Kyle Korver can be stabilizing force of the second unit for Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ depth is undeniable but it will take some time to establish their on-court hierarchy outside of LeBron James and Kevin Love.

Everybody knows that LeBron James is the number one option for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is their instant offense, and he sets most plays in motion. Since the trade deadline, his usage rate has gone up considerably, and that’s understandable with the departure of Isaiah Thomas and Dwyane Wade (to go along with Love’s absence). In the last three games, James has a usage rate of 37 percent, per nba.com.

He’s had a true shooting rate of 64.2 percent in that time, though, so it’s not as if James has been a black hole. He also has an assist percentage of 44.1, which makes sense with the Cavs running the offense through him, to get the other pieces acclimated on the fly. That’s worked well in most instances, but the potential issue that arises is what happens to the offense when James is off the floor.

The Cavs’ bench production has been really good so far in this post-deadline madness. Cleveland is tied for fourth in the league in bench scoring in the last three games, per nba.com. The Cavaliers have gotten hot shooting from Jordan Clarkson and Rodney Hood but, at times, the offense has lacked creativity and hit the occasional snag without James on the floor (and, at times, even with him out there).

The Cavaliers are going to have their ups and downs in terms of three-point shooting over the next few months. Overall, they will continue to be one of the best perimeter teams in the Association, with LeBron threading the ball on a rope to the corners and the ball-movement taking off from there.

That being said, the Cavs can’t just default to a Clarkson isolation or pick-and-roll with Larry Nance Jr. that takes valuable time off the shot clock against quality defenses when James is off the floor. Those kinds of plays work in some situations, but not for long stretches.

Against the Washington Wizards and Oklahoma City Thunder that happened too frequently. Clarkson is a streaky scorer and there’s no doubt that he can fill it up as a bench microwave. He’s responded well while playing with other talented teammates but, for the Cavs’ bench players to be at their best, he’ll need to be a more willing playmaker for stretches.

Clarkson only had one turnover against the Wiz and had some nice plays early on in the game in which he was really pushing the pace. Nevertheless, with the Cavs tangibly making an effort to get the new players (especially on the bench) involved, they are not getting Kyle Korver going enough.

Even with Korver not being particularly effective with his jumper since the new guys have come to town, he still has the best net rating of any player in these last three games, per nba.com.

Korver has been great for the Cavs most of this season, even at times when they’ve had bad overall stretches as a team as a whole. He’s sixth among all qualified players this season in true shooting percentage, per Basketball Reference. Korver also leads the Cavs in plus-minus in these last three games, despite shooting just 27.3 percent from the field. So why is he so important moving forward in regards to the team’s bench dynamic?

The veteran sniper is a stabilizer with the ball in his hands, and he opens up so much for everybody else sharing the floor with him. Korver’s incredible basketball IQ is the reason he’s able to still be a viable threat, even with his lack of athleticism compared to the other players currently in Cleveland’s rotation. He’s already developed solid chemistry with Nance, and that’s led to plays like this off a dribble hand-off, which should keep producing buckets from here on out.

Clarkson initiated the play here as the primary ball handler and Korver demonstrated his value as a decoy after that, which led to Nance getting an easy two points playing above the rim. Clarkson will continue to be valuable to the Cavs’ bench as a scorer with the added spacing for his drives, but he needs to defer to Korver at times to keep the opposing defense off-balance on the interior.

That will continue to help the Clarkson-Nance high-screen actions, but it will also allow more back cuts from Hood and Jeff Green with multiple eyes on Korver looking to fire above the break. In addition, Korver’s stress on the opponent mixed with the aforementioned pick-and-roll has proven to give Green more post-ups against smaller defenders switched onto him. Chris Webber was on-point in acknowledging that in TNT’s telecast last night’s game.

Korver knows when to tell players like Green to go to work, and that sort of leadership leads to smart decisions in-game, and gets easy baskets for others. Mixed in with his effort and team-first defensive principles, it’s clear that the Cavs’ sharpshooter shouldn’t be lost in the rotation with the playoffs down the road.

Head coach Tyronn Lue needs to factor in Korver’s intelligence and ability without the ball in his hands to make others, like Clarkson and Nance, better as a result. When Kevin Love comes back, Korver shouldn’t be glued to the bench. He’s a tough assignment for opponents to account for, and can be effective in making others better, regardless of whether or not James is on the floor with him.

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