The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t been in this position in a long time. Playing in their first playoff series since 2018, and first with such a young team since 2006, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his staff are evaluating the roster in real-time as many of them play in their first career playoff games.
Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade have logged their very first playoff minutes in the past week. Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and Cedi Osman haven’t had much more experience. As such, Bickerstaff is not only seeing how each player performs under the bright lights, he has to then try and process that information and fit them together into cohesive lineups on the fly.
It was always going to take some real-time adjustments to find the rotation that will best allow this team to succeed. The core four will be leaned upon heavily, but who should fill in around them? Through two games Bickerstaff has used very different collections of players, and we have gained enough information to make some conclusions.
Heading into an important Game 3, here are three players who should get a larger role moving forward.
Cavaliers who earned a larger role No.1: Danny Green
The Cavaliers were good enough this season to become an enticing landing spot for veterans on the buyout market, and accordingly, they signed three-time NBA champion Danny Green. It wasn’t obvious what Green would be able to contribute, coming off of a torn ACL in the playoffs last season, and a bout of illness further reduced Green’s chances of seeing the court during the regular season. He played just eight games for the Cavs during the regular season.
It wasn’t clear if Green would be used in the playoffs at all, but it took only until Game 2 for Bickerstaff to toss him onto the court. The need was stark; the Cavaliers didn’t have a forward they trusted, with Dean Wade not looking right after a knee injury earlier in the season and Lamar Stevens such a non-shooter. Could Green’s shooting open up the offense without sacrificing too much on defense?
One game in, the answer thus far is a solid “yes.” Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro went 0-for-5 in limited minutes in the first 51 minutes of the series; Green then came in for 20 minutes and immediately had to be guarded. He went 1-for-2 from deep, with another shot waved off because he stepped on the sideline.
Defensively, the onetime shooting guard was deployed most often as a power forward, and he held his own against Obi Toppin and Julius Randle. He has lost a lot of lateral mobility, which may or may come back as he recovers from the ACL tear, but he has gained enough strength over the course of his career to hold up.
Dean Wade should still be considered for a role in the rotation, but right now Danny Green looks like a must-play option for Bickerstaff. His shooting stroke is incredibly valuable for a frontcourt that lacks shooting, and he knows how to handle the playoff stage from 166 career playoff games. He should be a lock to stick in the rotation moving forward.
Cavaliers who earned a larger role No. 2: Caris LeVert
The story for Caris LeVert all season has been the same. His skillset is highly duplicative with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, and he generally has struggled in an off-ball role. His defense, however, has been at a career-best level as he has bought into how he can help this team and earn minutes. When one of the two stars was out, he often erupted for a one-off big performance.
In Game 1 of the series with the Knicks, LeVert was not helpful. In Game 2, however, he had one of those massive performances. Tom Thibodeau was trying to hide Jalen Brunson on Isaac Okoro, which was working, so when Okoro picked up two quick fouls in Game 2, Bickerstaff inserted Caris LeVert. Brunson continued to try and hide on LeVert, and that’s when the wing went to work.
Playing in just his 11th career playoff game, LeVert absolutely cooked Brunson. Playing a game-high 40 minutes, LeVert bullied Brunson in the lane and then got into his stepback bag. He shot 9-for-16 from the field, including 4-for-9 from deep, to drop 24 points. In his minutes the Cavs outscored the Knicks by 23 points.
LeVert’s defense has been excellent this season, and so while his streaky shooting isn’t as reliable as a true 3-and-D player, he makes up for it with his on-ball ability to punish the weak spot in the Knicks’ defense. There is nowhere to “hide” Brunson with LeVert on the court with Mitchell and Garland. LeVert won’t shoot as well as he did in Game 2, but he should continue to get the lion’s share of the minutes at the 3 moving forward.
Cavaliers who earned a larger role No. 3: Darius Garland
Alright, this one doesn’t fit as well as the other two. Darius Garland is an All-Star guard who averaged 35.5 minutes per game during the regular season and put up 21.6 points and 7.8 assists. He was always going to play a prominent role for the Cavaliers in the postseason.
After Game 1, however, a certain possibility loomed on the horizon. Donovan Mitchell is a better player than Garland, certainly a more potent scorer, and he has the big-game experience that Garland lacks. After Mitchell went off for 38 points and Garland was relatively quiet, it seemed possible that the Cavs would settle into letting Mitchell cook, with Garland simply a change-of-pace supporting actor.
Game 2 put that idea to bed, as Darius Garland dropped a mammoth 26 points in the first half and 32 for the game. He hit six 3-pointers, dished seven assists, and was the engine for the Cleveland offense before he handed the baton off to Caris LeVert down the stretch. Donovan Mitchell was active, but he played the role of facilitator.
That’s how this team will thrive. Mitchell is incredible, but both he and Garland have plenty of value off-ball. Both can dice up defenses, and the Cavs have the luxury of going with whoever has the advantage matchup and the hot hand. Garland is the co-star with Mitchell, not the second option.
Moving forward, the Cavaliers will face plenty of adversity, including in Game 3 on the road in Madison Square Garden. There might be a place for Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade or Ricky Rubio in this series, but what the first two games have shown is that Danny Green, Caris LeVert and Darius Garland deserve prominent roles in the games to come.