3 lineups the Cavs can deploy with Kevin Love this season

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Evan Mobley and Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images /

Modified tall-ball: Darius Garland-Donovan Mitchell-Evan Mobley-Kevin Love-Jarrett Allen

The first lineup that seemed sensible to examine would be a five-man group of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Love and Jarrett Allen. It’d essentially be a “modified tall-ball lineup,” with the same premise applying here as last season when Cleveland was healthier, with Lauri Markkanen as a de facto 3, then with Mobley and Allen at the 4/5.

With Mobley’s athleticism, fluidity, defensive abilities, and passing feel, I could foresee him filling in some again at the 3 this season, as he did, to some degree at times, last season.

This is a lineup that it appears the Cavaliers could theoretically utilize for stretches this coming season, and it was suggested that Mobley could potentially fill in at the 3 in some lineups. And with Mobley and Love both being very effective passing bigs, this lineup could be one to deploy for stretches. Coupled with that, it’d be a lineup that’d bring that three-big look again for Cleveland, which did pay off for the Cavaliers last season, which we alluded to.

In this lineup, offensively, I’d look for Cleveland to be able to have some great pick-and-pop opportunities on the wing between Garland/Mitchell and Love, which could put a ton of pressure on opposing defenses, particularly with both of those guards being capable of throwing on-time hook passes to Love.

Those plays can get Love going himself with great catch-and-shoot looks, or lead to baseline drives in gaps, which could lead to pull-ups, or for Mitchell/Garland to hit Allen or Mobley on the weak side near the rim.

In other sequences, I’d imagine this season, we could see some dribble handoffs between Love and Mobley in this lineup, leading to Mobley initiating off of drives, conversely, and he could get to in-rhythm elbow looks. Or, as a counter to that, Mobley could look to make passes to the either wing for either Mitchell, Garland or to Love in the weak side corner.

As we touched on, before, though, with the vision and secondary playmaking abilities of Mobley and Love, at 6-foot-11 and 6-foot-8, respectively, this could be a lineup we see a decent amount in middle stretches this season.