Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 leaders that need to step up

3. Jeff Green

General managers have always found a way to surround LeBron with talent. Pat Riley pulled in three likely Hall-Of Famers to run with James in in Miami. Dan Gilbert has paired him up with supreme talent in Cleveland.

Any blame on ownership will likely fall on deaf ears, but front office after front office has failed to support James with talented big man. As a result, James has navigated most of his career without bullying brutes at his side.

As a result of rostering only one player taller than 6’10,” the Cavaliers rely on forward Jeff Green to play big man minutes after multiple injuries. This means Green, in his upcoming stretch of games, must play power forward and at times center. He played all three non-guard positions in a season-high 43 minutes against the Chicago Bulls.

If he is going to give up size on the defensive end, Green must beat bigger defenders off the dribble on offense. Here is an example as he takes a Cristiano Felicio to the rim.

So it’s not necessarily defense the Cavs are looking from Green in the upcoming stretch. It’s a given they’ll syphon points with so many injuries. Cleveland needs to beat opposing teams with speed, meaning Green will have to punish opponents off the dribble.