3 lineups the Cavaliers can deploy with Ricky Rubio

Potential Rubio lineup No. 1: Rubio-Donovan Mitchell-Caris LeVert-Evan Mobley-Jarrett Allen

In this lineup, there’s the shot creation of Mitchell and LeVert on the perimeter, and with those two, combined with Rubio and Mobley, there’s a plethora of capable playmakers, with Rubio initiating things plenty of the time still.

Something to watch here is how the pairing of Rubio and Mitchell mesh so well with one another, with their Utah days in mind there, and the others can play off that, too. In this lineup, both Rubio and Mitchell, and LeVert seemingly himself, are quality pick-and-roll options in tandem with Allen, which could lead to quality looks and/or dumpoff feeds at the cup.

Cleveland could look to push pace as well with Rubio’s lead passing, and with the drivers in Mitchell and LeVert being dynamic in transition.

From there, this lineup could be plenty functional enough on the defensive end, with Rubio, Mobley and Allen all being defensive distributors, and Mitchell and LeVert could be a bit more aggressive in trying to cut off driving angles here with the others in the grouping.

Rubio will take some time to get himself right on both ends, clearly, but with his length and feel in combination with check mate-type defensive pieces in Mobley and Allen, this group could be just fine on that end of the floor. And offensively, the driving and supplemental playmaking could make this an intriguing lineup for Cleveland to utilize for stretches to come.