3 potential closing lineups the Cavs could deploy in rest of season

No. 3: Darius Garland-Donovan Mitchell-Cedi Osman-Evan Mobley-Jarrett Allen

In this lineup, Osman is inserted into that 3 spot. Osman is a player that has had some inconsistencies, but when he has had ample opportunities to make plays for Cleveland’s bench, he’s provided a spark.

Here, Osman is a shooting presence playing off the Core Four for the Cavaliers, and while Wade would be a player one would assume is here far more often, if Osman has it rolling, he could another viable option in these situations. And when playing off of Mitchell, Garland and a talented passing big in Mobley, Osman could be impactful here and might be a player opponents lose track of off-ball as a cutter when keying in on those guys.

In this type of lineup, the Cavs could look to push a bit more as well, given the transition abilities of the players here, Mobley being a player that can take advantage in mismatch situations against slower bigs, and with Allen moving so well as a rim-to-rim presence. Cleveland’s bigs have the requisite feel to be capable passers in those instances at times, too, which could lead to the Cavs stealing buckets here and there on the break.

As it pertains to the other end, while Cedi Osman is not the defensive presence of Dean Wade or Lamar Stevens, he has made his share of multiple effort plays this season, and has improved with his shot contests. His off-ball improvements could be meaningful here, too, with the Mobley-Allen frontcourt patrolling around him and the others.

Now, in closing, with it seeming to be a realistic possibility that the Cavaliers could make a trade to upgrade their wing/3 rotation, one would imagine this could re-calibrate the closing lineup outlook.

But, generally, there are still some options the Cavs could look to deploy as we approach the last couple of months of the 2022-23 campaign and they try to iron some things out in closing stretches, where the group has been inconsistent.