Even though Ricky Rubio remains away from basketball to address his mental health, the Cleveland Cavaliers still need a backup point guard. As talented as Darius Garland is, there will be moments when he needs a reprieve from the court. There will also be times when the Cavs don't have Garland, whether it's due to rest or injury and the lack of Rubio becomes even more apparent. This problem can be hard for any NBA coach, J.B. Bickerstaff included, and sometimes it requires unconventional thinking to solve it.
Thankfully, Bickerstaff and the Cavs may have found their solution through preseason and training camp in swingman Caris LeVert, the team's designated sixth man heading into the season. Sure, it can be fair to question the decision to have LeVert, a score-first shooting guard, play such a vital role. But, in Bickerstaff's eyes, LeVert is more than comfortable filling in that role to help the Cavs.
Cavs: JB Bickerstaff gets real on Caris LeVert
“Last year the roles differed because of what was happening to his teammates,” said Bickerstaff. “He would step in. He would take a step back. It all depended on what was going on with the team. For me, that’s a luxury. I think he always has the ability to do it. But our aim is always to make people as comfortable as possible.
“I know what he’s capable of doing. I know that he has the ability to make his teammates better. He has the ability to organize and when you put size on the defensive end with him, there’s a lot of different things you can do.”
“That's been who I am as a player,” LeVert said to ClutchPoints when asked if he's comfortable playing backup point guard. “I've always been a point guard, shooting guard, kind of a combo guard. So, I'm definitely super comfortable doing that and I think we all know that here as well.”
LeVert's impact on team
After averaging 3.9 assists per game primarily as a reserve for the Cavs last season, the idea of LeVert in such a vital position doesn't seem too far-fetched. Earlier in his career with the Brooklyn Nets, LeVert thrived as a primary ball handler in spread pick and roll lineups. While it's not the same exact situation, there are plenty of similar situations for LeVert to recapture his early success this season with Cleveland.
It helps that the Cavs have two reliable big men in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley to set screens to allow LeVert to get clean looks at the bucket and rack up easy assists. More importantly, the Cavs have also gone all-in on acquiring perimeter scoring during the offseason, giving LeVert proper spacing to attack the basket or pull up from the midrange. If the shot isn't there, he can easily kick it out to a teammate sitting in the corner as the opposing defenses collapse on him.
The vision is there for LeVert to act as Cleveland's defacto backup point guard this upcoming season. It also helps that last season, as Bickerstaff noted, LeVert stepped into any role the team needed him for and succeeded. This is just another instance of the Cavs leaning on LeVert's malleability as a player. If LeVert succeeds as the team's backup point guard, it should be a permanent wrinkle in their game plan, even if Rubio were to ever return.
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