randomly using Brandon Knight to provide an offensive lift, giving Jordan Clarkson some opportunities at point guard, even increasing the workload for rookie Kevin Porter Jr. Beilein’s tweaked the offense, letting Cedi Osman be a playmaker, adding more double drags, post-ups and trying to funnel things through five-time All-Star Kevin Love.

While there have been minor gains at various points, the results haven’t changed.

Sometimes there are no good answers. Maybe the Cavs simply aren’t good enough to compete with these teams, especially now that they’ve entered a grueling portion of the schedule. That’s probably the most logical explanation. It’s reasonable to believe they’re too young, allocating big minutes to guys who are still learning how to play at this level. It’s possible they’re just too small, often getting blown out by teams with size, length and athleticism. They’re lacking top-tier talent -- an expected byproduct of being early in a rebuild.

But there’s still one move Beilein can make. It’s the one, for whatever reason, he hasn’t yet. Switching his starting lineup. More specifically, breaking up the undersized backcourt of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton. At least, for now.

At one point this season, Cleveland’s starting lineup was surprisingly one of the league’s best. That was weeks ago, before slipping into a futile rut, losing seven straight and 13 of the last 14.

Suddenly, Cleveland’s quintet of Garland, Sexton, Love, Osman and Tristan Thompson is being outscored by 7.2 points per 100 possessions. In 288 minutes together, the most of any combination by more than 200 minutes, the unit has a chilly 102.9 offensive rating and a 110.1 defensive rating.

This isn’t about placing blame. It’s not about scapegoats. Nor is it admitting the backcourt of the future is a failure already.

It’s far too early for sweeping conclusions, especially as Sexton is adjusting to his third different head coach since entering the NBA while also having to change positions, and Garland isn’t yet himself, probably won’t be until around the All-Star break. Shuffling the starting lineup doesn’t have to be cause for alarm. It doesn’t mean the rebuild is a disaster or the big picture has changed.

There will still be plenty of time for the organization to figure out if the Garland-Sexton pairing works. Those answers don’t to have to come immediately. For now, it seems Garland and Sexton may actually develop better individually if they are split.

This is also about snapping Cleveland out of a funk that has lasted nearly a month. It’s about a new coach showing players he’s willing to make necessary changes. It’s about maybe, possibly, injecting some life into a lethargic-at-the-beginning-of-games team. It’s about making an adjustment that could bring some belief back to a locker room currently dotted with doubt. It’s about trying to get the most out of individuals who have started to fade lately.

Thompson was asked following shootaround where, specifically, the Cavs needed to make the biggest jump. He didn’t hesitate.

“The first five minutes of the game,” Thompson said. “The first five minutes sets the tone.”

By the end of the first five minutes in Philadelphia, despite increasing Love’s touch count significantly, the Cavs were staring at a 12-3 hole.

“Guys were sitting on the rim,” Thompson said of that poor start. “It got them going. After that, guys that can’t shoot are making shots. All from the beginning of the game.”

The same happened Monday night in Boston. Five minutes into the game, the Cavs trailed 15-6 -- another near-double-digit deficit that doomed their chances. Players -- and coaches -- have talked about how difficult it is to recover from early onslaughts.

“We didn’t get into a rhythm or flow,” Thompson said following the 110-88 loss to Boston. “Just have to be ready to go from the beginning of the game -- out of the gate. No time to start the engine.”

Over the last 14 games, the Cavs have stalled quickly, tied with the struggling Atlanta Hawks as the league’s worst first quarter team, being outscored by an average of 6.5 points. Their first quarter offensive rating during this brutal stretch is a ghastly 92.6. The defensive rating is 117.6. The lineup isn’t working and it’s forced the Cavs to fight uphill the rest of the way -- a tedious task.

It hasn’t just been the last few weeks either. They rank 28th in first quarter net rating on the season, being outscored by 13.3 points per 100 possessions. That marks leads just two teams: the Hawks and Warriors.

