The Cleveland Cavaliers Need A Changing Of The Guard

How can the Cleveland Cavaliers solve their defensive issues? Expanding the rotation and shaking up the starting lineup.

After last night’s 93-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls, it’s clear that there’s one primary problem ailing the Cleveland Cavaliers, containing the ball-handler and stopping lane penetration. Despite bottling Rajon Rondo up at the start of the game as the Cavs decided to double everything and rotate, the Chicago Bulls’ point guard finished the game with 15 assists.

The only two solutions are to bring DeAndre Liggins back to the starting unit or use the bench more wisely. One of those may never happen, as Liggins and his world-class defense have been swept under the rug in order for Tyronn Lue to stroke Iman Shumpert’s ego.

In any case, the bench must be used more wisely.

Wisely how? Using more players and matching up player’s strengths and weaknesses better than what the Cavs have been doing as of late.

Let’s start with the head of the snake. At this juncture, Kyrie Irving and Deron Williams have proven that stopping players from driving past them isn’t their specialty.

Looking at the video above, Irving is consistently beat off-the-dribble by Rondo. Meanwhile, while Williams wasn’t shown being blown by, it’s a well-known fact that he hasn’t been any more successful at stopping guards from getting into the paint.

Knowing how Lue is, at this point, it’s hard to see the Cavs tinkering with the starting lineup or even the rotation. However. it’s clear there needs to be a changing of the guards, most literally and physically. There won’t be a drastic change to the defensive performances we’ve seen if the Cleveland Cavaliers can’t stop lane penetration.

To that point, yes, the easiest solution is a return to Liggins. The only point guards that were able to escape from Liggins’ suffocating defense were Kemba Walker, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas. Small and explosive point guards.

Only one of those guards will be in the playoffs though.

It’s understandable why J.R. Smith starts because he’s a capable defender and hustles. He also is the better three-point shooter. Yet, in the interest of starting the game off with better defense, Liggins is the clear solution. He just makes the right plays, timely plays, impact plays.

So, yes, while the Cleveland Cavaliers may not be willing to take Smith out of the starting lineup, there’s a reason they should and could. What’s best for the team could be bringing Smith off the bench when the first subs come out. According to basketball-reference, putting Liggins in the starting lineup instead of Smith gives the Cavs a starting lineup that outscores opponents by 32.1 points per 100 possessions.

Despite the Cleveland Cavaliers rebounding and rim-protecting woes of late, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson should be the first subs out for the Cavs.

The rationale behind subbing out Love early is because his fatigue seems to set in faster than any other Cavs player because he’s often the focal point of the offense at the outset of games. In addition, since returning from injury, Love’s defense hasn’t been nearly as impactful as it was before the injury.

That makes sense though, as Love’s offseason conditioning had made him quicker and stronger. After a foodborne illness, arthroscopic knee surgery and returning two weeks early from that surgery, it would seem that Love doesn’t have the same quickness or explosion as before.

Thompson is a player who’s also being subbed out to prevent him from being fatigued. Thompson’s defensive versatility is an integral part of the Cavs’ success and leaving him on the court so long that his legs turn to lead is counterproductive; it doesn’t help him move around the court on defense. It doesn’t help him gather rebounds either.

If Smith, Kyle Korver and Channing Frye come in for Liggins, Love and Thompson, the next lineup will provide the Cleveland Cavaliers with two things.

First, it’s a lineup that has so many shooters that can bring the big men out of the paint, Irving and James can attack the rim at will and be playmakers from the post. Second, putting Frye, Korver and Smith in a lineup with James allows them to play beside their favorite quarterback before he sits out to take a breath.

Curiously, this doesn’t seem to be a lineup that Lue has used yet.

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Defensively, this will be a lineup with average defensive capabilities but they won’t get blown out of the water. It should be one of their best offensively. This is a lineup in which the Cavs should double incessantly, causing turnovers and creating opportunities to score in transition offense. The trapping defense, transition and the three-point shooting should be used to close out the first quarter at a breakneck pace.

On the boards, it will have to be a group effort in terms of boxing out and gang-rebounding but it’s more likely that James or Irving will gather the rebound and be able to leak out into the open court instantly, boosting their transition offense.

As far as defensive rebounds, James actually averages 6.9 defensive rebounds per 36 minutes compared to Thompson’s 6.8 defensive rebounds per 36 minutes according to basketball-reference. Frye averages 6.3 defensive rebounds per 36 minutes by comparison.

That’s just to say that despite not having their two best rebounders in a general sense, they’ll still be able to close defensive possessions and clean the glass. In terms of offensive rebounds, this is a lineup that will be chasing long rebounds as they’ll be shooting a lot of threes. Size and hustle matter more than speed when it comes to chasing those boards.

By the second quarter, the Cavs will have started the game off with great defense and finished with great offense. They may not build a double-digit lead against every team but they shouldn’t be losing.

If Lue played the dominant lineup that included James, Korver, Frye, Richard Jefferson and Derrick Williams at the start of the second quarter, that could be great for the Cavs too. That’s another lineup that didn’t allow a lot of perimeter penetration but had incredible floor balance offensively. According to bball-reference‘s lineup data, this is a lineup that outscores opponents by 38.1 points per 100 possessions.

From there, Shumpert, Larry Sanders and Deron Williams can be subbed in while Smith, Frye, Irving and James are taken out. This allows the Cavs to keep a playmaking point guard in the game while putting in Jefferson gives the Cavs a savvy vet at small forward that will try to make the right moves all game. Shumpert is a player who can defend best perimeter scorer on the floor at that time.

Williams, who thrives in the pick-and-roll and not as a drive-and-kick floor spacer, will benefit from the length of Sanders. Sanders will also benefit from the know-how of Williams, who should be able to set him up for a lot of nice lobs. On the other end of the court, Sanders will be able to clean up what escapes in into the lane; it’s more than likely that this group will see a fair amount of perimeter penetration.

Sanders is a player who can provide Thompson with additional rest by being in as well. Williams and Korver will be able to play off of each other like the old days when they were both in Salt Lake City.

In the final four minutes of the second quarter, the starting unit (Irving, Liggins, James, Love and Thompson) can come in for Williams, Shumpert, Korver, Jefferson and Sanders and close out the half.

Although this is all theoretical, it would seem like this is the best way to use the Cleveland Cavaliers roster. Without Korver, nothing should change. James Jones should be played in place of Korver until he fully recovers from his foot injury.

Ty Lue, will you read this, please?

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Do you think that the Cleveland Cavaliers should play more players in their rotation to solve their issues? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.