3 dominant lineups the Cavs have to use next season

The Cleveland Cavaliers have some thinking to do. Their roster is deeper than ever, with at least 14 players deserving of rotation minutes once Ricky Rubio is healthy. Some players who deserve to play won’t every night, and even fewer once the postseason comes around. The coaching staff has to decide which players will get those minutes and which ones won’t.

That job is a bit easier to start the season, when Rubio will likely still be out and Raul Neto will simply take all of the backup point guard minutes. When Rubio returns, however, the pressure increases for J.B. Bickerstaff and company to find the right configurations for this Cavs roster.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a number of successful lineups last season. Which three were so dominant the Cavs have to try them out next year?

Looking back at last season can be informative, especially since there were stretches when the Cavs looked downright dominant. Some of that is noise, influenced by injured opponents and COVID absences, but the Cavs faced those things themselves and still managed to double their win total. In the process, they revealed some gems from how the team could be deployed.

Let’s look at three such dominant lineups from last season. These don’t tell the full picture, as Ochai Agbaji, Neto and Robin Lopez have to fit in somehow, as will Collin Sexton if he is re-signed. Still, these three lineups clobbered the competition last season, and the Cavs have to at least give them some run early to see if they can do that again next season.