Cavs want more Channing, Cedi
Cleveland Cavaliers players campaigning for more playing time for Channing Frye and Cedi Osman.
Talking to reporters on Sunday afternoon, Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Kyle Korver noted a change that he and his teammates would like to see head coach Tyronn Lue make: more minutes for skilled center Channing Frye and rookie swingman Cedi Osman.
(Quote transcribed by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin):
"“He’s trying to find lineups that are working, and he’s trying to find minutes for everybody. I think he’s doing a great job in that regard, as far as getting everybody in the game. Maybe not Channing [Frye], we’d like to get Channing out there a little more, but it’s a numbers thing right now. It’s tough. Cedi [Osman], we’d like to see Cedi out there more, too. It’s tough. There’s a numbers thing right now.”"
Frye and Osman have been shooed out of the rotation with the return of Tristan Thompson and Derrick Rose, respectively. While the difference in the three-point shot-making ability is immediately noticeable between these two pairs, there’s a bit more to it.
Not only do driving lanes clear up with Frye playing center and drawing the opposition’s big man out of the lane but Frye’s also shown the ability to make solid passes from the perimeter, score in the low-post with efficiency and make defensive plays despite a lack of lateral agility or vertical explosion.
With Osman on the court, who was growing more comfortable each game, the Cavs had a player who could handle the ball in spurts, attack the rim off-the-dribble, make an open three-point attempt and defend all three perimeter positions with contagious energy. You talk about players not getting back and exacerbating the team’s issues in transition defense, well Osman is a player who hustles his heart out on both ends.
Aside from their individual traits, the “Bench Mob” that started to take over games included these two, not Thompson and Rose.
In all fairness to Rose, Osman is a better three-point shooter and defender but not a better ball-handler or slasher. Subsequently, there’s still a way (or reason) for Rose to be on the court but Rose should probably be a reliever for Dwyane Wade rather than his backcourt mate in the second unit, considering their overlapping skillsets.
As for Thompson, it’s just hard to see him as a fit since he’s the line rotation member without a three-point shot or guard skills he can use along the perimeter (ball-handling, slashing, passing). Lue has done a lot better playing Thompson with strictly shooters as of late but he still spends far too much time on the court with Wade, Jeff Green and LeBron James; without perimeter skills he just closes up the paint on defense and affects driving lanes.
The players have spoken and while Lue might not want their input, when players want to play beside specific teammates it would be prudent to take that into consideration. Especially when those players are calling for you to use their best five-man unit that doesn’t include LeBron James.
Going away from what works sometimes seems like Lue’s bread-and-butter though. He did this same thing last year when the semi-positionless unit of Korver, Frye, Richard Jefferson, Derrick Williams and LeBron James, their best statistically, became defunct right before the playoffs.
Don’t let Lue fool you.
This isn’t the same rotation as the one who went on a 13-game winning streak as Frye, Osman and Jose Calderon have been replaced by Thompson, Rose and Isaiah Thomas.
In addition, the Cavs are 0-4 against the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. They’re 1-2 against the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors, with their lone win coming in the season opener and after a gruesome injury suffered by Gordon Hayward, the team’s splash free agent signing.
Being 1-6 against teams with a better record than you isn’t ok. It’s actually why you would (a) stick to what worked and (b) change what has not worked.
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