King James Gospel
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Cleveland Cavaliers: Ranking the Cavs’ top 5 most lethal lineups

By Nathan Beighle

CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 9: JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates after defeating the Golden State Warriors in Game Four of the 2017 NBA Finals on June 9, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 9: JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates after defeating the Golden State Warriors in Game Four of the 2017 NBA Finals on June 9, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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INDEPENDENCE, OH – SEPTEMBER 7: (L-R) Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue and general manager Koby Altman introduce Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder
INDEPENDENCE, OH – SEPTEMBER 7: (L-R) Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue and general manager Koby Altman introduce Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder /

Lineup #5: Thomas, Smith, Korver, Crowder, and James

This is the ultimate lineup for utter LeBron James domination. James has always thrived with an array of shooters on the court with him, and this could be Cleveland’s best four shooters alongside the King.

Korver led the team in threes per game, averaging 2.8. Then it was the ex-Cav Kyrie Irving. Love and Smith follow him. Both additions, Thomas and Crowder, made over two threes per game last season. Thomas, who shot 37.9% from deep, actually made 3.2 per game which was a remarkable fifth in the NBA. It’s even crazier to think he shot that well from deep being only 5-foot-9.

For Smith, more time with James would be beneficial. Of the 95 threes that J.R. Smith made last season, a majority of those were dished to him from LeBron James. James averaged a career-high in assists last season, and he should continue to be able to find him and others open shots. While this lineup might struggle to rebound, if James is on the court, he could most likely figure it out.

A lineup of these five could easily put up 130 points in a game. It will be interesting to see if Lue ever decides to go to a lineup this small with James being the tallest player at 6-foot-8.