What the Cavs’ 10-man rotation for the 2022-23 season should look like

Starting Point Guard – Darius Garland

This should come as no shock to anyone, as Darius Garland was arguably the best player on the Cavs’ roster this season. Darius Garland deserves a max extension, and chances are, Cleveland will give it to him it seems. In a report earlier this month, Evan Dammarell of Fear The Sword and Right Down Euclid stated that the team “plans” to sign him to a max deal this offseason.

Garland 100% deserves this contract, as he made the All-Star Game only being 22 years old, and should only get better with time. Putting Garland at the point is the obvious move here for Cleveland.

Starting Shooting Guard – Collin Sexton

I am going to assume Collin Sexton will come back to Cleveland this offseason, for the sake of the article. Sexton also reportedly wants to come back to Cleveland. If he returns to Cleveland, he will definitely make the Cavs better, at least on the offensive end. Sexton has career averages of 20.0 points and 3.3 assists per night, also averaging about 32.9 minutes per night his 4 years for the Cavs.

Defensively, Sexton is a negative defender, however. His defensive rating was 105.0 this season in a small sample, but that was 114.0 and 117.0 in the two years prior. Even considering his defense is sub-par, his offense he brings to the team as a scorer is well worth the defensive liabilities he brings on the floor, and in fairness, with others around him like Mobley and Allen, he could still be very impactful in this role.

Starting Small Forward – Isaac Okoro

Either Lauri Markkanen or Isaac Okoro will start in this spot, barring any major trade or signing. Both are viable options to play at the 3, both giving different abilities to this starting spot. Markkanen gives floor spacing and height to the roster, but Okoro brings grit and defense. I decided on Okoro starting at the 3, even though he’s 6’5” and his shooting has been streaky at times. However, the Cavs need defense on the perimeter considering they would have both Darius Garland and Collin Sexton in the backcourt.

I did mention “streaky” as a weakness for Okoro as a shooter, and it shows. In March, he shot 45.2% from behind the arc, shooting about 1.9 3’s a night. This was a great month for Okoro, especially from long range. However, as the month changed to April, his shot was not falling as much, only hitting on 29.4% of his 3 pointers. His defense, though, is the main reason he would start in the lineup.

Usually, Okoro would guard the best perimeter player on the opposing team, doing the best he could to stop them from being a positive offensive player. After the All-Star break, however, Okoro’s shots from the corner were falling. From the corners, Okoro made 17 out of 38 shots there, a solid 44%.

Starting Power Forward – Evan Mobley

Some people think this man should have been Rookie of the Year, and that argument had some validity. However, his defense has been stellar for a rookie, and next year he should be even better. Evan Mobley averaged 1.7 blocks per night, even considering he was not the main rim protector on the team, behind Jarrett Allen.

In the last 10 games, Mobley shot 1/4 from behind the 3-point line, which is not good, and he did not shoot many 3’s this season, showing his limited range. But, his abilities on the defensive end make up more than enough for what his limited shooting touch is at the moment.

Overall, though, Mobley should be even better next season, on offense and defense. If Mobley can develop a jumpshot to extend his range, then Cleveland’s roster would be even more dangerous than it was this year.

Starting Center – Jarrett Allen

After being acquired from the Brooklyn Nets for basically a first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks, which won’t be a great first-round pick anyways, Allen has been spectacular. At the time of the deal, we had Andre Drummond on the team, and we eventually parted ways with him to make room for the rising star in Allen. Allen has been one of the best rim-protectors in the league.

If Allen played enough games, he would be ranked top 20 in blocks per game. Also, even though he played only 56 games this season, he had the 23rd-most total blocks this season, at a total of 75.

His offense has been pretty good as well. Allen averaged 1.06 points points per post up, which put him in the 78th percentile, higher than Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. He also shot 55.6% from post plays, making him better than most players.