The Cavs need energy early. They need more length in the starting lineup. Need more juice.

That all points to either Matthew Dellavedova or Porter. One of them needs to take the spot belonging to Sexton or Garland.

“You can just see why we are out there playing him,” Beilein said of Porter. “He’s going to make a lot of mistakes here and there, and we’re fine with it, as long as he continues to grow and not make as many (as the season goes on). The stuff that he can do to just ... when he’s around the rim it’s amazing how quickly the ball gets in the basket.”

A coach recently called Porter one of the team’s best passers. The Cavs sure need that. The rookie, who the Cavs believe will find a home at shooting guard in the future, has the size to provide more resistance defensively. They need that too. Porter tallied a game-high three steals Monday night, and even though he has a propensity to turn his head and ball-watch, Porter looked like he belonged against the lengthy, bouncy Celtics who often attacked Sexton or Garland when in need of a bucket. That’s what most teams have done. It’s the easiest path to points.

While Sexton has made positive strides on defense this season, there are obvious size limitations. That makes it tough on him -- and the Cavaliers’ defense.

Garland, meanwhile, is getting run through a gauntlet of screens that he’s never felt before. At 19 years old, with his body still developing, Garland is being overpowered. Not every opponent has Boston’s size, but Jaylen Brown repeatedly exploited the mismatch early in the game. If it wasn’t Brown then it was Kemba Walker, a tough cover for most guards, let alone a youngster with much to learn.

Late in the third quarter, as the Cavs were trying to storm back, Porter was on the floor. He was also there when that run carried over early into the fourth.

His latest highlight-reel dunk put a jolt into Cleveland’s bench Monday night. It still had his teammates buzzing after.

“Especially when you’re flexing on them,” Garland shouted while Porter was conducting an interview.

Of lineups this season to log more than 10 total minutes, Porter appears in the top two in net rating and four of the top six.

Coincidence? Maybe it is. But Porter possesses some of the traits the Cavs need most right now. He could slot in at shooting guard, shifting Sexton back to de facto point guard while Love, Thompson or Osman initiate offense. Or Porter takes Sexton’s spot, with Garland staying and Sexton sliding into a sixth man role. But keeping Garland and Sexton together will lead to the same problems.

Wanting to avoid another teenager in the starting group would be understandable. If that’s the case, Beilein should consider Dellavedova -- or even Knight.

During the second half of the 2018-19 season, as Sexton started making a run at first team All-Rookie, he was sharing the backcourt with Knight -- another experienced guard.

It was better for Sexton’s development. Going back to that setup would allow Garland to move into a bench role, giving him more freedom to run the second unit, where there’s less of an on-court clash with his backcourt partner. It would also lessen the defensive burden, keepingGarland from tallying most of his minutes against the league’s elite.

Knight isn’t part of the customary rotation, so going from end of bench to starter would be quite a leap. Dellavedova would be more likely. Even though he has statistically been one of the league’s worst players according to a few advanced metrics and continues to clank outside shots, he understands how to run an offense, knows where to be at all times, puts teammates in the proper spots and can get others involved.

Throughout Monday’s game, he tried keeping Love engaged when the frustrated star came to the bench. Could sharing the court with Dellavedova quell Love’s irritation and help him find his early-season rhythm?

Dellavedova, the sage vet, also has the strength, tenacity, knowhow and a few extra inches in height to battle 2-guards, perhaps rejuvenating Cleveland’s sliding defense.

Following the most recent loss, Beilein said he was able to pull positives. Down by 30 points in the second half, the Cavs rallied, cutting the lead to 13. Then Walker took over, single-handedly halting Cleveland’s push. That was still progress. The way the Cavs played for much of the third quarter was another good sign.

But the starting lineup was a negative. Again. That group buried the team early.

The season-long goal is player development. That means putting guys in the best position to succeed. That doesn’t seem to be happening right now. It’s time to change that. It begins with mixing the formula -- jumpstarting that first quarter engine again.

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