PORTLAND, Ore. -- Richard Jefferson was excited to play in his first Christmas Day game in more than a decade. Only, the veteran didn't account for Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt not playing him for the first time all season.

"Surprising," Jefferson told ESPN.com before the Cavs' 105-76 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday. "Just because it was one of those games you look forward to as a player. You don't put a lot of stock into it like, 'Oh, this is a litmus test,' or this and that, but you look forward to it. I hadn't played on Christmas Day in 12 years. Now 13 years."

Jefferson was one of several Cavs to see a drastic shift in their playing time in Cleveland's 89-83 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday. Like Jefferson, Anderson Varejao and Jared Cunningham both picked up DNP-CDs. Mo Williams played five minutes. James Jones played two.

LeBron James expressed his displeasure with the rotation Blatt used but stopped short of placing any direct blame.

"It's going to take some time to get back into rhythm, and all of us, not just the players, but everyone, to get back in rhythm," James said after the loss to the Warriors.

James later added: "For us to have a full unit, we've got to practice, we've got to play some games where we know what we want to do, what lineups we want to play out there."

After the blowout loss to the Blazers, James uttered a similar refrain.

"You know, it's going to take time, because you know for the first eight weeks we had built chemistry, we knew who was playing, we knew who wasn't playing," he said. "We had rotations, Coach [Blatt] had rotations down, so we got to get back to that. We have no rhythm. ... We have some guys who don't know if they're going to play, or if they are going to play and it's hurting our rhythm a little bit."

The lineup shuffle, of course, comes at a unique juncture of the Cavs' season. Within the last two weeks Cleveland welcomed back Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving from what had been season-long absences to this point. Williams was also re-introduced to the mix after sitting out two games because of a sprained thumb on his shooting hand.

Shumpert acknowledged the awkwardness of being a welcome addition, yet at the same time contributing to throwing everybody off.

"A lot of it is lineup changes and everything. I know me coming back is probably messing up some of the rhythm, but it's just one of them things we got to grind out," Shumpert told ESPN.com. "You're going to get criticized, that's fine. We just got to make sure we do a good job of staying on the same page."

Before the Blazers game, Blatt vowed to go deeper into his bench, especially with Irving out again for rest.

"I think really we have to use that depth," Blatt said. "We didn't see it [against Golden State]. It was a very particular kind of game, the game itself, and the way we played it. The two previous games, with the additional guys coming back, I think you saw a much different thing. And I think that's the way we got to go about it. We got to utilize that depth from game to game and throughout the season."

It didn't matter against Portland, of course. Blatt played everyone in uniform -- including 26 minutes for Jefferson, 14 minutes for Varejao and 12 minutes for Cunningham -- as the Blazers quickly turned it into a rout, leading by 22 in the first quarter and by as many as 34 before settling for the 29-point upset win.

Jefferson said it's easier for a player to stomach not getting in the game if the decision doesn't catch him off guard.

"The key thing in any relationship on any good team with any staff, with any group is communication," Jefferson said. "And there's going to be times when things happen. You might play out of position because someone gets injured. You might play a ton of minutes because someone's in foul trouble. So, just like understanding that, if you don't play one day as long as things are communicated and as long as things are done, then it becomes my job to be a professional and to stay ready."

Jefferson said Blatt did not inform him of his decision not to play him before the Warriors game, but stressed that there would be no lingering resentment on his part.

"I think the one good thing about this team is everyone is after one goal," he said. "Everyone is trying to get better over the course of this season. Things are always going to be communicated. You would prefer things be communicated prior. Sometimes that doesn't happen, so things get communicated post. And as long as you understand that we have an open line of communication to talk about things, I think that put everyone at ease. That doesn't mean that you're always going to like what you hear in that communication, but at least you kind of understand."

Jefferson chalked up the Warriors rotation snafu as a minor occurrence overall.

"Everyone makes mistakes. As a player, I'm going to miss a rotation. I'm going to miss a game-winning shot. I'm going to miss a box out. I'm going to do things as a player [incorrectly]," Jefferson said. "And everyone, it doesn't matter, it can be coaches, it can be training staff, everyone is going to make mistakes over the course of the season. And everyone is going to make the right move over the course of a season. So, you don't ever put stock into something that happens once or twice or whatever. You just try and be a professional. You handle things as such. And a lot of times, how you handle things will determine not only your longevity in this league, but also determine your success in other areas."

However, the communication clearly can be improved. Varejao said he had a "short conversation" with the coaching staff as his minutes have dwindled, yet added, "But no, there's not been a lot of communication right now. Just waiting to see what is going to happen."

It's the gift and the curse of having a deep roster. It's great to have effective players, it's tough for effective players to not get in the game.

"It's one thing when you know what's going to happen," Varejao told ESPN.com. "It's another thing dealing with it."