The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without their starting small forward from last year, Max Strus, for the beginning of the regular season. Strus injured his left foot at the end of August. That will sideline him for three to four months, which would keep him from returning until the end of December at the earliest. Someone will need to fill that opening until he’s healthy again.
According to Terry Pluto of cleveland.com, the Cavs have made up their mind as to who could fill that void. As of now, it’s
De’Andre Hunter “unless there is a change of plans.” Pluto went on to say that he has “looked great” in summer workouts and that the Cavs were “looking at Hunter as a starter before the injury to Strus.”
If true, this would make perfect sense for the Cavs.
Hunter conceptually fits great alongside the other pieces of the core four. His off-ball shooting is lethal as he shot 43.1% on catch-and-shoot threes last season when he was in a Cavaliers uniform. The quality of those looks would theoretically increase if he’s playing alongside the starters, which is something he hardly did last year.
Defense, and particularly defensive rebounding, have been and will likely continue to be concerns for Hunter. He is a poor rebounder for someone of his size, 6’8”, but that shouldn’t be as much of an issue if he isn’t playing the four like he was last season, thanks to the addition of Larry Nance Jr.
Even though he isn’t someone who’s best suited to defend the four, he can hold his own when he’s switched onto a bigger forward. Doing so with Jarrett Allen and/or Evan Mobley in a help position makes that switch a little easier.
Darius Garland will also be missing the start of the season with a toe injury. Pluto reported that Sam Merrill is expected to start in his place. That would leave Lonzo Ball to come off the bench and place Donovan Mitchell as the lead guard.
We’ll see if head coach Kenny Atkinson decides to go with Hunter and Merrill in the starting unit when the season begins in just over a month. A lot can change between now and then. But for now, going with a starting unit of Mitchell, Merrill, Hunter, Mobley, and Allen would make sense.
