Starting SF Game 1 Of 2023-24 Season?

[mcfly1204]

LeVert feels like the least likely, despite the quick move to the starting spot early in the Playoffs. Honestly feels like a tossup between Strus and Okoro. Even then, I think the minute spread should be interesting for the entire roster this season.

[ijspeelman]

If its not Strus, I think JB himself will be surprised

[JujitsuFlip]

It has to be Strus, they just paid the man $63 million, traded 2 players, and 2 draft picks to obtain him.

If everyone is healthy and it's anyone other than Strus then fire JB on the spot.

Now I'm sure 20 or 40 games into the season Strus and Niang will both be in JB's doghouse for lack of defense, especially if their shots not falling. At least then he can claim he gave the new guys a chance, just to go back to LeVert at SF and playing his starting 5 nearly 40 minutes per game aka his comfort zone.

[ijspeelman]

It has to be Strus, they just paid the man $63 million, traded 2 players, and 2 draft picks to obtain him.

If everyone is healthy and it's anyone other than Strus then fire JB on the spot.

Now I'm sure 20 or 40 games into the season Strus and Niang will both be in JB's doghouse for lack of defense, especially if their shots not falling. At least then he can claim he gave the new guys a chance, just to go back to LeVert at SF and playing his starting 5 nearly 40 minutes per game aka his comfort zone.

What is nice about Strus is his defense is fairly solid. He's kinda the guy JB probably loves.

[mcfly1204]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

[ijspeelman]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

Not trying to discount the potential development of Okoro, but we've been wanting to see the volume increase with minimal decrease in efficiency. He has remained one of the least guarded perimeter players in the league and he's still around the same volume on marginally better efficiency.

His problem with volume is more his unwillingness to shoot it rather than him not having the opportunities. He only shoots them when he is wide open and completely set. Rarely will he catch off balance and rise up for a shot.

I really just do not see it with him becoming a volume three point shooter on decent efficiency.

[JonFromVA]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

Not trying to discount the potential development of Okoro, but we've been wanting to see the volume increase with minimal decrease in efficiency. He has remained one of the least guarded perimeter players in the league and he's still around the same volume on marginally better efficiency.

His problem with volume is more his unwillingness to shoot it rather than him not having the opportunities. He only shoots them when he is wide open and completely set. Rarely will he catch off balance and rise up for a shot.

I really just do not see it with him becoming a volume three point shooter on decent efficiency.

You know what we know about Isaac in the starting lineup at SF?

It works.

Every other option needs to prove itself to work better.

If it's as low of a bar as many believe, that shouldn't be a problem but this sort of thing is not determined on paper.

[JonFromVA]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

Not trying to discount the potential development of Okoro, but we've been wanting to see the volume increase with minimal decrease in efficiency. He has remained one of the least guarded perimeter players in the league and he's still around the same volume on marginally better efficiency.

His problem with volume is more his unwillingness to shoot it rather than him not having the opportunities. He only shoots them when he is wide open and completely set. Rarely will he catch off balance and rise up for a shot.

I really just do not see it with him becoming a volume three point shooter on decent efficiency.

Isaac is being miscast as a corner 3pt shooter. He should be used as a screener/cutter/passer/DHO guy. He should have been developing a post-up game for when he's being defended by smaller players.

So, yeah, if getting 3pt shots up in volume is the answer ... Strus and Niang can do that, but our offense still needs to evolve from just planting guys in the corner waiting for a kick out or we'll be wasting their talents too.

[mcfly1204]

It would be interesting to see Okoro be the corner 3 guy with the starters, but more of the cutter/slasher with the shooters on the second unit.

[ijspeelman]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

Not trying to discount the potential development of Okoro, but we've been wanting to see the volume increase with minimal decrease in efficiency. He has remained one of the least guarded perimeter players in the league and he's still around the same volume on marginally better efficiency.

His problem with volume is more his unwillingness to shoot it rather than him not having the opportunities. He only shoots them when he is wide open and completely set. Rarely will he catch off balance and rise up for a shot.

I really just do not see it with him becoming a volume three point shooter on decent efficiency.

You know what we know about Isaac in the starting lineup at SF?

It works.

Every other option needs to prove itself to work better.

If it's as low of a bar as many believe, that shouldn't be a problem but this sort of thing is not determined on paper.

