Cavs: 3 lineups with Lauri Markkanen they should try

Cavs: 3 lineups with Lauri Markkanen – Inverted Shooting

Ricky Rubio – Isaac Okoro – Lamar Stevens – Lauri Markkanen – Jarrett Allen

The loss of Larry Nance Jr. on defense cannot be overstated. He was this team’s best defender last year, versatile enough to slide up to guard small forwards and down to defend centers. Replacing his role on defense is going to be incredibly difficult. Even though Markkanen is a clear downgrade defensively himself, his offense has the ability to help the defense.

Playing a 7-foot shooter at one of the big positions allows the team to survive playing a non-shooter on the wing. Lamar Stevens is a great example of this. By playing him at the 3, and Isaac Okoro at the 2, this team can flex its best defensive lineup and not be completely without shooting.

This group is still very limited in terms of outside shooting, and a more hybrid grouping could stick Collin Sexton or Darius Garland at point guard. This particular group doesn’t have a true defensive weakness; Markkanen is the closest thing to that, and he’s still taking up a lot of vertical space as a 7-footer.

Ricky Rubio and Markkanen should have delightful chemistry as a duo, and they could run actions with Jarrett Allen lurking in the dunker’s spot. It’s not ideal, and the lack of scoring will make it difficult to play, but when they need to absolutely get a stop this group would have a chance on the other end.