CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After Friday's team meeting failed to yield the desired results, head coach Larry Drew's quest to snap this futile streak has led him down a different path.

He's contemplating lineup changes.

"I'm going to probably have to do something different with my lineup," Drew admitted following the Cavaliers' 133-98 loss against the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday. "That lineup is not a very energized lineup right now. They show flashes of it but they can't sustain it, so I may have to make some adjustments."

Once again, the Cavs came unhinged early in the third quarter. After the Pelicans opened the second half on a 12-0 run, Drew yanked four of his five starters. He would've pulled Larry Nance Jr. as well, but the Cavs entered the game with just nine healthy players so he stayed in there.

Saturday's starting group was nearly identical to Friday, a night that ended with a team meeting to discuss the problematic second half. The only difference: Alec Burks in Rodney Hood's spot, as the usual starter missed yet another game because of a sore Achilles.

The end result was similar, with the Cavs searching for answers following a ninth straight loss and the fifth in a row at home by 20 points or more.

While the third quarter has been Cleveland's primary issue during this appalling stretch, Drew said the starting lineup is most likely to change. Against New Orleans, that group --- rookie Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Tristan Thompson, Nance and Burks -- was to blame for Cleveland's sloppy second-half start.

That means any one of those guys could be a candidate to move to the bench.

"In this type situation you have to search until you can find it," Drew said. "I don't know if changing the lineup will do it. We can't continue to go at this rate. I refuse to. I think it's important that these guys understand that one, it's just not acceptable and two, I'm not going to accept it and let this continue at this pace. I've got to try something different, I've got to do something different to see if we can get some positive results."

Here's the problem: He doesn't have many options.

JR Smith is exiled. Kevin Love is out. Ante Zizic has missed five games in a row with an achy knee. John Henson still has a cast on his wrist. Jaron Blossomgame is with the Canton Charge of the G League. Matthew Dellavedova was in street clothes for the second straight night. Patrick McCaw is trying to get up to speed after missing all of training camp, the preseason and the first few months before the Cavs signed him away from Golden State.

Tough-minded David Nwaba, who gave the starting lineup a jolt and blended well with the other four, is still sidelined because of a sprained ankle.

Healthy, he would likely be starting. Drew loves him in that role. But that's not possible until he's cleared to play again.

In the last two games, Drew has used his two-big pairing to matchup better with Utah and New Orleans. He had no choice really, going with both Thompson and Nance despite what it meant to the rest of the rotation. Heading into Tuesday's game against Indiana, that's likely to change. After all, the Pacers use Thaddeus Young alongside 7-footer Myles Turner, which would make it tough for the Cavs to play Thompson and Nance together.

So Nance could be a prime candidate to move back to the second unit.

Drew also hinted at Jordan Clarkson as a possible starter. Clarkson scored a game-high 23 points. He has come off the bench in every game this season.

"Sure, he's a candidate," Drew said of Clarkson moving into the starting lineup. "The way he played, the way he shot the basketball, the way he got to the basket."

If it's energy Drew is looking for, Clarkson can certainly bring that, just as he did when he was asked to check in early in the third quarter.

"When you feel the team is down I'm trying to get the ball, push the ball and trying to make plays for my teammates," Clarkson said. "Get to the rim, do what a bench player is supposed to do. Bring the energy and do my job to score and make plays."

Two-way player Jalen Jones was another who stepped up when the rest of the team was sinking. He scored 15 points, including 11 in the third quarter. Drew said Jones will get consideration.

"The one thing I really like about that kid, I really respect about that kid, is that he plays hard," Drew said. "I don't care what the score is, he gets in the game and lays it on the line. We just need more people playing like that, playing with that type of energy, that type of intensity and playing that hard every possession."

If Jones and Clarkson go in then two players have to come out. If Hood recovers in time then he may also go back with the starters. In that scenario, three of Saturday's five would be moved to the bench.

Nance? Burks? What about Osman and Sexton?

In the first three-plus minutes of the third quarter, Osman missed a shot, committed a turnover and fouled E'Twaun Moore, leading to an And-1.

According to ESPN's Real Plus-Minus, which measures a player's estimated on-court impact on team performance in net point differential per 100 offensive and defensive possessions, Osman ranks 468th out of 472 NBA players. That's the second-worst RPM on the team, ahead of only Sexton. That specific metric points to Osman being the league's third-least productive starter.

Internally, members of the organization have wondered whether Osman is truly a backup, if he would be better coming off the bench where he could play more of his minutes against reserves -- a role where his flaws may be masked.

Even though Sexton has struggled mightily during this losing streak and the advanced stats aren't kind to him, it's hard to pull him from the starting lineup.

One, this season is largely about his development. Playing through struggles and learning from them is part of that. Drew believes Sexton -- and the other young players -- need to take those steps. Two, Dellavedova is currently hurt.

Still, if Drew backs up his words following another embarrassing home loss, the Cavs will have a different look Tuesday night.

"That's experimenting. At the end of the day, you lose by 40 two games in a row, you might as well make a change and switch things up," Thompson said. "It's worth a shot. You gotta try somethin' to change the flow and the energy of the game."