One of the biggest disappointments of the Cleveland Cavaliers 2022-23 season was the play of their bench. While the play of the players that came off the bench wasn’t the best, part of the poor play was a result of their head coach J.B. Bickerstaff playing his bench very little compared to the rest of the NBA.
Some will say that the coach couldn’t play his bench because they weren’t any good, but if you look back at the time he gave his bench to actually play, it was one of the fewest of any squad in the NBA. They were used the third-least of any team in the NBA at only an 80 minute-per-game average. Players on the Cleveland bench were never given the necessary time to really contribute in any significant way.
So, as we take a look at how the bench of the Wine and Gold this next season will be better, I have to add a disclaimer that all of this hinges on the concept of Bickerstaff actually trusting his players and giving them their time to help the whole team out. I’m not yet sold on this idea but I’m going to show how, if the coach does his job, then this Cavs team will be so much better than last season.
To that point, here’s three ways the Cavaliers bench will be better in the 2023-24 campaign.
We’ll begin with the first involving more reliable guys to trust.
No. 1: More consistency and quality
A few weeks ago the Cavs parted ways with both Lamar Stevens and Cedi Osman, who were both popular players of many Cleveland fans. Neither was a star but they routinely stepped up from time to time and made us all think that they would really help this team win a title.
However, they were also inconsistent when they played and when given chances in many other games they couldn’t deliver. Part of that problem was also because of their coach not understanding how to play certain players on the team, though.
Regardless, they are now gone by way of the sign-and-trade move for Max Strus, and in has come Strus, Georges Niang, Ty Jerome and Damian Jones. Strus may become a starter as he took on that role when he was with the Miami Heat last season. These new Cavs players have shown some better, consistent play in their basketball careers.
Niang has increased his three-point shooting every season over the last five. In the last two seasons, he’s shot 771 of them and made 310 for a 40 percent rate. For comparison’s sake, former Cavaliers player Cedi Osman totaled 671 three-point attempts in his last two seasons for a 36 percent clip.
Jerome has simply been solid in his production while on the court. He won’t blow you away in any particular offensive category but he contributes in many areas. Also, he’s a good defender and will help the team when his number is called.
He increased his two-point shooting by shooting 56 percent from the floor on 152 shot attempts. Jerome can give the Cavs 15 to 20 minutes off the bench and if he’s given that time, then the Cavaliers will be in good shape.
No. 2: Versatility
One area of the bench play that was a struggle at times last season was how to fit the guys into the rotations. It seemed as if that part of creating consistent rotations never came to be. I still blame coach Bickerstaff for a lot of this issue because I don’t believe he knows players’ strengths and weaknesses.
We saw too much of the starting five, including Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on the floor far too long, which contributed to the Cavs losing to the New York Knicks in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
With this new group of talent including Strus, Niang, and Jerome, there should be a variety of ways and rotations you could throw these guys into, of which should be much better than a year ago.
Niang could play minutes with either Allen or Mobley or even Jones with his stretch big abilities. Jerome can also play either backcourt position and his off-the-ball play is excellent and can help this new Cavaliers team.
Strus might be in that starting five, but if Bickerstaff decided to play him off the bench you could have a solid bench including Strus, Niang, Jerome, and Dean Wade. Isaac Okoro or Caris LeVert could be the other guard in that rotation.
In these discussions of the play of the bench, many are not talking about Okoro or Wade. Okoro could still have a significant role off the bench this season. His defense is what will help that group even if he’s not shooting the ball lights out. Wade was injured for much of last season and is a good shooter, plus his defense just makes this Cavs team better.
No. 3: More playmakers
Caris LeVert has reportedly expressed in the past that he prefers coming off the bench and with his new deal by re-signing with the Wine and Gold, LeVert seems primed to take more command of leading the charge for the bench guys.
We’ve seen LeVert dazzle us all with his play at times but he’s been up and down to some degree, too. He may go for 40-plus points one night and score only four points the next night. He’s continued to play better defense as he’s played in Cleveland and he should have another good season with the Cavs.
The other new players including Strus and Niang are going to be mostly off-ball contributors, but they can move the ball still to some extent, and Jerome can create some opportunities for himself. That will only help the bench.
We haven’t really touched on the use of Ricky Rubio, who has played off the bench for the Cavs the last two seasons. He was still recovering from his prior ACL injury last season but could also be big in helping this group and he has always had playmaking abilities.
Recently, we saw guard Sam Merrill go crazy with his shooting and impressive play in Las Vegas Summer League, too. Additionally, there was new second-round pick Emoni Bates and fellow two-way contract rookie Craig Porter Jr. who could in time make a big impact on this new and improved Cleveland bench.
To reiterate, though, hopefully Bickerstaff recognizes some of these new talents that have arrived on the squad and that he plans to trust them first and then use them second. If he does then this new Cavs squad could be knocking on the door of an NBA Championship.