The Cleveland Cavaliers are a much different team now than they were at the beginning of the season.
They came into this year with Darius Garland, Lonzo Ball, and De’Andre Hunter as integral parts of the team. Those three were shipped out at the deadline in exchange for James Harden, Dennis Schroder, and Keon Ellis. In addition to that, Max Strus is working his way back into the lineup after making his season debut on Sunday.
Those are pretty drastic changes to the lineup. With a month to go before
the playoffs, head coach Kenny Atkinson still doesn’t know who’s going to be in their postseason rotation.
In Tuesday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Atkinson chose to go with a 10-man rotation, even while missing starting center Jarrett Allen. Atkinson knows that some of the players who saw minutes in Milwaukee won’t be in the playoff rotation.
“I probably have to get to nine [men in the rotation],” Atkinson said when asked afterward if he can play 10 in the playoffs. “I’m still evaluating who fits and who’s going to take the lead in terms of getting into that rotation. We haven’t made a clear decision on who those nine are.”
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Atkinson mentioned that you can play 10 in the first round, but you would eventually need to get down to nine or even eight as you advance in the playoffs.
One of the logjams is at the wing. Atkinson mentioned that’s a position he’s still evaluating. Even though he didn’t name any names, it seems like minutes at that spot could come down to Keon Ellis or Jaylon Tyson. Although limiting Schroder’s minutes could make room for both.
Strus will presumably be in the rotation. Atkinson said that he isn’t quite sure if Strus is going to enter the starting lineup once his minutes increase or if he’s going to be in a sixth-man role.
Additionally, he needs to figure out the closing lineups as well. The final spot on Tuesday was between Ellis and Strus. Atkinson opted for Strus, but mentioned that Ellis’s fourth-quarter three almost made him reconsider.
Regardless of whether Atkinson chose to close with Ellis or Strus on Tuesday, it’s fair to point out that Atkinson is opting to go with smaller groups with Allen sidelined. Atkinson closed with four players 6’5” or shorter, in Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Strus, and Sam Merrill sharing the floor, with the lone true forward being Evan Mobley.
“I felt like we needed grit and shotmaking, that’s what [Merrill and Strus] bring to the table,” Atkinson said about choosing to go with that lineup. “I obviously have a comfort level with them from last season.”
The Cavaliers have arguably 11 playable options in the postseason — depending on how you feel about Thomas Bryant. That’s a good problem to have. However, many of them have similar skillsets, and there aren’t many great options for matching up with bigger wings outside of Dean Wade. That could present challenges in certain matchups if they advance past the first round.
We’ll see how this all shakes out in the final month of the season. As of now, nothing is set in stone with the rotations.
“You’re going to have to earn it,” Atkinson said.
