Cleveland Cavaliers: Big 3 Explosion Hides Weak Bench

It’s no secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers need their Big 3 to produce to win games. Whenever a trio of their caliber are shoved onto the same roster, there are obvious expectations. And while it’s taken them a few games, the Big 3 finally looked great in their last game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

LeBron James almost had his first triple-double of the season and the 38th of his career, scoring 32 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out nine dimes. It was originally listed as 10 assists and a triple-double, but the NBA took an assist away on Wednesday.

Kyrie Irving caught fire as well, scoring 32 points of his own while recording nine assists and five boards. And Kevin Love, who was seemingly the least impactful of the three, had a quiet 22 points to go along with five rebounds.

The Pelicans scored 111 points against Cleveland and still lost, attesting to the fact that the Cavs are beginning to turn into what they were assumed to be prior to the start of the season: an offensive powerhouse that has extreme defensive deficiencies.

The Cavs have an offensive rating of 111.1 so far this season, which ranks fourth in the league. But they also have a defensive rating of 111.8, which ranks 28th. These are the sort of stats that make sense, though it’s troubling nonetheless.

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But underlying the excitement of now two wins in a row and a strong game by the Big 3 is an even more concerning element. Perhaps the Cavs just aren’t as deep as some people thought they were before the season started.

And if this is true, will the Big 3 have to play this well all season long and into the playoffs for this team to get anywhere special?

Right now, Cleveland is sitting at a 3-3 record. Their starting lineup, which has been the same save for a swap out of Dion Waiters for two games, has totaled 504 of their 614 points so far this season. The Big 3 has accounted for 393 of those points.

After that, only Shawn Marion (25) and Tristan Thompson (58) have scored more than 10 total points for the team. And the bench as a whole has combined for just 110 points.

In comparison, the Toronto Raptors have played a mere two more games than Cleveland. Their bench (one of the best in the league so far) has scored a total of 320 points already this season.

Even a relatively strong bench, like that of the Golden State Warriors’, has scored 188 points in seven games (one more than Cleveland has played).

Outside of the Cavs’ starting unit, no player averages more than 10 points per game. The only one close is Thompson, who averages 9.7. Then there is an immediate drop off, with the next highest scoring bench player being Marion at 4.2 points per game.

Oof.

So back to the question. Can Cleveland become as successful as they want to be without the Big 3 playing as well as they did against New Orleans last time out? Sure doesn’t look like it.

The average age of the bench is 28.3 years old. That’s not terrible, but they aren’t as young as is ideal. And that’s not even the core problem. The real issue is that the guys who are expected to produce the most off of the pine aren’t the younger ones.

Besides Thompson who is 23, Marion (36), Mike Miller (34) and Brendan Haywood (35) are all players who are (or were) expected to make some sort of impact for this club. The problem is, they’re all old enough that their games are either breaking down completely or are only really beneficial in limited doses.

Basically, when they’re on the court they look like they should be in a Clint Eastwood movie, shaking their walking sticks at the younger players that run by.

Is there any solution to this? Other than the Big 3 playing well every night?

Not really. David Blatt has limited options with this squad. He can only do so much when the big guns on his bench are breathing hard before they even enter the game.

One option that does seem useful, however, would be the permanent move of Waiters to the bench. He received a lower back injury when playing against the Denver Nuggets, then sat out the next game with Marion starting in his place.

If Blatt can get Waiters to commit to this role (which no doubt won’t be easy, especially after Waiters made it clear he wants to be in the starting lineup) then the games may not be quite so hard on the Cavs.

The team doesn’t really need Waiters in the starting lineup. With LeBron, Kyrie and Love all out there, there’s plenty of firepower to keep the offense flowing well. Waiters would get more shots coming off the bench as well, which he’d most definitely enjoy.

He could become the spark plug for the team when the starting lineup just isn’t clicking, and could even possibly become a candidate for Sixth Man of the Year. Marion isn’t going to stay in the game long when starting anyway, so it wouldn’t be as though Waiters would have to wait a long time to see some action.

But convincing a 22-year-old hothead who’s confident that he’s a great player among great players to come off of the bench after he began the season starting simply won’t be an easy task.

But hey, the Cavs are also 2-1 when Waiters has not been in the starting five. So there’s that.

Unfortunately, until we see this change become a real, surefire thing, it looks like (especially with their wretched defense) the Big 3 will have to keep combining in a huge way for the Cavaliers to have prolonged success.

Looks like those fewer minutes will have to wait, Mr. James.

Next: NBA Power Rankings: How Close Are The Cavs To The Top?

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