King James Gospel
Fansided

Cleveland Cavaliers: DeAndre Liggins’ Role May Increase Soon

By Quenton S. Albertie

Oct 18, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard DeAndre Liggins (14) against the Washington Wizards at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. The Wizards won 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 18, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard DeAndre Liggins (14) against the Washington Wizards at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. The Wizards won 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Cleveland Cavaliers next-man-up philosophy puts the spotlight on DeAndre Liggins.

After bumping the side of his head against Kristaps Porzingis‘ hip in Tuesday’s season opener, Iman Shumpert is in the league’s concussion protocol. Rookie Kay Felder is already in the league’s concussion protocol.

Related Story: Cleveland Cavaliers: Mario Chalmers for the Playoffs?

Those are the Cleveland Cavaliers primary options as backup point guard. Now, the Cavs are left to rely on DeAndre Liggins as the backup point guard on Friday night as they take on the Toronto Raptors.

The matchup against the Raptors is, more or less, daunting in and of itself. The Toronto Raptors are one of the few teams in the Eastern Conference that could pose a threat to the defending champions. After sweeping their first two opponents in the last season’s playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers momentum slowed as they faced “We The North”. It took the Cavs six games to finish off the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals, even without the Raptors having a fully healthy Jonas Valanciunas.

The Cleveland Cavaliers battle against the New York Knicks, a team who has built its roster up in being championship contenders, proved that the Cavs are still the most elite team in the Eastern Conference. However, the Knicks aren’t of the same defensive caliber as the Raptors squad. While the Cavs offense reeled off 129 points with ease, the Toronto Raptors are the only team that held the Golden State Warriors to under 100 points in the NBA preseason.

While the Cleveland Cavaliers have three of the best offensive players in the league in Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love, the Cavs Big Three were allowed to dominate because of the roles that they played. James was the primary facilitator and tertiary scorer. Irving was scoring option 1A. Love was scoring option 1B. Against the Raptors, James will likely have to take on a bigger scoring burden as he has the most advantageous matchup.

Irving will be battling with Kyle Lowry and Cory Joseph, who are two bulldogs defensively. Love will be contending with Pascal Siakim and Patrick Patterson. Siakim is a rookie who isn’t well-known by the NBA. That’s just for now. He’ll be seen providing outstanding defense on Love on Friday night because of his physical attributes. Patterson isn’t a strong defensive presence. However, he has the length and foot speed necessary to contest Love’s shots from the perimeter.

James will be played by DeMarre Carroll, Terrence Ross and DeMar Derozan. James has the physical advantage over each of these three because of his size, speed and power. His ability to score from the post has increased each year since his first season with the Miami Heat and, at this point in his career, James is one of the better post players in the NBA. Expect to see James dominating from the post next game. However, also expect the Cavs to attempt to lean on Liggins as facilitator as a result.

While it’s easy to say that Love and Irving should try to facilitate more, their ability to dominate offensively largely comes from being the recipients of smart passes. Not the deliverers.

Related Story: Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 Best Trades For Iman Shumpert

Furthermore, although the Cavs were without Felder, who they counted on to be a part of the second unit, they played gave Shumpert and Liggins backup point guard spot duty to help fill the void against the New York Knicks. After Shumpert went down with a head injury, it was just Liggins.

Liggins, for his part, ended up with three assists by the end of the contest. He’s a creative facilitator who likes to slow the game down and analyze the scene before making a play. Last game, Liggins held the ball for 4.7 seconds per touch. That number surpassed Irving’s 4.6 seconds per touch for the top spot. Irving, who is a wondrous ball-handler, used up the bulk of his time driving to the rim. Liggins used that same amount of time surveying the scene.

He’s a different type of point guard than Felder or Shumpert. Felder is a speedster who makes quick decisions that match his quick crossover dribble. Shumpert has developed a terrific two-man game with Irving. Staying true to his designation as a role player, Shumpert typically gets the ball out of his hands quickly in order to let Irving, Love, or James make a play.

Liggins won’t just always pass the ball to one of the “Big Three” in order to let them decide how to attack themselves. He’ll actively be trying to set them up for a scoring play.

Felder will be out the league’s concussion protocol soon and Liggins’ role is likely to diminish with the rookie’s return. Still, with the trade rumors surrounding Shumpert, Liggins’ role could increase again. Friday will be an important night for Liggins as he does his best to earn the trust of his teammates and coaches while playing against one of the top-tier Eastern Conference teams.

DeAndre Liggins: Point Guard Insurance The Cleveland Cavaliers Need

How do you think DeAndre Liggins will fare as the Cleveland Cavaliers backup point guard on Friday night? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.