As we inch closer to the start of the 2022-23 regular season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, we know that four of the five starting spots are set.
The two backcourt positions are set to be Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, following Cleveland acquiring Mitchell via trade from the Utah Jazz in a shocker last month, and the two frontcourt spots are set. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen will be filling in there.
Mobley is currently recovering and getting treatment for a sprained right ankle, which happened early this week, but he should seemingly be back for the season opener at the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 19. I probably wouldn’t expect him to play in Cleveland’s remaining three preseason games this next week ahead.
As for the starting 3, that’s still not solidified. Caris LeVert got the starting nod in the first preseason game at the Philadelphia 76ers on this now-past Wednesday, although he, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler are set to be in the running for that spot.
It does seem as if LeVert and Okoro are the two favorites to ultimately land that spot, in fairness. I’d lean Wade for that spot for a blend of defense and off-ball shooting, but I’d more so expect LeVert or Okoro to land that role. Those two and Wade could seemingly all be getting a fair amount of minutes, either way.
As it pertains to LeVert’s outlook, however, I personally believe that while he could benefit from Garland and Mitchell’s abilities, it’s probably wishful thinking to expect LeVert to play more off-ball for considerable stretches than has typically played out in his career.
Expecting LeVert to function efficiently as much more so an off-ball player for the Cavs would be wishful thinking.
It looks to be a good possibility that LeVert could enter the season as a starter, as we’ve mentioned. It’s not a certainty, but either way, it does seem that he could very well play in stretches with Garland and Mitchell, for an offensive look of three perimeter shot creators.
I do acknowledge that in some matchups, sure, I’d understand the Cavs’ reasoning for doing so. LeVert is a player who can initiate for other guys, too.
That said, to me, it’s wishful to believe that LeVert could be highly effective in a role where he’s often playing off the ball primarily for considerable stretches of games, let alone with that being for real chunks of stretches of games.
We’ll examine that further next.
LeVert functioning a bunch off-ball seems unrealistic
Now, as he recently expressed in media availability, LeVert is looking forward to having more off-ball opportunites, as KJG’s John Suchan detailed. Playing off of Garland, Mitchell and/or Evan Mobley could play into that for LeVert, in theory.
And I do get that LeVert connected on 40.6 percent of his catch-and-shoot three-point attempts last season, per NBA.com’s tracking data, and to some degree, I have to give him a pass for his play post-trade with Cleveland during last regular season.
That was a tough situation in-season, and following the All-Star break, LeVert’s foot ailment didn’t enable him to establish much of a rhythm with the Cavaliers. He missed the first nine games post-All-Star break, and that didn’t make things any easier for him to get comfortable.
In 19 regular season games with the Cavs post-trade, he had 13.6 points per game, and had inconsistencies. I’m not going to grill him for that, and LeVert was more efficient overall in the 10 games he started. In Cleveland’s play-in losses, it was a mixed bag for him.
Nonetheless, I’d probably rather LeVert not be starting games, because while there was some positive signs last season off-ball, LeVert hit 33.0 percent of his catch-and-shoot three-point attempts the year prior, per NBA.com’s tracking data. In 2019-20, that clip was 31.6 percent with the Brooklyn Nets.
Sure, Garland and Mitchell are big-time players, but throughout his career, LeVert hasn’t been much of a catch-and-shoot guy from three. He can make some plays as a cutter, I just don’t envision that and the aforementioned shooting element being ways he’d be best utilized.
So, in my opinion, I’d rather Cleveland go in a different direction for the starting 3 spot.
I could end up having to live with it if the Cavs do start LeVert there, however, with LeVert not being an impact defender, realistically, I wouldn’t be a huge proponent of that. In that sense, Stevens or Wade, for defensive skill set, and size, would be more logical.
LeVert could have more meaningful chances off the bench, or, if things don’t work out, move on
Coupled with the defensive questions, I’d personally rather LeVert have more opportunities in a key bench role, and he and Kevin Love could play off one another in that sense.
LeVert could function as a meaningful playmaking presence in those stretches, too, particularly until Ricky Rubio returns, and I give him his credit for being a solid distributor. He’s had 4.0 assists per outing through six seasons with Brooklyn, Indiana and the Cavs for part of last year.
All things considered, though, it’d be pretty wishful thinking by the Cavs if they’d be expecting LeVert to be consistently viable as much more so an off-ball guy in a starting 3 role. He’s connected on 33.3 percent from three in his career, and he seems hesitant at times to pull off-ball.
I’d rather have him in varying lineups for stretches at the 2 and some at the 3, by comparison, to allow him to establish more of a rhythm, and if he’s in closing lineups, okay. And if the former were to lead to other guys being out of the rotation as games progress or in stretches of games, so be it.
Or, if the 28-year-old LeVert were to be potentially traded, which would seem to be a decent possibility by the 2023 deadline, with him set to be expiring, oh well.
Maybe LeVert could end up as part of a trade package involving Cleveland landing Jae Crowder, who is a three-and-D guy the Cavs are rumored to have interest in. If another hypothetical deal were to play out down the road involving LeVert in a different package for another target in that regard, I wouldn’t be necessarily shocked, either.
We’ll see what plays out, anyhow.