The Cleveland Cavaliers got off to a decent start to the 2020-21 basketball season, but have struggled a bit recently, losing eight of their last ten.
And now, the injury bug has hit again with the news that their glue man, Larry Nance Jr., will miss the next six weeks with a broken finger.
Nance pretty much does everything well, and was just coming back from a sprained wrist, when he broke the finger Saturday night against the Bucks. Nance is a good defender, good passer, and is becoming a good shooter, expanding his range to where he is hitting 38% of his three point attempts this season.
His injury is just another for a team that really hasn’t been healthy all season long. Since he’s barely played this season, it’s easy to forget Kevin Love has played in just two games, a total of 46 minutes.
The only Cavalier who has played in every game this season is Cedi Osman. Collin Sexton, Nance, and Isaac Okoro have all missed five games. Darius Garland has missed eight, and Dylan Windler has not participated in 13 contests.
Even Andre Drummond sat out two games. And this isn’t a “load management” issue either, all of these guys have had physical issues which forced them to sit out games.
The injuries, particularly in the frontcourt, have led to two way player Lamar Stephens appearing in 14 games, a lot of someone who figured to be getting most of his basketball in the G League.
Add to the mix a mid-season trade which brought aboard Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince from Brooklyn (in exchange for Dante Exum, who by the way, was also hurt), and it’s no wonder the wine and gold have struggled a bit to find their identity, especially on the offensive end of the court.
When Nance missed time with his wrist, coach J.B. Bickerstaff decided to go with Prince in his spot, but although he can play the four at times, he doesn’t have the bulk to play starters’ minutes at the position.
But what alternative does Bickerstaff have?
We understand it’s thinking a bit out of the box, and you probably couldn’t do it for the majority of the game, but why not start Drummond and Allen in sort of the twin towers set up, with Osman or Prince playing small forward.
The Cavs have kind of played an old school game this year anyway, why not fully embrace it by putting the two big men together on the floor. Besides, Cleveland doesn’t seem to be much of a small ball team, except in the backcourt.
Why not get Allen, who has been impressive since his arrival, more minutes? In his lone start with the wine and gold, he scored 23 points, had 18 rebounds and five blocks in a win over Minnesota.
And Allen seems to be effective playing in the high point, so he doesn’t seem to clog up the area in which Drummond likes to operate, that of starting in the wing and backing down into the low post.
The move would also bring Okoro, who has started all of the 20 games he has played in, off the bench. He has scored in double figures just four times in the last 12 contests, shooting just 28% from three (9 for 32) in that span.
Offense wasn’t what made the Auburn standout the fifth overall pick in the draft, and we are confident he will improve in that area. Right now, though, it might be a good time to take a step back.
The Drummond/Allen pairing would be temporary anyway, because when Love returns, he presumably will take over at power forward.
This season should be for seeing what works and what doesn’t. Why not see what playing Drummond and Allen together looks like?
Cleveland Sports Perspective 