Cavs searching more scoring power from the bench as playoffs near
On a given night, the Cavaliers will likely employ either an eight-man or nine-man rotation. But just who rounds out that group will continue to be shuffled on a game-by-game basis.
The core four in the starting lineup — Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — will be joined in the rotation by Isaac Okoro, Caris LeVert and Ricky Rubio to form the first seven options. When healthy, that’s the base of the Cavs rotation.
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Lamar Stevens, Dean Wade, Cedi Osman and Danny Green are then the leading candidates to be inserted as the eighth and possibly ninth rotational pieces on a nightly basis. It has led to some inconsistent playing time for that group of four players off the bench, and Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff has acknowledged it could be a frustrating element for players as the team balances not only what is working that night, but what is needed on a game-by-game basis. That’ll be determined by matchups, game flow, tempo and other factors.
Within that shuffling, a need for some additional scoring punch off the bench has emerged. The Cavs have had a number of games over the last few weeks in which the starting lineup has carried the bulk of the scoring, led by Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen. That isn’t necessarily the worst thing, but the Cavs have been searching for some increased production on the offensive end out of the bench to help alleviate some of that burden.
“It’s going to be important that we do, and a lot of that is on me,” Bickerstaff said recently, speaking of the bench needing to find more consistent scoring. “I’ve got to put those guys in positions where they can be successful, find different ways [to do that], and it’s almost like a shift in style. I think that group can play faster, it can create easier buckets. It can transition its defense into offense. There are more movement sets for that group because they do have guys who can move without the ball and who can share the ball.
“So all those are all things we can complement, but it’s on me to help them.”
There are a number of examples of how playing time off the bench past LeVert and Rubio has ebbed and flowed.
Osman had only one game in the month of March in which he played at least 20 minutes. That was until Tuesday night in Charlotte, where he logged 30 minutes and scored 24 points, his second-highest total of the season. Part of that was due to the Cavs’ injury situation, but Osman, as much as anyone else, has seen his minutes rise and crater with what the Cavs need.
Stevens had five games in a seven-game stretch recently in which he played fewer than five minutes or was a Did Not Play — Coach’s Decision. That was until he provided a spark in the Cavs’ comeback win over the Boston Celtics on March 6, grabbing eight rebounds and scoring eight points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Since then, he’s been on the floor for at least 24 minutes in four of the team’s last five games entering Wednesday night.
“When we have our conversation with guys and we talk to them about who we need them to be and how they play to their strengths, that impacts this team in the most positive way,” Bickerstaff said after that Cavs’ win over the Celtics, specifically talking about Stevens. “And Lamar is a dog and he’s willing to scrap, he’s willing to fight. He’s not afraid of the moment.”
It’s the type of readiness the Cavs appreciate in an ever-changing bench makeup. As the playoffs draw near and the Cavs battle for playoff seeding, that flexibility is also a key element in how the team’s second group complements the core members of the rotation.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.
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