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Cavaliers: Anderson Varejao’s Reduced Role A Positive

By Joshua Howe

Dec 9, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (17) and Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao (17) position for a rebound in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 9, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (17) and Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao (17) position for a rebound in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Early last season, Anderson Varejao went down with an Achilles injury, effectively ending his season — but not before the Cleveland Cavaliers could offer him a contract extension that, in hindsight, doesn’t look so good. They really could’ve used the space this offseason if they had only waited to see what to do with Varejao.

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But it isn’t all bad. Varejao is a solid player. It’s just that staying on the court has always been an issue for him. Therefore, having him play large amounts of minutes is never a good idea. He plays a hustle-style game that is full of heart and all-out effort, but at the same time, his diving on the floor for loose balls and bumping into other big bodies is a constant danger.

At the age of 32, Varejao isn’t getting any younger and his tendency to get hurt isn’t likely to go away. Check out his last five seasons:

  • 2010-11: 31 games played, 31 started
  • 2011-12: 25 games played, 25 started
  • 2012-13: 25 games played, 25 started
  • 2013-14: 65 games played, 29 started
  • 2014-15: 26 games played, 26 started

Yeesh. That’s ugly. It’s also no secret that any player, not just Varejao, is able to play longer when they come off the bench and don’t take the same toll as if they were starting. In the five seasons when Varejao started 10 games or less, he played 54, 48, 81 and 76 games respectively.

Over the last few years with the Cavs, Varejao has started out of necessity. The Cavs didn’t go out and get anyone else to start ahead of him because A) when healthy, Varejao is a capable starter and B) they bet on his health finally lasting.

They did try and improve things two seasons ago when they brought in Andrew Bynum for a while, but that didn’t pan out (though I hear bowling was fun), leaving Varejao as the starter again. Now Cleveland has Timofey Mozgov, a younger and more traditional center who has proven himself to be a worthy NBA starter. Not only that, but he’s been very durable the last few seasons.

With Mozzy handling the starter’s position, Varejao no longer has to worry about making the same impact as before. Now he’s one of the first men off the bench, the backup center who can come in and change the flow of the game with effort and intensity.

Varejao’s game is perfectly suited to the role. He’s a spark plug player who can provide an instant shift in momentum. That’s exactly what coaches look for from their bench guys. He just has to come in, make some great cuts around the offensive side of the floor and suddenly the defense is scrambling because they’ve been used to Mozgov’s post-ups.

Having a starter-level backup at any position is a luxury for any team, and it’ll be great to see Varejao go full Wild Thing in limited minutes. I know I’m not the only one excited about this prospect.

If this is the year Varejao can stay healthy, the depth of Cleveland’s frontcourt just got a whole lot more imposing.

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