The Point Four-ward: Keepin’ That Bench Warm

Four points I’m thinking about the Cleveland Cavaliers…

1.) The preseason is a time, much like one’s college years, where a certain amount of experimentation is to be expected, so too much shouldn’t necessarily be made of where one’s decisions might get one. For instance, there was a point in the final minutes of the first quarter of the Cavs’ 107-80 preseason win over Maccabi Tel Aviv on Sunday where head coach David Blatt’s substitution pattern yielded a lineup of Matthew Dellavedova, Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, Anderson Varejao and Lou Amundson. This group saw a grand total of 90 seconds of action together, but it did highlight that, for the bevy of players the Cavs have who can routinely create their own shot, they are still capable of putting a five-man unit that is… well, decidedly less able to do that.

I know, I know, it was 90 seconds. That’s all. In fact, it was a 90 seconds where the Cavs even outscored Tel Aviv 6-3. But if you take away Dellavedova’s buzzer beating J with three defenders on him, that 90 seconds was essentially the Cavaliers’ version of the Island of Misfit Toys and featured such unlikely plays as Varejao feeding the ball to Amundson like he was Amundson’s grandmother (and Amundson finishing off his plays like he was, say, my grandmother). Marion didn’t look comfortable trying to create for himself, missing an eight foot hook shot right before Delly’s heroics, and, Miller didn’t take a shot as part of this lineup.

In fact, Varejao’s insistence that he and Amundson become the next Steve Nash-to-Amar’e Stoudemire seemed like it was done partly in fun (and only partly, you know, because Amundson was open under the hoop) as you could almost see the players in that lineup look around and said, “Really? With these guys??”

2.) This shouldn’t ever be an issue once the regular season begins and Blatt isn’t giving out run to 17 different players. It will be rare to have lineups where LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters are all nowhere to be seen. Before that infamous 1:30 mark in the first quarter of Sunday’s game, Love and Irving were still in there, the final two starters waiting on a breather. But this is also why so many are still calling for Waiters to get the bulk of his minutes with the second unit. A Waiters-Dellavedova-Miller-Marion-Varejao unit is still a unit that can do some things with a basketball — and the things they’d be able to do would start with Waiters’s ability to score, pass and initiate the offense (and less with his ability to stop the ball from moving, take two dribbles inside the arc and fire away which we learned he… you know, still really likes to do).

There are ways to have Waiters be the alpha on the second unit while keeping him a starter, should Blatt feel that naming Waiters a reserve would do more harm (to his ego) than good. He could make Miller the team’s sixth man, sending Waiters to the bench early and then bringing him back late in the first quarter while the rest of the starters rest. A lot depends on how many minutes the coach decides players like Miller and Marion will wind up averaging and whether a guy like Amundson is an every-gamer or more that guy who plays in every third game.

All of which is to say that Blatt’s rotations should come into focus as the preseason progresses. Just, please, David, don’t give us any more of the 90-second Five…

3.) One of the pleasant surprises of Sunday’s game was, amidst le temps du ordures (or… you know, garbage time), Cavs fans got to see some encouraging play from their two rookies. Yes, while the Cavs may have traded their more high-profile rookie as part of the deal to get Love, they still have second rounder Joe Harris and undrafted free agent (and early favorite for the Matthew Dellavedova Award for… well, an undrafted free agent worth a spit or two) Alex Kirk.

In eight fourth quarter minutes, Kirk scored two points, grabbed two boards and blocked two shots which, if you’re scoring at home (or have access to a calculator or are the kind of fancy smart person who can do division in your head) means Kirk is swattin’ fools at a blistering nine blocks per 36 minute clip. What? No?

You sure?

Okay, okay… I jest(ish) about Kirk. But the blocks were legit, showing that the big man out of New Mexico might have the potential defensively, if nothing else, to stick around a little bit. But, please, I’m not really going to get all excited over eight minutes of preseason basketball.

But, 17 minutes… 17 minutes is preseason run enough. And 17 very effective minutes is what Harris logged for the Cavs. Harris shot 4-9 from the floor (1-4 from three) for ten points and, overall, looked more confident, decisive and, heck, even more athletic, than he did for the Cavs Summer League team in Las Vegas. His jumper looks good, but it was Harris’s ability to put the ball on the floor and finish at the rim that really impressed. His quickness and athleticism still won’t blow you away, but he looks like a strong, solid 6-6 who might be ready to show Cavs fans what David Griffin saw in him coming out of Virginia and why, several months later, he is the Cavs last draft pick standing.

4.) Following the Keith Bogans trade-apalooza that kicked off training camp, the Cavs have 17 players on their training camp roster. They’ve got Irving, Waiters, Miller, Dellavedova, Harris, A.J. Price and Chris Crawford at guard. James, Love, Marion, Amundson, James Jones, Tristan Thompson and Shane Edwards are their forwards. Varejao, Kirk and Brendan Haywood are at center. Based on the team’s smaller-than-usual camp roster, they only have to cut two players and then figure out which of the remaining three won’t be active.

Based on Sunday’s game, Crawford and Edwards are the most likely camp casualties. Price gives the team some insurance in case Irving and/or Waiters can’t shoo away the injury bug, but they don’t need to activate him until that happens. If Haywood stays healthy, he’ll remain on the active roster, leaving Kirk and Harris to round out the inactive list and riding the shuttle to and from Canton. Beyond that, while the end of the bench will get some run with Blatt managing certain players minutes throughout the season, it’s difficult to see the team leaning too much on Jones and Amundson.

Will Blatt really roll with a 10-man rotation when the team’s at full strength? It looks like it’s there for him if he wants it.