Can the Cavs succeed In Fast-Paced, Small-Ball Lineups?

Is it possible that the Cleveland Cavaliers can succeed in a fast-paced small-ball lineup?

With the news that Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert are progressing well, many Cavs fan are thinking of how David Blatt will use these players in rotations with the squad we have seen for almost 20 games this season.

When thinking of how well the Cavaliers played last season in regards to small-ball lineups, it only makes sense that the Cavaliers hone their craft and provide David Blatt even more versatility.

Just the ability to challenge the likes of the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers or any team trying to gain an advantage by using a smaller, faster lineup that could give the Cavaliers problems makes much sense.

But how will the Cavaliers put together the small-ball lineup and will they be able to support such a lineup from the bench?

With Irving being maybe two weeks away, we will begin to see the addition of the 3-guard lineups.

With the 6’1” Mo Williams, the 6’3” Kyrie Irving, and the 6’6” J.R. Smith filling out the back court, the lineup can be filled with the 6’8” LeBron James playing the four and the 6’9” Tristan Thompson playing the five.

This would be a stop-gap lineup until the 6’5” Iman Shumpert is healthy enough to play. At that point, the younger, more defensively minded Shumpert would replace Williams and have him come off the bench.

The ideal small-ball lineup would then include the 6’3” Irving, the 6’5” Shumpert, and the 6’6” Smith filling out the back court along with the 6’8” James playing the four and the 6’9” Thompson playing the five. This lineup features three offensive and three defensive threats. The beauty of this lineup is that Smith could be swapped for 6’4″ Matthew Dellavedova and Thompson could be swapped for the 6’10” Kevin Love with virtually no difference in offensive or defensive production, as a team.

Coming off the bench – when all five players are swapped out – David Blatt could then play the 6’1” Mo Williams, the 6’4” Matthew Dellavedova, the 6’7” Richard Jefferson and fill out the lineup with the 6’8” James Jones and the 6’9’”Tristan Thompson.

The only drawback that playing small-ball in Cleveland is that it leaves two players that can impact the game in different ways off the floor, or under-utilized in Kevin Love and Timofey Mozgov.

Yes, Blatt will rotate players in and out and will most likely play Love at the five in the lineup when match-ups necessitate that. The other thing that should be noted is will the 6’4” Jared Cunningham – who has shown some flashes of speed and athleticism – play a part in some of these small-ball lineups or will he be relegated to back-up and garbage time minutes.

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Remember, these small-ball lineups will not be the staple for the Cavaliers, but will give them options on ways they can play and win. Unfortunately, Irving, Shumpert and Thompson were not available for training camp, so these lineups will have to be tested on off-days and in-game situations – not the ideal way of accommodating this option.

If this “experiment” succeeds the team will be one of the most versatile in the NBA, with any kind of lineup from small-ball to playing big.

The only question will be: Will the Cavaliers be able to play at the level of the Golden State Warriors who own a historic 22-0 start to their season.