Just because we haven’t seen a grouping much in the regular season doesn’t mean we won’t see it in the playoffs.
Versatility has been an issue at times for the Cleveland Cavaliers. De’Andre Hunter was brought in to solve that. His ability to comfortably play the three and four while slotting in nicely to either a starter or reserve role was part of what made him such an attractive target for Koby Altman and the rest of the front office.
That versatility has shown through on the court. His shotmaking and length have come through repeatedly for the Cavs, most notably, in their Feb. 28 win over the Boston Celtics. Hunter closed the game, poured in three triples, and proved to be a serviceable defender against a wing-heavy front line. It was exactly what the Cavs needed.
Those skills have allowed Hunter to fit into multiple lineups, although that hasn’t really included slotting alongside Cleveland’s core four of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.
Hunter has only played 30 minutes with that core group since the trade. A third of that time came in the first game Hunter participated in against the Minnesota Timberwolves. By contrast, the core four have played 127 minutes with Max Strus in that same time frame.
According to head coach Kenny Atkinson, that minute distribution is something he wants to alter.
“[That’s] not enough sample,” Atkinson said immediately after being asked about that group only playing 30 minutes together. “I’d like to look at it more. I know we don’t have a ton of games left, but I definitely want to look at that more. That’s something we talked about as a staff.”
Analyzing data from five-man lineups is tricky. There typically isn’t a large enough sample size with many groupings outside of your starting unit to draw firm conclusions from. As such, Cleveland outscoring their opponent by 17 points in the limited time that unit has shared the floor isn’t enough to base too strong of opinions on.
However, that does back up conceptually how that unit should fit together. That, combined with the skillset of the group, makes it so that Atkinson wouldn’t be afraid to put that lineup together in a playoff series.
“No,” Atkinson said when asked if he’d think twice about putting that five-man grouping out in the postseason.
“It’s a lot about our skill level because a lot of times, lineups don’t work because there’s not enough shooting. I feel, especially with Evan shooting the ball the way he is, I feel a little more comfortable just throwing guys [together]. … I just feel much more comfortable with this team just mixing and matching.”
It’s also important to acknowledge that the team has been good with the lineups as they are. The starters with Strus have played well this season (+11.2 net rating), and Hunter has assimilated nicely with the bench and small-ball lineups.
“Part of the issue is he’s been so good with one big on the floor, especially Evan,” Atkinson said after practice on Tuesday. “We’ve kind of gone with that, optimizing lineups and that. But because we’ve done that, we haven’t gotten him at the three as much as we’d like.”
Atkinson is correct about that. Groups with Mobley and Hunter and without Allen have produced a 130.6 offensive rating (100th percentile) and a +11 net rating in 435 possessions.
The Cavs will undoubtedly rely on that smaller, more versatile lineup throughout the postseason and will likely be closing many games with it. Still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to go bigger and play their five-best players on the court together.
Atkinson acknowledged that “everything is on the table” in the playoffs. There likely aren’t many lineups or strategies he wouldn’t consider in a must-win game.
Just because we haven’t seen much of a particular grouping in the regular season doesn’t mean we won’t in the playoffs.
“I wouldn’t hesitate for one second,” Atkinson said, “even though we haven’t seen it a lot, playing Dre at the three with the core four.”