That is fair since we haven't seen the pairing of any of the new guys with our guys yet, but all we have is what is on paper right now. We can make projections and when they succeed, fail, or somewhere in between we can make a much better judgement.

Based on what the fit of Strus seems to be, it seems our best starting line-up includes him as our 5th man to balance spacing and defense.

[JujitsuFlip]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

Not trying to discount the potential development of Okoro, but we've been wanting to see the volume increase with minimal decrease in efficiency. He has remained one of the least guarded perimeter players in the league and he's still around the same volume on marginally better efficiency.

His problem with volume is more his unwillingness to shoot it rather than him not having the opportunities. He only shoots them when he is wide open and completely set. Rarely will he catch off balance and rise up for a shot.

I really just do not see it with him becoming a volume three point shooter on decent efficiency.

Isaac is being miscast as a corner 3pt shooter. He should be used as a screener/cutter/passer/DHO guy. He should have been developing a post-up game for when he's being defended by smaller players.

So, yeah, if getting 3pt shots up in volume is the answer ... Strus and Niang can do that, but our offense still needs to evolve from just planting guys in the corner waiting for a kick out or we'll be wasting their talents too.

Meh, not really, they're 2 really great shooters from the corner, probably why Koby targeted them.

He understands the limitations he faces with his head coach, so might as well put adequate pieces in the spots JB will park them.

[JujitsuFlip]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

Why would you sign-up for teams to pack the paint against us? That's illogical.

Situationally Okoro can be very useful but as a full time starter? No thanks.

[JonFromVA]

Not trying to discount the potential development of Okoro, but we've been wanting to see the volume increase with minimal decrease in efficiency. He has remained one of the least guarded perimeter players in the league and he's still around the same volume on marginally better efficiency.

His problem with volume is more his unwillingness to shoot it rather than him not having the opportunities. He only shoots them when he is wide open and completely set. Rarely will he catch off balance and rise up for a shot.

I really just do not see it with him becoming a volume three point shooter on decent efficiency.

Isaac is being miscast as a corner 3pt shooter. He should be used as a screener/cutter/passer/DHO guy. He should have been developing a post-up game for when he's being defended by smaller players.

So, yeah, if getting 3pt shots up in volume is the answer ... Strus and Niang can do that, but our offense still needs to evolve from just planting guys in the corner waiting for a kick out or we'll be wasting their talents too.

Meh, not really, they're 2 really great shooters from the corner, probably why Koby targeted them.

He understands the limitations he faces with his head coach, so might as well put adequate pieces in the spots JB will park them.

I didn't say they'd be ineffective in the role, I said we'd be wasting their talent too because they can do more than sit in the corner and shoot 3's when the kick out comes.

It's a lot easier to scheme a defense when you know where everybody is going to be standing, and it's the sort of thing that becomes more of a problem in the playoffs than the regular season.

[JonFromVA]

It would be interesting to see Okoro be the corner 3 guy with the starters, but more of the cutter/slasher with the shooters on the second unit.

A move to the bench could help expand his role, if we'd let him.

Caris is sort of the All-Around choice for starting SF, but unless we integrate him better, we have a similar issue in that his role in the starting lineup has been much smaller than his role when coming off the bench.

There are also less reasons not to do it if we're getting bench playmaking from Rubio and/or Jerome.

I just think lacking a great choice or a rock solid incumbent, you let them compete.

If I had to guess? Well, unless they promised Strus in order to get him to sign, I'd presume it's LeVert who will get the first shot.

[JonFromVA]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

Why would you sign-up for teams to pack the paint against us? That's illogical.

Situationally Okoro can be very useful but as a full time starter? No thanks.

A packed paint is not ideal, but it's only one factor in team success and we've had a lot of success with Isaac as our starting SF. No two ways around that until someone shows they can do better.

[JujitsuFlip]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

Why would you sign-up for teams to pack the paint against us? That's illogical.

Situationally Okoro can be very useful but as a full time starter? No thanks.

A packed paint is not ideal, but it's only one factor in team success and we've had a lot of success with Isaac as our starting SF. No two ways around that until someone shows they can do better.

We've had zero success when it counts with Okoro playing significant minutes.

Until the Cavs go to the Finals or at minimum the ECF, the Cavs and Okoro at SF haven't proven anything.

I'd rather have Strus as SF and win 41 games and go to the ECF then anything Okoro at SF the past 2 seasons has accomplished.

