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The Cleveland Cavaliers have a top 5 starting lineup

By Nathan Beighle

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 2: The Cleveland Cavaliers honor the National Anthem before the open practice on October 2, 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 David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 2: The Cleveland Cavaliers honor the National Anthem before the open practice on October 2, 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 David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers obviously have a top-five starting lineup in the NBA, and Sir Charles in Charge recently confirmed that.

In recent rankings, Sir Charles in Charge told us what we already know: that the Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the top starting lineups. That lineup is composed of Rose, Smith, James, Crowder, and Love. Three starters were the same as last season, and if Thompson wouldn’t have been benched for Crowder, it would’ve been four returning starters.

The only surprising team that managed to top Cleveland in their rankings was the San Antonio Spurs. Both the Golden State Warriors, who have one of the best teams ever assembled, and the Oklahoma City Thunder have strong starting lineups. The second unit is what will make the difference between these teams. The Cavaliers second unit is composed of Dwyane Wade, Iman Shumpert, Kyle Korver, Jeff Green, Tristan Thompson and a slew of other players that could start on most other teams.

The three teams that did the most work this offseason (OKC, Houston, and Boston) came in at three, five, and six respectively. The Cavaliers, who flipped half their roster this offseason, managed to do quite a bit to maintain a championship-caliber team. With LeBron James leading the charge, they have certainly continued to do that.

As we learned in our first preseason game, Kevin Love should be a force with this lineup as King James right-hand man. His tenacity and increased three-point accuracy have made him a quality second option for the three-point heavy Cavaliers. Besides Love, Crowder should be a nice addition, shooting about 40% from deep last season.

Zachary Tennen, the writer behind the SCIC rankings, had Derrick Rose as the starting point guard, so the next question is: When IT comes back, would the Cavaliers have the second best starting lineup? That question is still up in the air, but in my opinion, the Cavaliers starters with Thomas would out-perform just about every other starting lineup.

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This could be the season that the Cleveland Cavaliers get their revenge on the Golden State Warriors, but this completely different lineup must create impeccable chemistry before the postseason.