When Timofey Mozgov Can Be Helpful for Cavs

Timofey Mozgov is starting but struggling. There are some times when he can still be helpful for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Before the season, many stated they would rather keep Timofey Mozgov over Tristan Thompson, if it was an either/or decision. Instead, Thompson signed a big deal, Timo had a knee surgery and their paths have continued in opposite directions.

Thompson has continued to play well while showing improvements on the offensive end.

Mozgov has struggled, still can’t catch passes consistently, has struggled finishing around the rim and has gone from a defensive foundation piece to a liability.

Thompson and Mozgov have alternating starting a few times this season. There have been reasons given, TT’s energy off the bench being the primary one, and Timo is starting once again.

For the year, Mozgov is only playing 17.4 minutes a game with 6.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and only 0.7 blocks. He has an amazing 0.0 Net Rating with 102.4 offensive and defensive ratings overall.

By comparison, Thompson is playing 28 minutes a game with 8.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocks. His Offensive Rating is 110.3 and his Defensive Rating is 101.3 for a positive 9.0 rating.

Last year, Mozgov had an Offensive Rating of 108.3 and a Defensive Rating of 103.5.

With such a clear drop off on the court, not to mention a noticeable lack of confidence from himself and from his teammates, can Timo be helpful for the Cavs?

Yes, in a couple ways:

Protecting Tristan

For all of his positives, Thompson is only 6’9″ and 240 pounds. While the NBA isn’t deep with huge centers anymore, Thompson can’t play the kind of minutes that LeBron James does. So even though Thompson is better than Timo, his size means he can’t play over 30 minutes in too many games.

Mozgov, at 7’1″, 275 pounds, can physically match up with any big in the league. He can take the pounding.

This likely changes in the Playoffs but for now, Mozgov is helpful in keeping Thompson fresh and healthy.

With Timo starting the game and second half, more of Thompson’s minutes are played against backup bigs instead of starting centers. With a dearth of quality big centers, Thompson gets to play against smaller, less focal bigs from the opposite team.

So Timofey Mozgov is helpful in keeping Thompson’s minutes low and minimizing TT’s time against top flight, generally bigger, centers.

At Home

Like most players, Mozgov plays better at home. (Side Note: More proof that confidence is a big issue for him.) This season, Timo has an Offensive Rating of 106.1 and Defensive Rating of 104.6. On the road, Mozgov’s has rating that is 7.5 lower on offense and 4.4 lower on defense.

For comparison sake, Thompson is even on defense in his home/road splits and his offensive rating is 6 points lower on the road.

Using this data to use Mozgov for a few more minutes at home would be helpful for the Cavs.

Against Specific Teams

More from King James Gospel

We saw how the Golden State Warriors could take the Cavs’ big man out of the game in the NBA Finals last year. However, Mozgov could be very helpful for the Cavs against certain teams.

In the East, Toronto, Atlanta, Detroit and Chicago all have big men that Timo can help bang down low. His size can be useful against smaller teams like the Celtics and Hornets as well.

In the West, Mozgov would be most useful against the San Antonio Spurs front line. While the Warriors are the likely opponent, Andrew Bogut isn’t a weapon at this point, the Spurs still have a chance of meeting the Cavs in the NBA Finals.

In what way do you think Timofey Mozgov can best help the Cleveland Cavaliers?