After seven preseason games, two trips to southern Ohio and one to South America, about all the questions the Cavaliers had heading into Thursday’s opener have been answered. Even with the Cavaliers’ “maintenance” program – resting vets to keep them fresh for the season – the starting lineup has stayed relatively static.
The only starting position that’s been in-flux through the exhibition season has been the center spot – where Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson (and Brendan Haywood for a game) have split time.
Andy started five preseason contests, Tristan started two. Both performed well in either role – starting or in reserve. Tristan led the squad in rebounding at 9.2 boards per contest. Andy averaged 6.3 rpg. Tristan averaged 13.2 ppg, Andy was right behind at 9.5.
David Blatt didn’t seem overly concerned about the discrepancy.
“For me, they’re both starters,” said Blatt. “One’s going to begin the game, the other isn’t.”
In Andy’s three truncated seasons before 2013-14, he started all 81 games he played in. But last season, he started just 29 of his 65 appearances. Varejao moved to the second unit when Cleveland acquired Spencer Hawes at the Deadline. Tristan started the final 28 games of his rookie season at center, but moved to his natural position of power forward over the past two. He hasn’t missed a single start in two straight seasons and hasn’t missed a single game in the last 206.
Blatt insisted that both bigs will start at different points of the season and, if Andy does get the start, is as much about “fit” as anything. And Varejao and LeBron James do work well together. LeBron maintained that the duo hasn’t missed a beat. “Like riding a bike,” James quipped.
“(Thompson and Varejao) are both high energy guys; they’re very important components to our team,” added the four-time MVP. “One thing about Andy – he’s a veteran and he’s been a part of some big games. He really knows what’s going on at all times. So I think the seniority gets him the nod.
“(Andy)’s a guy who plays under the rim – who uses his touch and his quickness. And Tristan plays above the rim. So it’s great for those guys to complement each other. They both have the ability to rebound, their ability to finish around the rim. They just do it two different ways.”
Both guys are consummate team players and neither will grumble in whichever role works best. Andy’s about as low-maintenance as it gets; Tristan’s right there with him.
“Tristan’s one of the best guys out there,” praised Blatt. “Tristan wants to win. Tristan knows, if he’s coming in with the second wave, his job is gonna be just like it was if he was starting the game – and that’s to be Tristan: a rebounder, inside scorer and all-around-the court defender. And a guy you can really pair and match with any big man.”
Both bigs and the rest of the squad will take advantage of the extra practice days before the opener. As one of the NBA teams that traveled overseas during the exhibition season, they’ll need to get all the workout time they can get to immerse themselves in Coach Blatt’s system.
“We’ve only scratched the surface,” said Blatt. “We’ve tried to be pretty basic and pretty particular in terms of amount of the amount of things that we’re feeding them and the amount of changes we’re trying to implement. That will come with time. This is a veteran group, for the most part. I don’t think the right thing to do is to reinvent the wheel. We have to work our way into different things and at the same time, get good at things guys are comfortable with.”
They’ll continue to do so, with an eye on New York and the home opener less than a week away.