Could Cavs play Mobley at the 3? It’s so crazy it just might work

Could Cavs play Mobley at the 3? Should they do it?

Last season it seemed wild that the Cavs would start Lauri Markkanen at the 3, but they did and it worked out, not only seeing success but generating discussions leaguewide about where the league was headed. Starting or playing Mobley at the 3, as a player best deployed at power forward or even center, seems equally crazy; can it be equally successful?

It has the potential to work, but it’s not the best way to structure the starting lineup. The Cavs most need shooting and a player who can defend opposing guards; inserting Kevin Love into the starting lineup and playing Mobley at the 3 adds shooting but not that perimeter defense needed. Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade add defense and the potential for some shooting pop. It’s a reasonable conversation to have, but the starters plus Dean Wade seems like it has a higher floor, and Okoro’s shooting potential is the wild card to a higher ceiling.

Where this lineup does have a lot of merit is as a bench grouping. It would allow Love to be prominently involved but keep his minutes down, and it would be proposing that it’s more valuable to the Cavs’ defensive identity to play Robin Lopez in the rotation at the expense of, say, Cedi Osman or Lamar Stevens. That seems right, at least during the regular season, where the Cavs’ sheer size can overwhelm opponents and propel them up the standings towards home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

What’s the final verdict? The Cavs should not start Kevin Love and put Evan Mobley as the starting small forward, but they should use some bench lineups with Mobley at the 3 to test their effectiveness and maximize their defensive identity in the paint.