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Comparing the Cavalier Playoff Rotations during the 2nd LeBron Era

Over the past few seasons, the Cleveland Cavaliers have become mainstays as NBA championship contenders out of the Eastern Conference. This has included building up a strong roster with several veteran players. This season, the Cavs were forced to make some changes due to various reasons, including Kyrie Irving's request to be traded, Isaiah Thomas not fitting in with the team on the court or in the locker room, and at one point having the oldest roster in the NBA--in which they struggled with the NBA's new rules of having fewer timeouts allowed per game.

After starting the season with an up-and-down 31-22 record (.585 winning percentage), the Cavaliers stabilized things through multiple trade deadline deals. In turn, they went 19-10 in their final 29 games (.655 winning percentage) to close out the 2017-2018 campaign. 

More so than past years, both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference are up for grabs, with minimal talent differences amongst the teams. The Cavs have their work cut out for them, yet they still march forward led by the living legend and one of the all-time greats, LeBron James. 

With that said, what does the tentative 2018 Cavs playoff rotation look like?

2018 Cavs
Star players who are core players: F/G LeBron James, F/C Kevin Love
Role players who are core players: G/F J.R. Smith, G George Hill, F Jeff Green, G Jordan Clarkson, G/F Kyle Korver

Role players who are situational players: F/C Larry Nance Jr., G/F Rodney Hood, G Jose Calderon, C/F Tristan Thompson, F/G Cedi Osman
Bench players who are secondary backups: C/F Ante Zizic, C Kendrick Perkins, F Okaro White
*Not on playoff roster: Two-way players: G/F John Holland, G London Perrantes


With this current roster, James and Love will be leaned on more heavily on offense without the off-the-dribble and spot-up scoring of Irving. At the moment, it appears that Coach Lue, Coach Drew, and crew lean on Smith, Hill, Green, Clarkson, and Korver as their primary role players. Behind them, Nance Jr., Hood, Calderon, Thompson, and Osman are all ready to play hard with whatever minutes they are given.

At the end of the bench, Zizic, Perkins, and White bring size, strength, and rebounding and might find sparse minutes based on opponent matchups. In particular, Perkins is back in his bench veteran/'bench enforcer' role, which Dahntay Jones had filled the past two seasons.

Although Holland and Perrantes logged some meaningful minutes down the stretch, they are not eligible for the playoffs this season due to their contract status as 'two-way players'.

How does this team stack up against the previous three Cavalier playoff rosters?

2017 Cavs
Star players who are core players: F/G LeBron James, G Kyrie Irving, F/C Kevin Love
Role players who are core players: C/F Tristan Thompson, G/F J.R. Smith, G/F Kyle Korver, G/F Iman Shumpert, G Deron Williams, F/G Richard Jefferson

Role players who are situational players: F/C Channing Frye, F Derrick Williams, G/F Dahntay Jones, F/G James Jones
Bench players who are secondary backups: G Kay Felder
*Injured: C Edy Tavares

2016 Cavs
Star players who are core players: F/G LeBron James, G Kyrie Irving, F/C Kevin Love
Role players who are core players: G/F J.R. Smith, C/F Tristan Thompson, F/G Richard Jefferson, G/F Iman Shumpert, G Matthew Dellavedova

Role players who are situational players: F/C Channing Frye, G Mo Williams, G/F Dahntay Jones, C Timofey Mozgov
Bench players who are secondary backups: F/G James Jones, G Jordan McRae, C Sasha Kaun

2015 Cavs
Star players who are core players: F/G LeBron James
Role players who are core players: C/F Tristan Thompson, G/F Iman Shumpert, G/F J.R. Smith, C Timofey Mozgov, G Matthew Dellavedova, F/G James Jones

Role players who are situational players: G/F Mike Miller, C Kendrick Perkins
Bench players who are secondary backups: F/G Shawn Marion, G Joe Harris, C Brendan Haywood
*Injured: G Kyrie Irving, F/C Kevin Love, C/F Anderson Varejao


Although the 2018 Cavs lack the top-level all-star scoring at the top of their rotation without Irving, they have replenished their roster with a mix of young, hungry players and steady veterans with versatility on both sides of the court. The youth movement was necessary to keep up with the 'more running'/'fewer timeouts' nature of the NBA this season. The youth movement was also needed to fix the team chemistry and locker room problems in Cleveland.

In the past three playoff runs, players such as Thompson, Shumpert, Mozgov, and Dellavedova made their names and earned big new contracts. Meanwhile, veterans Jefferson, Smith, Frye, M. Williams, D. Jones, and J. Jones cemented their status in Cavalier lore filling different roles en route to the 2016 NBA championship and other Eastern Conference championship wins.

Now, veteran players Korver, Hill, Green, and Calderon chase after their first NBA championship. Meanwhile, up-and-coming players Clarkson, Nance Jr., Hood, Osman, Zizic, and White prepare to fill varying roles in also chasing after their first NBA championship and possibly also earning themselves big new contracts in the future.

As for James, Love, Smith, Thompson, and Perkins, they would love to add to their collection of championship gold.

Today, the playoff road begins with Game 1 vs. the Indiana Pacers. What does the Pacers' roster look like?

2018 Pacers
Star players who are core players: G Victor Oladipo
Role players who are core players: F Thaddeus Young, C Myles Turner, F Bojan Bogdanovic, G Darren Collison, G Cory Joseph, F/C Domantas Sabonis, G Lance Stephenson, G/F Glenn Robinson III, F Trevor Booker

Role players who are situational players: G Joe Young, C Al Jefferson, F TJ Leaf
Bench players who are secondary backups: F Alex Poythress, C Ike Anigbogu
*Not on playoff roster: Two-way players: G Edmond Sumner, F Ben Moore


Head-to-Head this season:
11/1/17 @ CLE: Pacers 124-107
  • High Scorers: 
    • Cavs: James 33 pts 
    • Pacers: T. Young 26 pts
  • Top +/- : 
    • Cavs: Green +7
    • Pacers: Sabonis +18
12/8/17 @ IND: Pacers 106-102
  • High Scorers: 
    • Cavs: James 29 pts
    • Pacers: Oladipo 33 pts
  • Top +/- : 
    • Cavs: Love +11
    • Pacers: Joseph +16
1/12/18 @ IND: Pacers 97-95
  • High Scorers: 
    • Cavs: James 27 pts
    • Pacers: Collison 22 pts
  • Top +/- : 
    • Cavs: Love +9
    • Pacers: Stephenson +14
1/26/18 @ CLE: Cavaliers 115-108 
  • High Scorers: 
    • Cavs: James 26 pts
    • Pacers: Oladipo 25 pts
  • Top +/- : 
    • Cavs: Smith +14
    • Pacers: Collison +8

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