The Cleveland Cavaliers brought in David Nwaba to be a perimeter stopper, so they should at least give him some minutes.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a rough start to the season, as they’ve lost their first three games. There are some new pieces playing different roles, and it’s unclear how the next month or so is going to be for the team. Head coach Tyronn Lue does not have the easiest situation to deal with right now, but it is up to him, to an extent, to prevent the team from self-destruction. Playing David Nwaba some minutes could help in doing that.
Considering the Cavaliers currently have the league’s second-worst defensive rating, per NBA.com, and are fresh off conceding an Atlanta Hawks franchise record 22 made three-point shots, something needs to change. Lue needs to let Nwaba see the floor.
In two preseason games, he averaged 8.5 points on 62.5 percent shooting, and 4.0 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per outing. As we’ve demonstrated ad nauseam here at KJG since the Cleveland Cavaliers and him agreed to a deal, Nwaba, like Cedi Osman, is a guy that can provide a spark. He’s a player that has a seven-foot wingspan, and is really strong for a two guard.
That should bode well against 1’s and 2’s, and some 3’s. With the workload Osman will have, and given that the second unit is going to struggle with consistency, any extra help would be a plus.
With Lue appearing to go with a ten-man rotation now, per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, (h/t Kenny Honaker of Cavs Nation), Nwaba has to have a legitimate chance for playing time. Given that the Cavs are going to commit to a fast-paced style (I would think at least for a good part of the season), Nwaba has to fit in some where.
He’s a player who is good off-ball on both ends (as a cutter and plays passing lanes well on defense), and he’s much younger than players such as Kyle Korver or J.R. Smith, who could be potential candidates for some minutes at the 2 or 3. Nwaba is not the shooter those players are from the perimeter, but he would be a much more valuable defender, which is something Lue has to weigh heavily right now.
The Cavaliers are probably going to get good defensive effort all season on the perimeter, but players such as Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood and Collin Sexton are simply not the same defensively as Nwaba. The pairing of Sexton and Clarkson doesn’t project well as the season moves along; both players will have their scoring bursts, but both need to improve their passing and defensive awareness, particularly off-ball.
Nwaba and Clarkson, on the other hand, could work well in the second unit, as an offense-defense sort of scenario, and if that means George Hill doesn’t play a ton of minutes, oh well. Even with Hill playing fairly well (with 12.7 points and 4.0 assists per game thus far this year), the Cavs aren’t getting particularly good defense out of him.
If Sexton got to play with the starting unit, he would have a far better plus-minus mark of minus-12.7. Our own Jackson Flickinger noted how for Sexton to be at his best, he has to get reps with the starting unit alongside Hood, Osman and Kevin Love.
If that were the case, Nwaba’s spot in the second unit could be more freed up.
Moreover, with Nwaba getting some reps with the second unit, and/or mixed in with Hood or Love, he could provide much-needed defensive ability and push the pace as well. If the Cleveland Cavaliers don’t play Nwaba, what was the point of signing him for this season?