Cavs should experiment a bit with their 3 key bigs on floor in preseason

Leading into the 2021-22 season, it’s apparent that for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Lauri Markkanen should all see get their considerable share of opportunities.

Allen is the club’s starting 5, and Mobley, who was the club’s #3 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, looks to likely be the starting 4 for Cleveland. Mobley is not a bonafide three-point shooting threat yet, but there’s been plenty of flashes from him there as a catch-and-shoot guy, and I buy his outlook from there as next season progresses.

Mobley does need to get stronger looking onward, too, but he’ll more than hold his own defensively, he has the fluidity and quickness laterally to contain drivers, and as a team defender, he’ll aid a plethora of Cavs players. The passing vision/secondary playmaking feel of his should help other guys, too, and Isaac Okoro comes to mind in that way, as a cutter, for instance.

With Markkanen, while it seems that he’ll likely be in a sixth man-type role, he’ll bring perimeter shooting abilities via spot-ups, off movement and can create some for himself in set offense and in transition.

All of that being said, I’d imagine that we could see these trio of bigs on the floor together for spurts/at times stretches in games for Cleveland this coming season.

And taking into account, it’d be sensible to get those three some playing time together in preseason games, set to begin on Tuesday at the Chicago Bulls. The Cavaliers play at the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday in their second of five preseason games to come, from there.

The Cavs should experiment a bit with their three key bigs on the floor in preseason.

I’m not saying that Cleveland will be playing these three bigs at the same time a ton, to get that out there. That’s not what I’m saying.

But getting them some preseason PT together as a trio, with say, Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro/Dylan Windler at the 2 could be meaningful, and here and there, these three bigs could seemingly build some chemistry before the season in game action before the season.

In perhaps some short stretches together in a few Cleveland’s of preseason games, Mobley could initiate more for Cleveland and help generate movement shooting looks for Markkanen, and Allen’s timing as a cutter could improve with some work with both in the process. The same could go for Allen as an off-ball screener for Markkanen, where Allen could be open after slipping screens as a counter in some possessions here and there after that.

Also, Mobley could occasionally look to be a ball handler in preseason with Markkanen as a screener. That could enable Mobley to get to a mismatch at times, or with his timing/passing feel, he could dish to a diving Markkanen or deliver him a timely pick-and-pop feed.

If Cleveland shows that at times, looking past the preseason in this sense, it could help initiate productive movement for the likes of Garland, Sexton and/or Okoro/Windler/Cedi Osman off-ball, to go with that.

From there, while I’m again not suggesting these three key bigs would get a significant amount of minutes game-to-game together, experimenting with them on the floor as a trio in preseason give the Cavs a sense of if their length could be impactful defensively.

I’d more so anticipate Markkanen would be matched up against 4s, but he could theoretically be added length to help as a rotator in altering shots as a rotator, and with Mobley’s effectiveness in space, maybe it’d be a wrinkle to match him up against opposings 3s in spurts.

Anyway, it’s difficult to forecast if, let alone how much we could see Mobley, Allen and Markkanen together in legitimate minutes this coming season for the Cavs, however, it could bring an interesting element to look out for at times to get opponents off balance.

Granted, I again wouldn’t think it’d be for extended stretches regularly. But in theory, it’s something I’d think they could consider, and in preseason, I’d imagine it’d be sensible to at least get that trio a bit of meaningful PT together before the season tips off on Oct. 20 at the Memphis Grizzlies.

I’ll be tuning in to see that sort that, among other things. Clearly, I believe Okoro should get some more playmaking reps then, too, as an aside.