Cavs: 3 unique lineups that Cleveland should use this season

3 unique lineups that Cavs should use this season: The Switch Blades

Ricky Rubio, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley

One of the downsides of the starting lineup is its lack of positional versatility. Darius Garland and Collin Sexton have to defend the opposing team’s backcourt between them, which means that Isaac Okoro’s size effectively locks him into defending 3s. Similarly, any sort of switching scheme is tossed out the window along those same lines.

What if the Cavs could put together a group that breaks free of that positional rigidity? That’s the idea of this group, which takes some of the team’s best defenders and specifically those who can be moved up and down the lineup to guard a variety of players.

It also means they could employ a switching scheme, as any of these players could survive on players of a variety of positions. Lamar Stevens can survive against opposing centers or stick with point guards. Evan Mobley can survive in space if switched onto a guard. Ricky Rubio is large enough to defend 2s or even 3s in a pinch.

Offensively this lineup would be starved for spacing, and it probably isn’t tenable along those lines. The lack of Jarrett Alen also means this probably isn’t the team’s best defensive group. Yet the ability to crossmatch and switch would mean this group could execute a specific scheme for a specific situation.