Dwyane Wade had a role, now Cavs must return to what worked
The Cleveland Cavaliers should place Dwyane Wade back in the second unit.
Dwyane Wade has been the lone member of the Cleveland Cavaliers rotation to not show up for any of their first three games. I mean, he was in uniform and playing — but he has made only a select few notable plays while being inefficient from the field.
In three games with the Cavs, Wade has averaged 5.7 points (and 3.3 assists) per game while shooting 28.0 percent from the field (8.3 field goal attempts per game) and 33.3 percent from three-point range (1.0 three-point attempt per game). He has an offensive rating of 69, -0.3 offensive win shares and an offensive box plus/minus of -6.8. He has a player efficiency rating (PER) of 1.6.
On the bright side, Wade is shooting 43.1 percent from 10-16 feet away from the rim and 47.6 percent from the corners though right?
All jokes aside, Wade has looked unsure of how or when to attack in the Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup, a fact he lamented after Saturday night’s loss against the Orlando Magic (story by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin).
"“I’ve always been a [number] one or [number] two option”, Wade said, “It’s a different game.”“I’m a rhythm player. I take a lot of shots… It’s just trying to that rhythm… where it will come from, when it will come…”"
Wade added that the shots he took on Saturday night — much like the shots he’s taken throughout the regular season — are shots he’s used to taking, he just missed them.
According to the NBA’s lineup data, when sorted by net rating Wade has played best when paired with players in the Cavs’ bench unit (Kyle Korver (58.0), J.R. Smith (10.9), Iman Shumpert (8.5), Jeff Green (7.0) and Tristan Thompson (5.8)). However, put him by any of the starters – Kevin Love (-11.2), Jae Crowder (-13.6), Derrick Rose (-16.2) or LeBron James (-17.3) – and he’s struggled.
Looking at five-man units, when Wade is in the starting lineup, the Cavs have an offensive rating of 101.6 and a defensive rating of 123.3, good for a net rating of -21.7. When he’s leading the bench, the Cavs have an offensive rating of 71.6 and a defensive rating of 70.9, good for a net rating of 0.8 (a number that would be okay if not for the Cavs’ horrible offensive rating in this five-man unit).
However, when he’s in a lineup with Shumpert, Crowder, Love and James the Cavs have an offensive rating of 94.4 and a defensive rating of 82.9, which produces a net rating of 11.5. This is by far the best lineup the Cavs have with Wade, although (in a 2-minute sample size) a lineup of Wade – Shumpert – Green – Love – Thompson had an offensive rating of 163.9 and a defensive rating of 100.0 (63.9 net rating). In an equally small sample size, replace Shumpert, Green and Thompson with Korver, Crowder and James and the Cavs have a lineup that has an offensive rating of 103.1 and a defensive rating of 58.1 (net rating of 45.0).
Lineups where Wade is successful have a high free-throw attempt rate and solid ball-movement. While they don’t necessarily require the Cavs’ to hit threes, the Cavs’ also have solid spacing in these lineups.
Must Read: Derrick Rose needs to remain in the starting lineup
With all that said, Wade’s best role would seem to be one where he’s in the backcourt with an athletic shooting guard like Smith or Shumpert. They’re players that not only give their all on the defensive end but space the floor as three-point threat. Rose, while a player who plays with great defensive effort, isn’t a great three-point threat.
Without Wade shooting a high volume of threes or James showing a willingness to be the Cavs’ tertiary ball-handler at the beginning of games to play off of Wade and Rose as a spot-up shooter, Wade seems to need that type of perimeter player beside him in a lineup.
Rose was clearly missed on Friday night (due to Jose Calderon’s lack of defensive pressure and consistent perimeter penetration) so while Shumpert and Smith have played well as a combo guards, it’s unlikely that Rose loses his starting spot. Wade, who looked like he was set to be the Cavs’ backup point guard in the preseason (and was excelling in that role), may just need to in order for the Cavs’ to thrive though.
As previously mentioned, if James (and Rose) won’t operate as an off-ball shooter more of the time, it will be hard for Wade to get himself in a rhythm as he’s a player who makes his plays off-the-dribble. That’s also true if they don’t try to find Wade for more easy buckets inside the arc themselves (which would be helped with more off-ball screens, player movement and passes from the elbow area).
The simple solution is for Wade to lose his starting spot and the Cavs put Smith back in the starting lineup. That way, Wade will return to the role he was growing fond of in training camp and one that puts him in position to be the primary (or secondary) playmaker.
A role that he thrived in during the preseason as well while starting in James’ absence.
In the preseason, Wade averaged 11.5 points per game while shooting 52.8 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three-point range. He had a PER of 19.4.
Wade, per Joe Vardon of cleveland.com:
"“I like it. It allows me to be a playmaker, which I love when you have guys like Kyle Korver out there, Channing Frye, sometimes J.R. Whatever lineups coach puts out there, it gives me an opportunity to have the ball in my hand, make plays and obviously score the basketball. There’s so much talent on this team, I’m trying to get used to all the weapons that we have. But I like it. I like the changeup. I think the second unit is going to have to be very good for this team to be as successful as it wants to be.”"
As an aside, returning Smith to the starting lineup might help their long-distance shooting woes. Smith is supposed to be one of the Cavs’ best catch-and-shoot threats but has made more plays off-the-dribble than as a spot-up shooter since being told he would be coming off the bench. When Smith plays beside James, James is quick to set up his buddy with a bevy of three-point shot attempts. It’ll change Smith’s mindset and the starting lineup’s spacing (and firepower) to put him back in the starting lineup.