Everybody talks about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ core four, but they’re much more than that.
They have one of the deepest teams in the league, and while that doesn’t necessarily mean they have the most talent, they have ten+ players who can hold their ground and make a big impact on any given night.
That’s why coach Kenny Atkinson won’t follow the rulebook.
Instead of shortening the rotation like most teams do in the playoffs, he intends to continue playing multiple guys and allowing the momentum and the matchup to dictate who’s on the court:
“I told the guys every game it’s going to be someone different,” Atkinson explained. “We had one group playing so well and all of a sudden Sam gets more minutes than he usually gets and that affects everybody. That’s where my feel and their ability to sacrifice come in. There are teams in the playoffs that play eight guys and that’s all. We have a little different philosophy. I think game to game you’ll see, maybe besides the big four, minutes will change and fluctuate.”
Atkinson spent some years next to Steve Kerr, who has taken the same approach en route to four NBA championships and six trips to the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors.
Of course, most of the team’s success will most likely depend on what Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen can do.
Nevertheless, this team is versatile and dynamic, and they can play in a lot of different ways because of their personnel.
Adding De’Andre Hunter to the mix gives them a strong 3-and-D wing to play small-ball with Mobley at the five.
They could also opt to go jumbo with Hunter at the two and Dean Wade at the three.
Ty Jerome has excelled off the bench all season long, all while Isaac Okoro does his thing on defense, and Max Strus and Sam Merrill take the court as perennial three-point-shooting threats.
This team is deep, and everybody will have to make sacrifices to pursue a common goal.
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