Cleveland Cavaliers: Unlikely point guard duo leading team

The Cleveland Cavaliers are surging, winning seven of their last 10 games. An unlikely duo is teaming up to lead the Cavs.

The point guard position for the Cleveland Cavaliers has been a revolving door since opening day. The team attempted to replace Kyrie Irving with a veteran platoon of Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose and Jose Calderon.

Thomas, who outperformed Irving last season, never fully recovered from the most underwhelming-turned-serious injury in the history of sports. Rose couldn’t stay on the floor and Calderon has overperformed.

Following a trade storm, Cleveland paired Jordan Clarkson and George Hill with Calderon to stabilize the backcourt. Playing to script, Hill has been defensive stopper and smooth ball-handler, while Clarkson has been a microwave scorer.

Hill’s performance against the Charlotte Hornets personified how he’s stabilized the Cavaliers’ point guard spot. His final stat line wasn’t flashy; nine points, four assists and a pair of rebounds. Plus Kemba Walker scored 21 points, so it doesn’t appear his defense was especially lockdown.

On the other hand, Cleveland outscored Charlotte by 29 points with Hill on the floor. He also avoided turning the ball over. His consistency has been particularly important to the Cavs. Hill is actually averaging less than a turnover per game in the month of March, meaning more opportunities for LeBron James and, well, LeBron James.

Hill’s performance against Charlotte was reflective of his steady hand. He’s the anti-Thomas, lacking flash but providing reliability. That’s not to say Hill’s game lacks the ability to at least increase tempo.

He’s adjusted to Cavs’ fast-past offense, gaining more comfortability in a pace quicker than his previous cross-country tour of teams. Here he uses a combination of cross-overs and accelerations to zip past opponents on the fast break.

Notice that Hill doesn’t fly down the court at breakneck speeds like a Russell Westbrook. Nor does he stop from the next county and launch a 3, like Stephen Curry. This is a George Hill fast break, steady and reliable. That’s exactly what Cleveland needs.

For every great yin there is a yang, and that yang for Hill is Jordan Clarkson.

Clarkson has been a lighting rod off Cleveland’s bench, providing the scoring punch it thought would come from Dwyane Wade. Clarkson is averaging 13.0 points per game for Cleveland. Wade averaged 11.2 per game with the Cavs. The difference, however is wider in their efficient shooting percentage. Clarkson’s eFG percentage is 53.8 percent with Cleveland, while Wade’s was 48.2 percent.

Clarkson takes better shots and misses less, meaning more opportunities for LeBron and, well, LeBron. Yet, he maintains a level of explosiveness valuable for a contemporary backup guard. The Cavaliers won’t soon forget his debut against the team in Boston.

It’s the type of offense Clarkson plays that is so valuable to Cleveland. Unlike most score-first guards, Clarkson comfortably plays second fiddle with an alpha ball-handler on the floor. By that I mean without LeBron or Hill, Clarkson knifes to the foul line for open mid-range jumpers.

With them in the lineup, he morphs into a marksman from the corner. His ability to jell in Cleveland’s system is reflected in his career-best 110 offensive rating with his new team.

On the surface, it’s a bit bizarre Hill and Clarkson would find partnership in Cleveland. Hill is a well-traveled veteran who has made a living playing gritty basketball for smaller market teams. Clarkson is flashy, playing the entirety of his relatively short NBA career with the bougie Los Angeles Lakers.

But look closer and you’ll notice some similarities. Both are massive overachievers, Hill being a late first round pick from a small school and Clarkson being an unheralded second round pick.

Basketball was never the end-all, be-all for either player. Hill had offers to play for major programs after high school, but chose IUPUI so he could be close to an ailing relative. Clarkson was a multi-sport athlete as a kid who didn’t play hoops until he was a teenager. He wasn’t sure he’d make it as a college player until his senior year of high school.

Yet here they are, spearheading the backcourt of a franchise in flux. With questions surrounding LeBron, and the potential of landing a star in the draft, the future of the Cavaliers is murkier than spring fog in Cleveland.

Next: 2017-18 Week 24 NBA Power Rankings

There’s rarely been a time in the franchise’s history with more questions and more potential than right now. One thing appears certain — this unlikely duo has become a valuable part of the Cavs’ core.