With the abundant roster alterations the Cleveland Cavaliers have made over the course of this busy offseason, rotational changes were to be expected. The only starter Cleveland lost this summer was point guard Kyrie Irving who they replaced with 5’9″ dynamo Isaiah Thomas. However, along with IT, the Cavs did gain two other starting caliber players in guard Dwyane Wade and forward Jae Crowder.
Wade is pretty much a lock to start since he was acquired and his shooting guard counterpart J.R. Smith even said as much. However, things are more complicated with Crowder as the forward positions were previously held down by superstars LeBron James and Kevin Love.
Head coach Tyronn Lue has said in the past that he has experimented deploying Love at center and now, that seems to be the fixture moving forward. According to Jason Lloyd of The Atlantic, Lue has made the decision to start Kevin Love at the 5 and slot Jae Crowder as the starting power forward. Turner Sports’ David Aldridge confirmed the report:
Source confirms report from @JasonLloydNBA that Cavs plan for now to start @kevinlove at C this year & bring @RealTristan13 off the bench.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) October 2, 2017
Aldridge also added that Tristan Thompson is reportedly ‘okay with’ his new role off the bench.
Told Thompson is “okay with it” & that move corresponds w/ @drose starting at point while @Isaiah_Thomas rehabs. @CJC9BOSS also starting.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) October 2, 2017
For the Cavs, this much change will no doubt take some getting used to. LeBron and Kevin Love are on track to be the only two starters remaining from their title runs these past 3 years.
As for the functionality of this new lineup change, there are some glaring pros and cons.
Starting a sniper from the 5 position and adding another defensive-oriented player alongside James in Jae Crowder will modernize this Cavs offense and is custom-made to flourish with LeBron leading the show. Of course, you could see interior scoring become easier for their opposition as Love isn’t a historically great defender but has shown improvements. Though Thompson is arguably the best glass cleaner in the NBA, Love was also a rebounding menace in his own right during his days with the Timberwolves.
With a bench expected to comprise of J.R. Smith, Derrick Rose, Kyle Korver, and now Tristan Thompson, this roster may be the deepest one LeBron has ever had to work with, which is a downright terrifying thought for the rest of the NBA.
