The Cleveland Cavaliers enter the playoffs with the weight of expectations on their shoulders. If they lose early once more, changes to the franchise could be significant. That will mean some players in the rotation will be kicked to the curb immediately.
Normally, as a team gets deeper into the postseason, it will start to constrict its rotation. Players who had roles during the regular season will see them extinguish as head coaches go to war with just a select few.
Cleveland might start that process immediately, as they cannot afford to slip up once again. The Toronto Raptors know the blueprint: get physical, punch Cleveland in the mouth, and see if they can respond better than they have in the last three postseasons.
With the stakes high, who is going to be shown the door and out of Kenny Atkinson's rotation to start the year?
No. 1: Craig Porter Jr.
Between injuries and inconsistency, Craig Porter Jr. spent a lot of time on the court for the Cavaliers this season; his 1,148 minutes played rank seventh on the team. He served faithfully as the backup point guard for months, but has moved to the third-string spot behind Dennis Schroder.
Atkinson appears to be committed to playing Schroder behind James Harden to start the playoffs, and that likely means Porter Jr. is riding the bench after appearing in 65 games this season. If Schroder faceplants, it's more likely that Atkinson staggers Harden and Donovan Mitchell than adds Porter back in.
No. 2: Thomas Bryant
The Cavaliers finally have the depth at center that they have lacked over the past few seasons, and that will help them in a significant way should Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley miss time.
Against the Raptors, however, it's most likely that Allen and Mobley will together share all 48 minutes at the center position and Bryant will begin at the very fringe of the rotation or outside it entirely. The Raptors have a traditional bruising center in the starting lineup with Jakob Poeltl, but their backups are both undersized: Colin Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Cleveland will likely lean smaller, not larger, to combat the frontcourt of the Raptors. That will pull Bryant out of the rotation -- if not in Game 1, then extremely quickly. He has played well, and the Cavaliers might need him during this postseason run, but the team's wings will demand more time than Bryant does.
No. 3: Jaylon Tyson
The darling of Cavaliers fans after his breakout sophomore season, Jaylon Tyson has been pushed toward the fringe of the rotation over the last month. Has that been a result of his nagging injury, or is head coach Kenny Atkinson committed to trusting the team's other wings ahead of the less-proven Tyson?
It seems like the answer might be door number two. With Dean Wade or Max Strus in line to start, and both Sam Merrill and Keon Ellis looking like locks to play off the bench, the minutes for Tyson will evaporate quickly. Despite his hot shooting all season, his versatile skillset and his length on defense, his lack of experience looks like it will doom him when Atkinson starts tightening the rotation.
Tyson is the future of the small forward position in Cleveland, but he may not be a part of the present.
Add us as a preferred source on Google