Even Cleveland Cavaliers Role Players Have All-Star Potential

The Cleveland Cavaliers have superstars, but even some of the role players should be viewed as potential NBA All-Stars later this season.

If I were to tell you that the Cavs have players that are capable of an all-star bid you would nod your head in agreement. Now if i said that those players dont have the number 23, 2, or 0 on their back you may turn your head.

It’s no surprise that the Cleveland Cavaliers roster features a diverse set of players. This year though, could be the year we fill the All-star roster with Cavaliers jerseys.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a team that run efficiently on spreading the floor and having some of the best guards. What this means is we have players whose skill sets are very diverse. We have players in Kevin Love and Channing Frye who can storm the hoop with their size, but also take an outside shot.

This forces the defense to guard the 3-point line to avoid giving up an easy shot. This leaves the hole wide open for players such as Lebron James and Tristan Thompson. This Method works best when the offense is hitting their shots and forcing the big guys to step up. This method is obviously working considering the Cleveland Cavaliers have the best offensive rating in the NBA.

The reason why this works so well is because of those stand out players that make it happen. Like I said earlier this year is different because the “well oiled machine” seems to be running super smooth.

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Players such as Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, and Mike Dunleavy have helped make this happen. Lets start with Tristan Thompson, who made his case known last year. Tristan is a big threat on the boards and has the strength to take several second-chance shots.

Thompson has been a presence in paint. He gives the Cavs a lot of second-chance shots. Thompson is averaging 3.8 offensive rebounds per game through the first five contests. That ranks fourth in the NBA. His ability to crash the offensive glass helps keep drives alive and could help keep the Cavs in a lot of close games.

His ability to keep possessions going make Iman Shumpert and Mike Dunleavy bigger factors.

The two are mid-height forwards who pose a threat in the corners and from mid-range. When Thompson isn’t powering it back up he can kick it out to these two. With Thompson’s being a threat in the paint, it becomes all hands on deck when he goes up for a rebound. This leaves the corners open for those momentum changing 3-pointers.

With Thompson causing headaches for the opposition, the Shumpert, Dunleavy and J.R. Smith types should see a boost on the stat sheet.

With this scheme in play Dunleavy and Shump should see a rise in the stat sheet. They can end up with higher rebound totals and a lot of second-chance points while the Big 3 does their thing.

These players will be helping to keep a possesion going and help keep a lead. This will be huge, especially in the playoffs, when every possession counts.

Next: Cavs Fan Base One Of Best In The World

We could see these faces in the All-star game, but most importantly we could see them leading this team back to the franchise’s third consecutive Finals appearence.

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Even Cleveland Cavaliers Role Players Could Make All-Star Bid

By Jeremy Mcclung | Nov 5, 2016

The Cleveland Cavaliers have superstars, but even some of the role players should be viewed as potential NBA All-Stars later this season.

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