51 wins and 44 wins mean nothing when they result in not getting passed the 1st round.

2 years in a row, teams leave Okoro sit out there in the post season. When guys are already crowding the paint because Allen and Mobley can't/won't shoot outside 10 feet, ya need to bench Okoro and one of Allen or Mobley and put in the Snipers Niang and Strus, after all that is why they were target 1a and 1b for the Cavs this summer.

[mcfly1204]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

Why would you sign-up for teams to pack the paint against us? That's illogical.

Situationally Okoro can be very useful but as a full time starter? No thanks.

It seems like you are overlooking the tone of the post. I am hopeful to see progress from Okoro and/or Mobley that help the spacing. If that ends up not being the case, then I would expect one of LeVert, Strus, or Wade to be the starting SF.

[JonFromVA]

Why would you sign-up for teams to pack the paint against us? That's illogical.

Situationally Okoro can be very useful but as a full time starter? No thanks.

A packed paint is not ideal, but it's only one factor in team success and we've had a lot of success with Isaac as our starting SF. No two ways around that until someone shows they can do better.

We've had zero success when it counts with Okoro playing significant minutes.

Until the Cavs go to the Finals or at minimum the ECF, the Cavs and Okoro at SF haven't proven anything.

I'd rather have Strus as SF and win 41 games and go to the ECF then anything Okoro at SF the past 2 seasons has accomplished.

51 wins and 44 wins mean nothing when they result in not getting passed the 1st round.

2 years in a row, teams leave Okoro sit out there in the post season. When guys are already crowding the paint because Allen and Mobley can't/won't shoot outside 10 feet, ya need to bench Okoro and one of Allen or Mobley and put in the Snipers Niang and Strus, after all that is why they were target 1a and 1b for the Cavs this summer.

We're fortunate that 5 game samples sizes are not very predictive, because if Max Strus shoots 23% from the field and 18% from 3pt like he did for the Heat in the finals this year, we're going to miss Isaac's 48%/31% .vs. the Knicks.

Keep in mind, winning 41 games and not making the playoffs is another option. Why are you keying on the optimistic outcome when it comes to Strus, but not Mitchell?

Let him prove it.

[JujitsuFlip]

I'm hopefully that it's Okoro. If he can increase his 3PA volume while maintaining his current completion percentage, and\or if Mobley develops a more reliable deep 2, or 3, I can see it making a lot of sense. If anything, it will just be easier to keep Okoro on a shorter leash with a more reliable shooter (Strus) on the roster.

Why would you sign-up for teams to pack the paint against us? That's illogical.

Situationally Okoro can be very useful but as a full time starter? No thanks.

It seems like you are overlooking the tone of the post. I am hopeful to see progress from Okoro and/or Mobley that help the spacing. If that ends up not being the case, then I would expect one of LeVert, Strus, or Wade to be the starting SF.

Okoro can go work on his jumper with the Charge, this is win now time, don't have 4 more years to wait on Okoro to come around.

[JujitsuFlip]

A packed paint is not ideal, but it's only one factor in team success and we've had a lot of success with Isaac as our starting SF. No two ways around that until someone shows they can do better.

We've had zero success when it counts with Okoro playing significant minutes.

Until the Cavs go to the Finals or at minimum the ECF, the Cavs and Okoro at SF haven't proven anything.

I'd rather have Strus as SF and win 41 games and go to the ECF then anything Okoro at SF the past 2 seasons has accomplished.

51 wins and 44 wins mean nothing when they result in not getting passed the 1st round.

2 years in a row, teams leave Okoro sit out there in the post season. When guys are already crowding the paint because Allen and Mobley can't/won't shoot outside 10 feet, ya need to bench Okoro and one of Allen or Mobley and put in the Snipers Niang and Strus, after all that is why they were target 1a and 1b for the Cavs this summer.

We're fortunate that 5 game samples sizes are not very predictive, because if Max Strus shoots 23% from the field and 18% from 3pt like he did for the Heat in the finals this year, we're going to miss Isaac's 48%/31% .vs. the Knicks.

Keep in mind, winning 41 games and not making the playoffs is another option. Why are you keying on the optimistic outcome when it comes to Strus, but not Mitchell?

Let him prove it.

Or we can get Strus' 45%/41% from the first round and finally advance to a semi, now there's a thought.