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Cleveland Cavaliers: Who should guard Victor Oladipo?

By Nathan Beighle

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 26: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers handles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 26, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 26: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers handles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 26, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Indiana Pacers have been electric because of Victor Oladpio. That said, which Cleveland Cavaliers player should Tyronn Lue elect to guy the all-star?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the worst defenses among playoff teams, ranking No. 13 of the 16 in defensive rating to end the season. Needless to say, Victor Oladipo, who averaged a career-high 23.1 points per game, will be a problem for the Cavs defense, and it might be difficult for Lue to slow him down.

To some extent, who will guard Oladipo should determine how well he performs. In the Cavs four games against Indiana, Oladipo put 23, 33, 19, and 25 on the Cavs. In all four of their games, the Cavaliers roster still consisted of players like Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas.

So, while the two teams have met four times, they will be relatively new to each other.

In all four of the matchups, the Cavaliers started and played JR Smith over 30 minutes. In this postseason, JR Smith is unlikely to start a single game. That tells us one thing: you can virtually cancel out most takeaways from the regular season matchups.

At least one starter will get to see the majority of Oladipo, and if I were Tyronn Lue, I’d make that starter George Hill, especially given the other four starters.

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Kyle Korver, Jeff Green, Kevin Love, and LeBron James round out the starting unit. Including Hill, the starting lineup does not boast too much athleticism, but Hill and his wingspan make him an ideal candidate to guard Oladipo.

Kyle Korver is a phenomenal team defender, but one-on-one with Victor Oladipo might not be the Cavs best option. Korver will likely be stuck on Darren Collison, another quick guard. Defensively, the Cavs will be tested by dynamic two-guards in their first two series, so this problem will last much longer than just one series.

However, let’s focus on just Indiana and more importantly on just Oladipo. This season, he’s put up his lowest scoring totals against Toronto (5), Philadelphia (11), and Utah (13).

What can we learn about how they guarded Oladipo? Each team put either a larger more athletic player like Ben Simmons or smaller and extremely athletic player like Donovan Mitchell on Oladipo.

How can that translate to who should guard him for the Cavaliers?

Well, it doesn’t really translate too well. The Cavs could try to put Cedi Osman, a pesky athletic player with a long wingspan on him, but outside of Osman, the Cavs lack gritty defensive players.

In season’s past, this is where Iman Shumpert would show his value. But, with Shumpert in Sacramento, who will fill his spot?

We can rule out Kevin Love and LeBron James. Kyle Korver, at 36, is a bit too old and unathletic to guard these dynamic athletes game in and game out. Really, while George Hill isn’t an ideal choice to lock up a forceful all-star, he’s certainly the best Cavaliers starting backcourt option.

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That said, only time will tell us how well that works out.