The Bench

[I LOVE YOU ABBY]

It's time..

 

[adriano_leite]

Luke is better for us than Leuer and Casspi, because Luke at least give us some effort on defense and is physical player.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Justin Harper remains unemployed. He is a work in progress as a former power forward learning to play the small forward spot, but I'm intrigued.

 

[catfish]

I think CG deliberately sand bagged the bench for a high pick.

 

[Mdog1]

I think CG deliberately sand bagged the bench for a high pick.

I'm just kidding, but seriously that is exactly what Grant did considering his big free agent signing was CJ Miles lmfao.

 

[Green Lantern]

One option would be to have Waiters (or Irving) play more minutes with the bench. For the long-term, I would prefer they played with each other as many minutes as possible, even it means some incredibly brutal bench stretches. Zeller's return will also help out, but in the end, we have a team that is so shallow that any injury (even to a bench player) is going to have a major impact. But some selective use of a ball-handling starter during competitive games could boost morale and grab some wins.

2nd option is to play the starters heavier minutes. I don't see that as being a good long-term option either, especially if it leads to injury or fatigue.

3rd option is that a bench player will step up, preferably one who can provide minutes at SF (or at least fake it). I'm not hopeful unless Miles' benching helps light a fire. Not disappointed in players I didn't expect anything from (like Walton). Disappointed in players who have a chance to step up and grab time (Leuer and others).

Are there any other options? Are there any cheap/experienced SFs out there? A cheap/experienced PG who could keep Sloan/Pargo on the bench and help Kyrie learn? I'd rather see Kevin Jones learn on the job than watch some of these guys. It is fun to watch the talent on the team start to figure it out, but I'm getting to the point of wanting to fast-forward through certain terrible lineups.

Well thats what Grant is getting paid to do,find some SF out there.
It will be as it has been..getting toward the 20-30 game point, if someone else hasn't consistantly stepped up,look for a D-Leaguer to be brought in.

 

[Jon]

Are there any other options? Are there any cheap/experienced SFs out there? A cheap/experienced PG who could keep Sloan/Pargo on the bench and help Kyrie learn? I'd rather see Kevin Jones learn on the job than watch some of these guys. It is fun to watch the talent on the team start to figure it out, but I'm getting to the point of wanting to fast-forward through certain terrible lineups.

It wouldn't cost us much to rotate some of those guys out and try some other guys, but what would right the ship is to bring in some vets who know how to play the game - and CG would clearly rather see us lose games than do that.

I agree with you that I'd rather see the core players continue to get experience playing with each other, and prefer that Scott not go crazy with minutes just so we can be competitive. It is painful at times, but it's understandable.

LeBron James led the NBA in minutes per game as a 20 year old 2nd year player letting him do whatever he wanted so he could conserve energy and stay on the court. We surrounded him with crappy vets all so we could go 42-40 and barely miss the playoffs. Thanks to Paxson, we didn't even have a draft pick to show for it.

We're clearly not doing that again. We're not going to artificially push the team ahead of schedule.

If this team is going to win, it's not going to be because Kyrie & Dion are great ... but because the other guys stepped up, or by bringing in another core piece that improved our depth by pushing someone competent to the bench.

 

[schimmk]

I think CG deliberately sand bagged the bench for a high pick.

Grant's made it pretty clear he would like one more lottery pick and with an even competent bench I have to think the Cavs would have a decent shot at reaching the playoffs. But I don't think anybody could have predicted C.J. miles would turn into Sasha Pavlovic upon arriving in Cleveland.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Grant's made it pretty clear he would like one more lottery pick and with an even competent bench I have to think the Cavs would have a decent shot at reaching the playoffs. But I don't think anybody could have predicted C.J. miles would turn into Sasha Pavlovic upon arriving in Cleveland.

Miles has been nowhere near as good as Sasha Pavlovic so far this season.

 

[Ohio]

Grant's made it pretty clear he would like one more lottery pick and with an even competent bench I have to think the Cavs would have a decent shot at reaching the playoffs. But I don't think anybody could have predicted C.J. miles would turn into Sasha Pavlovic upon arriving in Cleveland.

Woah

Sasha was actually productive for us for a couple years

Miles is worthless

 

[Pioneer10]

You know the problem: bench play. Aside from Daniel Gibson, the weighted-per-minute-PER for the non-top-six players is 5.8. Their worth according to basketball-reference…negative 0.7 win shares. That must be league worst.

http://www.cavstheblog.com/?p=13709

 

[MYoung23]

Don't worry folks, you've got Michael Eric and D'Aundray Brown waiting in the DLeague.

 

[Soda]

Justin Harper remains unemployed. He is a work in progress as a former power forward learning to play the small forward spot, but I'm intrigued.

Which would mean that the Cavs effectively gave up nothing for two Orlando 2nd rounders? :chuckles:

Can't complain about that.

On topic: I can't believe I'm saying this, but at least Harangody brings energy to the team and will fight for a rebound. At this point, it's like comparing a regular shit to diarrhea

 

[Hydroponic3385]

Which would mean that the Cavs effectively gave up nothing for two Orlando 2nd rounders? :chuckles:

Can't complain about that.

On topic: I can't believe I'm saying this, but at least Harangody brings energy to the team and will fight for a rebound. At this point, it's like comparing a regular shit to diarrhea

Let's just completely change it up. A bench lineup of Pargo, D. Brown, Harangody, K. Jones, and Eric would likely suck, but it wouldn't be any worse than our current bench (besides Boobie, and Zeller when he returns). And at least it'd be exciting to see new faces. :chuckles:

Zeller / Eric
Jones
Harangody
Gibson / Brown
Pargo

 

[daytripper]

I think CG deliberately sand bagged the bench for a high pick.

In the Cavs defense, according to several sources, they did pursue Teletovic and Shved this offseason but they chose to sign with other teams. It's still early to judge either one but at this point it appears both would've been big upgrades over the current bench players.