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3 potential lineups the Cavaliers could use involving Anthony Edwards

By Mason Cole

Georgia Bulldogs guard Anthony Edwards lays the ball in. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
Georgia Bulldogs guard Anthony Edwards lays the ball in. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland handles the ball. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Potential lineup #1 for the Cleveland Cavaliers involving Edwards: Darius Garland-Edwards-Cedi Osman-Kevin Love-Andre Drummond

This first lineup seems to be the most seamless scenario if the Cavs do have the opportunity and then draft Anthony Edwards. It features a workable backcourt.

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Darius Garland would be able to run the point and hopefully develop into a better playmaker, while Edwards could be the go-to-scoring option.

Garland would also be effective in this role as an off-ball threat due to his increasing ability to hit open three-pointers. This could help in creating lanes for Edwards to use his athleticism and quickness to attack the basket for layups or dunks.

This lineup would also provide the young backcourt with a sense of veteran stability in the frontcourt. Cedi Osman, Kevin Love, and Andre Drummond are all players who have proven that they can fill roles on an NBA offense. Drummond is touched on here, considering he fully intends to pick up his $28.8 million player option for 2020-21, for context.

Swinging back, Osman provides many different skills to an offense, Love still remains a steady shooting option as well as an occasional low-post threat, and Drummond will enter this next season as one of the better low-post players in the league.

All three members of the frontcourt are veterans who have proven that they can be consistent contributors to an offense, and this would help the development of both Garland and Edwards.

Having steady teammates to surround your young guards should always be in mind when constructing an NBA roster. While this may be the most steady lineup the Cavaliers could use to surround Anthony Edwards, it does not come without questions.

The biggest question revolves around defense. While he has the measurables to develop into a good defender at the NBA level, the defensive play of Edwards from his time at Georgia has often times been characterized as inconsistent, as The Stepien’s Spencer Pearlman emphasized.

With that in mind, slotting that questionable defensive piece next to Garland, who struggled mightily there during the 2019-20 season, could be a recipe for disaster for the Cavaliers backcourt. Although one could make the argument that anything is better than a defensive backcourt featuring Garland and Collin Sexton, of whom had a horrendous defensive rating of 117.3 when on the floor together, per NBA.com’s lineup data.

Overall, this seems as though it would be the most sensible lineup that Bickerstaff could feature with Anthony Edwards at his disposal for key stretches.