The Cleveland Cavaliers will have three legitimate Death Lineups

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have quite a few Death Lineups to choose from.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have so many playmakers on their team it’s not even funny. LeBron James, Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose and Isaiah Thomas have all been the face of a franchise at some point in their career, and now they join forces to perhaps be the best team in the NBA.

Thomas is out for at least a couple of more months but even without Thomas they have players who are excellent fits around the Cavs’ healthy quartet of All-Star talent.

Just looking at what the Cleveland Cavaliers most potent lineups may be, the Cavs look to have at least three legitimate “Death Lineups”. The “Death Lineup” moniker can only be given to lineups with deadly two-way potential and it didn’t start coming into use until the Golden State Warriors started running roughshod over opponents. The Cavs have yet to have a lineup that showed sheer dominance but that could all change this season.

Because James has yet to play in the preseason (he won’t be playing in when the Cleveland Cavaliers play the Washington Wizards either), this is all speculation. However, Rose and Wade have looked, well, magnificent in two preseason games.

Rose has been aggressive, getting to the rim at will and leaving defenders in his dust despite the negative press he’s gotten about declining athleticism. He’s not a perfect defender but he’s going to bring a level of defensive pressure the Cavs couldn’t get Kyrie Irving to bring on a consistent basis.

Wade looks like he stepped into a time machine – a phrase we’ve used so many times it might just be fair to say Wade never lost “it”. He’s been hustling on defense and making plays above-the-rim on offense, which is surprising. What’s not surprising is his veteran savvy and midrange game leading to points. He’s clearly enjoying his role as a facilitator too, which is a plus.

To make it even better for the Cavs, both seem willing and able to hit the three-ball this year. Even if they weren’t shooting those shots, their ability to play off of Love at center allows them to receive the ball in the midrange areas. Their hotspots. If they were to run the pick-and-roll with Love, the threat of Love’s shooting would force big men to stay with Love rather than shade the Cavs’ slashers and impede their progress to the rim.

Love has become a playmaker for the Cavs offense in Irving’s absence. His screens free up slashers, his outside shooting is always a threat, he’ll take his man off-the-dribble, mix it up inside and he’s able to showcase his passing more now than at any point since his arrival. His offensive versatility, rebounding and his basketball IQ allow the Cavs to live with the defensive issues that come along with starting a center who isn’t an elite athlete.

One would assume that James, a point-forward by nature, would open up the space on the floor because the gravity of his talent dictates that his man come out and guard him. It often results in all five men on the opposing team watching him, opening up opportunities for cutters to sneak behind the defense. No matter what the opponent does, James’ success is up to him. He’s going to drive when he wants to drive, get a switch when he wants to switch, post up when he wants to post up and shoot the outside shot when he wants to shoot it. He just has to make it. On defense, James is a player who can guard all five positions in small lineup while Wade and Rose could guard up to three.

Jae Crowder and J.R. Smith are two players who could fill in for Thomas and still give the Cleveland Cavaliers a “Death Lineup” because of the impact they make on both ends of the floor.

The Cavs’ tough and gritty wings are more than just three-point threats on offense that will space the floor for the Cavs’ slashers. Crowder is an excellent cutter who will play well off of Love and James at the elbows while Smith has returned to playing like a true combo guard, making plays off-the-dribble for himself and others. Defensively, Smith and Crowder are both solid on-ball and off-ball defenders capable of guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player. They give their all on that end and are emotional players who can fire up the team vocally or by making a big-time play.

With Thomas inserted instead of Smith of Crowder, the Cavs will be putting a dynamic offensive weapon on the floor whose size makes it imperative that every player can guard their own position.

Compare these iterations of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Death Lineup to the Golden State Warriors’ Death Lineup:

Cleveland Cavaliers

Rose  – Smith – Wade  – James  – Love

Rose – Wade – James – Crowder – Love

Golden State Warriors

Curry – Thompson – Iguodala – Durant – Green

Now, compare the Warriors’ Death Lineup to what the Cavs’ Death Lineup could be when the team is fully healthy.

Thomas – Rose – Wade – James – Love

On paper, the Golden State Warriors have better individual defenders but in either case, the opposing team finds themselves matched up against a team full of playmakers. Good offense beats good defense so far as old adages go. As a result, no matter how great both teams played defense, the game would come down to who had the better offense.

That would be the Cavs.

The Warriors have four players capable of being playmakers and four players capable of being scorers, and those four players aren’t one and the same. Klay Thompson makes his living as a catch-and-shoot threat while Draymond Green is anything but a scorer. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers have five players capable of being playmakers and five players capable of being scorers.

The floor balance of the Cavs, with their mix of slashers, shooters and ball-handlers makes it easy to see the team playing beautiful basketball with heavy ball and player movement. The Warriors play that style of basketball already but without having the same level of offensive potency as Cleveland, assuming that the Cavs can keep the score close at the end they should be able to pull the game out.

On defense, Thomas, Rose, Wade and Love all seem to be defensive liabilities on paper but in a championship series, Rose and Wade can be counted on to give maximum effort and their athletic abilities should allow them to have some success against the Warriors’ wings. Because Green has proved to be an inconsistent three-point threat, Love can roam and obstruct driving lanes with solid help defense. Eventually, the Warriors should decide that shooting from outside or running set plays is the best option with Love roaming inside the arc.

The Cavs’ defense will work best if they don’t switch and they play aggressively, so Thomas will have his work cut out for him trying to keep up with Curry. However, Thomas is quick and will have fresher legs than most of the players in the playoffs, so there’s a great chance that he’ll be able to hold his own against Curry. Two years ago, James was asked how the Cavs can slow down Curry.

“The same way you slow me down”, he quipped. “You can’t”.

It would be best if the Cavs didn’t focus on Curry but on defending the whole lineup.

For defensive purposes, bringing in Smith or Crowder allows James, Wade or Rose to take a break from chasing Thompson around screens or having to deal with the way Kevin Durant can make defenders look silly. Durant, a seven-foot wing with quickness, athleticism and a silky smooth shooting stroke, is one of the best scorers in the NBA if not the best scorer in the league period. Trying to stop him, at least with one defender, is an exercise in futility.

All three of the Cavs’ Death Lineups would be necessary to beat the Warriors.

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