Who’s in and who’s out of the Cleveland Cavaliers 10-man rotation?
It is the best time of the year — Playoffs. Don’t talk about playoffs! You kidding me? Playoffs? Yes, we are talking about playoffs Jim Mora.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers will start their first round series Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.
The Cavs have one of the deepest benches in the league but they need to settle on a rotation and possibly leave some key guys off of the playoff rotation.
A key guy late in the season for the team, Cedi Osman, could be one of the odd men out.
Such is the life of rookies and Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said he will use a 10-man rotation during the playoffs, virtually erasing all doubt Cedi could be left out as he didn’t name him when he was speaking about preparing for young players.
Here are the quotes from ESPN’s, Dave McMenamin.
"“You usually go nine,” Lue said, describing a typical playoff rotation. “I think we’ve been nine in the past, but I think it’s going to be important to go 10 for us.”"
Here is an interesting tidbit from McMenamin on who could possible be in the rotation and out of the rotation.
"Lue, who played only eight players more than 15 minutes per game on average in the Cavs’ 2017 postseason run, will open up the playoffs with planned minutes for JR Smith, Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson and Jose Calderon off the bench, and may add either Rodney Hood or Kyle Korver in that bench group."
So, where does that leave Cedi and Tristan Thompson in the rotation? Most likely out of it.
"It would appear, at least to open up the postseason, that Cedi Osman and Tristan Thompson — who played major roles at times this season — are on the outside looking in."
If I had a shot of who could possible be in the playoff rotation, well here you go:
G: George Hill/Jordan Clarkson/Jose Calderon
G: Rodney Hood/Kyle Korver/J.R. Smith/Cedi Osman
F: LeBron James/Kyle Korver/J.R. Smith/Cedi Osman
F: Jeff Green/Larry Nance Jr./Okaro White
C: Kevin Love/Larry Nance Jr./Tristan Thompson/Ante Zizic/Kendrick Perkins
If I had to pick of who is out of the rotation, it would have to be Cedi, Thompson, White, Zizic and Perkins.
Osman certainly does have an argument with how well he has played, but in the playoffs, veteran experience is much-needed and this is where Smith comes in. He brings energy and offense off the bench that is vital to the team’s success.
However, Calderon gets into the playoff rotation because the team plays better when he plays. In the 32 games Calderon started this season, the Cavs went 23-9. When Calderon started and scored 10+ points, the Cavs went 6-1.
I do not think anyone expected these type of records from the team when Calderon plays. Calderon is just a savvy veteran who knows how to run an offense and just trying to make everyone on the floor better.
Here are some stats to prove what Calderon means to the team: When he is on the floor, the Cavs offensive rating is 111.8 and their defensive rating is 108.7. The team’s net rating is a +3.1.
Calderon won’t start, but he needs to play in the playoffs.
I love Cedi as I know a lot of Cavs fans do, but as of right now, even with a strong season, I just do not see him making the rotation. There are already a lot of experienced players ahead of him. Thompson has just not looked the same all season. He’s had some good games, but he is not the same Thompson that we know he can be.
All in all, this is what most likely the Cavs playoff rotation will look like (or very similar). It is hard for a coaching staff to do a 10-man rotation, especially if the team is really deep. It will be very interesting to see what Lue actually does with the rotation.
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Stats are from NBA.com.