Cavs: Ranking the candidates to be in the closing lineup

Cavs: Ranking the candidates to be in the closing lineup – Strong candidates

In-the-mix: Ricky Rubio, Dylan Windler, Lamar Stevens, Isaac Okoro, Lauri Markkanen, Jarrett Allen

We will get to the locks in just a moment, but there are two basic decisions for J.B. Bickerstaff and his staff to make when assembling the closing lineup. First, is the team going big or small? Second, do they want their defense to come from the wing or the big men, or both?

Jarrett Allen can and will close against bigger opponents; the Joel Embiids and Nikola Jokic types in the league. Against smaller lineups, however, he could be pulled in favor of Lauri Markkanen, who spaces the court and can better keep up with more nimble players. If the Cavs want to go even smaller, then they put in Lamar Stevens at the 4.

Sliding up to the wing, the Cavs have a few different configurations they can try. They will often simply keep their starting group on the court with Isaac Okoro at the 3. Ricky Rubio could close with Garland and Sexton as something of a three-guard group, with Rubio taking on small forwards. For more of an offensive punch, Dylan Windler can play the 3 and provide the spacing that Okoro and Rubio do not.

Locks: Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Evan Mobley

Darius Garland is the lockiest of locks; there isn’t a scenario the Cavs will face where he isn’t on the court, unless it’s a pure defense-only possession and they put together a lineup of Rubio, Okoro, Stevens, Mobley and Allen. Garland will be out there to close games.

Sexton is only a whisper away from being a stone-cold lock, so it’s close enough. His scoring punch is significant and his view of his own role on the team demands a spot in the closing lineup. Finally, Evan Mobley has already shown enough flashes to secure his place closing games, as he can do things defensively no one else on the roster can.

The most likely closing unit is the starting group, but there are a lot of variations off of that theme that Bickerstaff can try out before finding the best combination. My prediction? By the end of the season the closing group will often be Garland, Sexton and Windler on the wing, and Mobley and Markkanen in the frontcourt. We’ll see as early as next week what lineup gets to try things out first.