Crafting the perfect Cavs rotation for the 2022-23 season
Crafting the perfect Cavs rotation for the 2022-23 season: Bench
Raul Neto – 14 minutes
Caris LeVert – 20 minutes
Ochai Agbaji – 12 minutes
Lauri Markkanen – 24 minutes
Kevin Love – 24 minutes
The bench has a lot more options to work into the mix. While Rubio continues his rehab Raul Neto will likely play whatever minutes that Darius Garland doesn’t. The Cavs could try out lineups with both Neto and Garland, or on the flip side try no-PG lineups with Caris LeVert running point, but most likely Neto slides into the non-Garland minutes exactly. That equals 14 in this layout.
Speaking of LeVert, he will play the role of Sixth Man and provide the primary shot creation with Garland on the bench. He will likely play a few minutes alongside Garland, but for the most part this secondary group will be his to run. Look for the Cavs to balance out his shaky shooting by pairing him with Ochai Agbaji and Lauri Markkanen.
Agbaji supplants Cedi Osman as the bench gunner to get reps and a chance to grow into the role, and if his accuracy from college carries over he will instantly be better in that role than the surprisingly inaccurate Osman. He will play a few minutes at the 2 and a few minutes at the 3 in this rotation.
Lauri Markkanen and Kevin Love are both stretch bigs with some defensive question marks, so primarily they will split up to pair with the starting bigs when the other sits; Love and Evan Mobley, and Markkanen with Jarrett Allen. They will both share the court at times with Markkanen at the 3, likely with Evan Mobley filling in between them.
Next. These 3 bench players will be awesome for Cavs next season. dark
The decisions become much more complicated if and when Collin Sexton re-signs, or when Ricky Rubio returns – once he is in game shape he will demand more than Neto’s 14 minutes here. There are also no minutes here for Robin Lopez, Osman, Lamar Stevens or Dylan Windler, all of whom will be trying to stay ready outside of the regular rotation. If the Cavs followed this game plan, they would be set up for a hot start to the 2022-23 season.