The Cleveland Cavaliers retooled their roster for the stretch run at the NBA trade deadline. They stole all the headlines by trading away All-Star point guard Darius Garland to the Clippers for future Hall of Famer James Harden. That move that signaled the Cavs’ win-now mindset.
Harden’s first few games have shown why Cleveland made the move for him. He has gotten the best out of Jarrett Allen. He and Donovan Mitchell are a lethal duo in the clutch. Plus, the team’s offense is getting to back to the dominance it showed last season.
What gets lost in the Harden sauce though is that the Cavs actually made another trade to bring in Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis. It gives Cleveland more depth in the backcourt and a veteran presence off the bench in Schroder, but the acquisition of Ellis is the one that could impact the Cavs the most.
Keon Ellis could be the unsung postseason hero Cleveland has desired
The knock on the Cavs during the playoff runs was the fact that they did not have enough mental and physical toughness in their rotation. To put it in simpler terms, Cleveland was missing that junkyard dog presence, especially on defense. Ellis provides that.
Ellis was one of the more sought after role players at the deadline because of his defensive prowess. He has the ability to guard multiple positions and is an aggressive perimeter defender. He is great at getting steals and deflections, creating live-ball turnovers that result in easy offense.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson loves using three-guard lineups and now with Harden and Mitchell, he can add Ellis to a lineup featuring them because of his point of attack defense. Ellis is both physical and quick, which allows him to hold up against bigger wings and stay with shifty guards.
Ellis can also his catch and shoot 3-pointers, while showing flashes of a slashing game as well. His offense is not his strong suit, but he is also not a liability on that end either. Plus, given the gravity that both Harden and Mitchell have, Ellis’ job on offense will be easy: hit open 3s and find open space.
Ellis is the kind of playoff player Cleveland has been looking for. He has the junkyard dog mentality on defense that helps elevate teams in the spring. If the Cavs finally break through, his addition will be one of the reasons why.