3 reasons Caris LeVert should start at shooting guard for Cavs

3 reasons Caris LeVert should start at SG: Success of starting lineup

The Cavs traded for Caris LeVert in February with plans to deploy a large, versatile starting lineup. Injuries prevented them from seeing that group together until the very last game of the season, the Play-In Tournament loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

While it was a heartbreaking loss, it also wasn’t the fault of that starting group. Darius Garland, LeVert, Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen started and played 24 minutes, or just about exactly half of the game. That group had an offensive rating of 119.6 and outscored the Hawks by 17.4 points per 100 possessions. It was an absolutely dominant lineup.

Unfortunately, the other 24 minutes of the game doomed the Cavs, and they missed the playoffs. Yet there is evidence, however small, that this group works together. Against a postseason opponent it worked, and it worked in a big sample inside of that game. Bickerstaff would be foolish not to at least try out the lineup, and if he is going to do that he may as well do it at the start of a few games and see how it performs against the best opposing groups.

Caris LeVert has some serious flaws as a player, and they serve to limit his team’s ceiling while opening wide their floor. That being said, there are some compelling reasons for the Cavs to start LeVert, and given the performance of that lineup in the play-in game it seems likely that they shall.