Cavs Top 3: J.B. Bickerstaff’s rotation a bust against Miami Heat

The Cleveland Cavaliers were doomed by a poor rotation against the Miami Heat.

The Cleveland Cavaliers choked away a must-win game against the Miami Heat on Tuesday, with a rotation that was poor from the start. The Cavs have been all over the place for the better part of the last month-plus. A lot of that had to do with injuries, sure, that’s part of it. The team has missed Donovan Mitchell, and Dean Wade for a while, Ricky Rubio just came back and Kevin Love has been dealing with issues all year.

But the other is rotation management. J.B. Bickerstaff’s offense and defensive schemes are next level. To have a defense as good as they do with Mitchell and Darius Garland starting? That’s impressive and while the offense isn’t perfect, it’s certainly better than they’ve had in years past.

Yet, the rotation management is what’s killing this team, and it’s only getting worse. Bickerstaff continually acts against his best interests by playing Caris LeVert over Cedi Osman, and last night was no exception. LeVert shot just 41% from the floor and was a liability on defense all night, putting up a putrid -19 BPM.

Osman, who played just seven minutes in the loss, was coming off of a major game, where he tied a career-high in points. As Osman is best when he’s able to develop a rhythm from game to game, it would make sense to give Osman 20-25 minutes in a follow-up outing. Instead, LeVert got 29 minutes off the bench.

That wasn’t the only head-scratching moment, either. There were a few, but the second most damning besides Osman’s usage was pulling Evan Mobley in the waning minutes. Mobley was yanked with 5:37 to go in the game, for Isaac Okoro. Now, Okoro isn’t the issue, the Cavs were looking to slow down the Heat’s offense, and Okoro makes sense during a tie game.

Yet, Bickerstaff yanked Mobley with Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and LeVert on the court. Why you would pull Mobley and not LeVert is certainly a conversation that needs to be had. LeVert isn’t a positive player on either side of the court either. He’s not providing the impact Bickerstaff thinks he is.

The rotation was why the the Cavs lost 100-97 on Tuesday. The Cavs have spoiled a great start and it may be time to start asking the question that we shouldn’t have to keep asking; is Bickerstaff the man to lead this team?

Cleveland Cavaliers top 3 vs. the Miami Heat

1 Point – Ricky Rubio

17 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, +6 BPM

2 Points – Darius Garland

31 minutes, 16 points, 5 assists, 1 steal

3 Points – Evan Mobley

38 minutes, 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, +16 BPM

Cavs Top 3 Seasonal Standings

1. Darius Garland – 61 Points
2. Donovan Mitchell –54 Points
3. Evan Mobley – 42 points
4. Cedi Osman –  34 points
5. Jarrett Allen – 32 points
6. Caris LeVert & Kevin Love – 20 Points
7. Isaac Okoro – 15 Points
8. Dean Wade – 4 Points
9. Ricky Rubio & Lamar Stevens & Raul Neto – 2 Points