The Cleveland Cavaliers reimagined their rotations at the trade deadline, leaning into a seemingly impossible strategy to bolster a late-season run.
With a 39-24 record, the Cavaliers sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with 19 games remaining in the regular season. The Cavs currently hold a three-game lead over the fifth-seeded Toronto Raptors and sit one-and-a-half games behind the New York Knicks for the three seed.
Through the early portions of the year, the Cavaliers hardly could stay out of the Play-In mix. Cleveland could not overcome constant injuries and inconsistent play from the healthy options. Eventually, the Cavaliers made drastic changes, trading De'Andre Hunter for Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder and sending Darius Garland to the LA Clippers for James Harden.
Shortly after, the Cavs traded Lonzo Ball for nothing, opening a roster spot for Nae'Qwan Tomlin to sign a standard contract.
Despite the second apron's harsh restrictions on trades, the Cavaliers maneuvered the deadline and came out with a reimagined contending roster. One of the biggest changes, however, was the Cavs' size across the depth chart.
Trading the 6-foot-8 Hunter for two smaller players in Ellis and Schroder stripped the Cavaliers' wing rotation. While Harden is taller than Garland, he is still a backcourt player. Tomlin is 6-foot-8, but he is not part of Atkinson's primary rotation.
Alongside injuries to Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Dean Wade, Atkinson has leaned into a contested strategy for a team often criticized for lacking size.
The Cavaliers are going ultra small ball, but it's working
Since the trade deadline, the Cavaliers have deployed shockingly small lineups, even sneakily including 6-foot-2 guard Craig Porter, Jr. as the unofficial power forward position in moments. The 6-foot-4 Ellis has seen his fair share of minutes in the frontcourt, using his speed and athleticism to pester larger defenders and keep them out of position.
Instead of deploying Tomlin, the young forward received a DNP and Atkinson instead sent out chaotic lineups with Ellis and Jaylon Tyson trading minutes at the four spot.
Somehow, it's working. The Cavs are 8-3 since the February 5 trade deadline, including wins over the Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets and Knicks. In Cleveland's most recent win over the Pistons, the Cavs opened the game without Wade and lost Allen mid-way through. Suddenly, Mobley and Thomas Bryant were the only proven frontcourt options.
In the last 11 games, the Cavaliers are still middle ground for defensive rating, sitting 15th with a 112.6 rating. On offense, however, the Cavs are third with a 119.4 rating, good for a combined 6.8 net rating (eighth in the league over that span). These small ball lineups are certainly high-risk, high-reward. The Cavs probably cannot rely on this strategy to survive a full postseason run, but it is obvious that Atkinson is wiling to trust it now in order to keep the bigger players healthy for the Playoffs.
With the shockingly short lineups Atkinson played, the Cavaliers still earned a gritty four-point victory. The win came from a community effort to crash the glass and out-bully Detroit. Porter a team-high eight rebounds, second-most in the entire game behind Jalen Duren's 14 boards.
Atkinson would look like a mad man if he used these lineups without bringing home exciting wins. By every measure, the Cavaliers are playing with fire by trusting four guards and one big man to take control of a game, especially in nights with Donovan Mitchell sidelined with injury.
Somehow, it is paying off so far. Ellis and Tyson are accepting the challenge, and Tyson has especially shown positional versatility with his upper body strength and constant hustle. Ellis is seemingly an entire zone defense in himself, buzzing back and forth between assignments to bother ballhandlers and close out on the perimeter.
If the Cleveland Cavaliers truly believe that this is the season to win a championship, the fact small ball to this extent is working might be the greatest evidence to warrant that belief.