Eyeing rotation change for Cavs if Darius Garland misses any games

Changes for Cavs if Garland misses games: Raul Neto, Caris LeVert more involved

With Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell healthy the Cavs didn’t need to lean on any one other ball-handler / point guard; when Ricky Rubio is ready to return he will certainly have a spot in the rotation, but until then staggering the two guards would mean the team always had a primary creator on the court.

If and when Garland misses time, that will no longer be the case. If Mitchell plays 34 minutes per game, that leaves 14 where this team needs another play creator. A few players can help on the margins, like Evan Mobley or Kevin Love handling the ball at the elbow, but the Cavs have to come up with a different plan for the minutes when Mitchell sits.

Raul Neto is the easy plug-and-play option, the true point guard on the roster signed to back up Garland before the Mitchell trade; now he can back up Mitchell. He saw six second-half minutes on Wednesday after Garland left the game, and he’ll most likely see a smattering of minutes this weekend as well.

If Wednesday was any indicator, however, it is Caris LeVert in line to get more involved. He was handed the keys to the offense a lot more in the second half and he ran with it. That included a whole lot of dribbling, a dangerous proposition with the long arms of the Raptors deployed, but it also meant some passes that showed some of why this front office traded for him. LeVert finished with seven assists and just one turnover.

For however many games that Garland misses, LeVert is probably best seen as the “top playmaker” on bench units, and will play off of Mitchell in the starting lineup.