Cavs starting lineup, rotation while Jarrett Allen is out

Cavs starting lineup options while Jarrett Allen is out

No. 1: Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley, Ed Davis

There are two basic constructions for a new starting lineup with Allen sidelined. The first is to maintain the general structure that is in place: the Towers lineup with Lauri Markkanen at the 3, and Kevin Love coming off the bench behind a more traditional center. To do so, the team would need to start Ed Davis.

This was Bickerstaff’s go-to-move early in the season, as in Allen’s first three games missed it was either Ed Davis or Tacko Fall starting. Yet Allen has missed eight games thus far this season, and for the later games Bickerstaff has started smaller, with Kevin Love or (once) Evan Mobley at center.

Given the lack of shot creation off the bench, especially with Caris LeVert still out, the guess is that Love stays on the bench to preserve his body down the stretch and juice the bench scoring. If that’s the case, and Bickerstaff wants to stay big (especially in matchups against the 76ers or Bucks or other big teams of that kind) then this would be the construction to expect.

This could also mean the Cavs go out and sign another big man to fill out the rotation. Tim Frazier‘s 10-day deal is nearly up, and instead of signing another guard the Cavs could go for a big to plus into the rotation. We discussed some options yesterday here on the site.