Potential Cleveland Cavaliers Vassell lineup #3: Garland-Sexton-Porter Jr.-Vassell-Love
This lineup might be pushing it in some ways, but for a team still early in a rebuild the Cavs could really try to experiment with lineups, and Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff seemingly expressed they’ll do so. This may be a lineup the Cavs don’t use much, but they could experiment with in stretches.
I truly believe the Cavs want to really try to see if the Garland-Sexton backcourt will work and are going to see how it progresses this year. The Cavs would not want to play Devin Vassell a ton at the 4 if he were selected by them, but in short stretches they might do so. Porter Jr. is more of a 2, but they could play him at the 3 in stretches, and he’s capable of defending at 3’s in some instances.
From there, again Sexton with more experience and with him looking stronger in bubble scrimmages, should be better prepared to defend 2’s next year than this past year. If the Cavs really want to give the Garland-Sexton backcourt a real run having better defenders to cover up their deficiencies, and more so in regards to helping cut down on dribble penetration from the perimeter, is a must.
Now, I understand the key here is the offensive end/spacing, however. This lineup would obviously give the Cavs more shooting than the first two suggested lineups. The Cleveland Cavaliers 1-5 would all be a threat to shoot it from three-point range and this would have a good amount of spacing.
Do I think this is a lineup they should play heavy minutes with? No I don’t, but with them still early in a full-rebuild, they should experiment a lot next year, just as they did when they played Larry Nance Jr. at the 3, Love and Thompson/Drummond together at times leading post-All-Star break in Bickerstaff’s first bit as head coach.
And again, I don’t think the Cavs can feasibly compete for a playoff spot next year. But, if the Cavs want to start making some progress in this rebuild, they need to start adding more multi-dimensional players, especially if they want to have a Garland-Sexton backcourt for considerable stretches.
It’s not going to happen overnight, but adding a wing like Vassell via the 2020 NBA Draft would be a good start.