Training Camp is the official start of the new year for the NBA; the league year may begin July 1st, and actual regular season basketball may still be weeks away, but something real begins with the start of training camp. The team that will go to war together for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season will be officially together at the start of next week.
While the Cavaliers went out this summer and added a number of shooters to answer the question of how the Cavs intend to respond from last year’s bitter playoff defeat, there are a number of other questions still to be answered. Some of those questions will be answered at Media Day, others in camp.
Which are the most pressing questions that camp and the preseason will help to answer? Let’s dig into three and try to predict what the answer will be.
The functional answer to this question is Evan Mobley. Jarrett Allen will start at center and play 30-32 minutes per night, and the other 16-18 will feature Mobley at the 5. In many, if not most of their regular season games where both are available, they will together play all 48 minutes at center.
That doesn’t mean this isn’t an important question to answer. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley will both likely miss some amount of time, and injuries at other positions could mean Mobley needs to stay at power forward. Whichever player is designated as the backup center will see some tick over the course of the year.
Kevin Love and Robin Lopez were the answer to this question last season, and both are gone. Damian Jones was brought in via trade and is the early favorite for the role, but he doesn’t offer much juice besides being a functional NBA player with some decent defensive chops.
Isaiah Mobley is the more exciting option if he can prove his worth to the Cavaliers coaching staff and claim the role. He is a great passer, has good size and plays hard. If his shot comes around, he has a decent shot to win the job.
Prediction: Jones to start the season, Mobley takes over midseason
This question is more pressing than backup center, because the answer to this question may get playing time in the regular rotation and will certainly see significant time if either Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell miss time.
Ricky Rubio was supposed to be the answer, but he has chosen to step away from basketball to focus on his mental health. Raul Neto was the team’s third point guard last season, but he suffered a significant injury at the FIBA World Cup and is out for the year, so re-signing him is off the table.
The Cavaliers signed Ty Jerome to add guard depth, and as a combo guard he can be part of the solution. He is best deployed as a lineup’s secondary ballhandler, but he ran some backup point guard for the Golden State Warriors last season and has averaged 5.4 assists per 36 minutes for his career. Together he, Mitchell and Caris LeVert can approximate the playmaking of a full-time point guard in games when Garland is unavailable or off the court.
The team probably needs another option, though. That could be Craig Porter Jr., the undrafted rookie point guard who flashed a lot of ability at Summer League. Sharife Cooper is on an Exhibit 10 deal and could play his way onto the roster as a traditional point guard. Players like Cameron Payne and Kendrick Nunn are still available in free agency, while Delon Wright could be a prime trade candidate.
Prediction: Ty Jerome to start the year, but they will add someone not on the roster by the Trade Deadline.
This question could be answered by however the Cavaliers answer the previous one, but it’s an important one for them to answer and probably the most crucial of the three. Whether it’s in the starting lineup or the closing one, how will the Cavs defend opposing guards?
They couldn’t find the right answer last season when Isaac Okoro was the option for much of the year. In the playoffs, however, his lack of shooting throttled the Cavaliers’ offense. When J.B. Bickerstaff took him off of the court, however, the Cavs couldn’t stay in front of Jalen Brunson, forcing adjustments defensively that had cascading effects through rim protection and rebounding.
Who else can the answer be? Caris LeVert will likely get the first crack in the primary rotation, but he will be coming off of the bench. Matchups will probably dictate who among the starters takes which player, but none of the options are excellent. Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor predicted on a recent podcast that Garland wanted those matchups, while Donovan Mitchell is best equipped athletically but has never functioned as that guy in his career.
If Max Strus can be that guy, it eases a lot of the burden on the starting backcourt. He doesn’t exactly have the size to defend small forwards anyway (another issue to be worked out) but if he can stay in front of guards and defend better than he did in Miami, it helps the Cavs’ lineups make more sense.
Prediction: Darius Garland takes a step forward, but ultimately Max Strus has to be the guy.