Tristan Thompson or Anderson Varejao: Who's the Best Bet at Center for Cavs?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are just weeks away from their opener against the New York Knicks yet still have to figure out who exactly will start for them at center.
Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao can both make an argument for the job. Coach David Blatt has flip-flopped the two this preseason, with Thompson starting the Wine and Gold Scrimmage and against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Varejao's turn came in his home country of Brazil against the Miami Heat, and again while playing the Milwaukee Bucks in Cleveland.
Despite the regular season quickly approaching, Blatt doesn't appear to be in a hurry to make a decision, telling Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal: "I don’t think we have to choose anybody. If one guy has played 26 minutes and another guy plays 32 minutes or they play 28 and 30, it doesn’t make a difference. They’re both equally effective and they both mix and match well with the other players out there."
Both Thompson and Varejao are revered for their rebounding, defense and hustle. With Kevin Love entrenched at power forward, both do a nice job of complementing his offensive-minded game.
While Blatt may not think it's important, eventually he'll have to make a choice.
Here's how Thompson and Varejao stack up, and who ultimately gives the Cavaliers the best chance to win starting in the middle.
Size
No other position is more size-dependent than center.
Offensively, a team can get away with an undersized 5, especially if they can step out of the paint and knock down shots. Defensively, however, a team needs to have someone big enough to help cover the 7-plus-foot behemoths of the league.
According to a study by Business Insider, the average NBA center stood 6'11" in 2013-14. The average power forward came in at just over 6'9".
This is potentially bad news for Thompson, who some believed to be undersized even when playing the 4.
Measuring in at 6'8.5" inches coming out of college, Thompson lacks the traditional build of a center. He is aided by a 7'1" wingspan, although it hasn't translated to blocked shots (0.4 a game last season).
In a recent interview with Cavs.com beat writer Joe Gabriele, Thompson said that he's now up to 6'10" and 245 pounds, an increase of around 20 pounds from his rookie year.
Despite his recent summer growth spurt, Thompson still can't stand up to his Brazilian teammate.
Varejao has the superior frame for the 5 spot. The official team website lists him at 6'11" and 267 pounds.
According to the Business Insider survey, Varejao is exactly on point with the average NBA center, while Thompson gives up an inch.
Advantage: Varejao
Experience
Other then a stretch of games late in his rookie year, Thompson has almost exclusively played power forward.
In 224 games, he's lined up at center just 12 percent of the time overall, and just one percent a season ago. Despite this inexperience, Thompson feels like switching to center could actually give him an advantage, via Gabriele of Cavs.com:
"I think playing the 5 is an advantage for me. I’m much quicker than a lot of the other centers in our league. So, I’ll give them havoc and at the same time, I’ve got stronger over the summer where I can guard the 5’s and body up against them.
And if you look at it, our league is changing. You don’t really have the prototypical centers anymore – like the Shaqs, the Ewings, the Mutombos. Everyone’s more mobile and athletic, so a 4 or 5 in this league isn’t as big a difference.
"
Varejao has undergone a similar position change.
As a floppy-haired hustler coming up with the Cavaliers from 2004-10, Varejao played a lot of power forward since Cleveland already had Zydrunas Ilgauskas starting in the middle.
After Ilgauskas left before the 2010-11 season, Varejao was forced to move to center due to the team's lack of depth (and talent) at the position.
The change has paid off well for him.
Over the past four years, Varejao has started 110 of his 146 games, all at center. During this time he's averaged 9.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 30.7 minutes a game.
Given their difference in age (32 to 23), it's clear Varejao gets the nod in experience.
He's also been a key piece of 71 playoff games, something Thompson is yet to experience.
Advantage: Varejao
Production
Cleveland doesn't need Varejao or Thompson to put up 20 points a night and carry the team on a regular basis.
With LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters all looking like starters, whoever begins the game at center may rarely get to score at all.
The Cavs need someone who can rebound, defend and block shots. The ability to pass and get others involved wouldn't be a bad idea, either.
Here's how Varejao and Thompson's numbers stacked up against each other from a season ago, per 36 minutes of play.
| 2013-14 | REB | OREB | BLK | AST | FG% | PER | oPER* |
| Varejao | 12.6 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 49.5 | 17.0 | 17.1 |
| Thompson | 10.5 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 47.7 | 14.9 | 17.4 |
*denotes opponent PER, via 82games.com; PER via Basketball-Reference.com
When we even out the playing time, it becomes evident that Varejao was the superior player a season ago. He bests or ties Thompson in all seven key categories the Cavs will need from their centers this year.
One notable complaint: Neither is a capable shot-blocker. Seriously, just 1.3 combined blocks in 36 minutes together?
However, let's examine this preseason thus far.
Despite getting outplayed by Varejao last season, it's Thompson that's been the more effective performer in the early going.
With an average of 12.6 points and 10.3 rebounds in just 23.3 minutes a game, Thompson has looked strong in his new role.
Varejao is putting up 8.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in 20 minutes a night.
While Thompson is outperforming Varejao so far this preseason, one has to take the body of work last year over a sample of just three games this fall.
Advantage: Varejao
Durability
One major factor for both Varejao and Thompson is durability.
Thompson has missed just six games in thee years and none since his rookie campaign. He's been a model of consistency and reliability in the Cavaliers' starting rotation since the 2011-12 season.
Varejao? Well, not so much.
While last season's 65 games was an encouraging sign, Varejao has still missed a whopping 166 contests in the past four years.
Mike Brown did a nice job limiting Varejao's workload last year. His 27.7 minutes a game were the fewest since the 2009-10 season.
Despite already missing a preseason game with a sore shoulder, Thompson is by far the more durable choice for the Cavaliers.
Advantage: Thompson
Starter, Minute Distribution
Right now, Varejao is the best bet for the Cavs at center to begin the season.
That being said, there's no way he should be receiving more minutes than Thompson.
An ideal plan for coach Blatt would be to start Varejao against other team's big men, as he's the superior defender with better size. Thompson should then come off the bench after Varejao has tried his best to wear down the likes of Roy Hibbert, Al Horford, Joakim Noah and other top conference centers.
From that point on, Thompson can use his fresh legs and athleticism to beat guys to rebounds, putbacks and tip-ins.
When Love needs a breather, Blatt could either move James down to the 4 or switch Thompson there while bringing Varejao back in at center.
Thompson's versatility means he's better suited for big minutes off the bench. Blatt can use him at either post spot, whereas Varejao has primarily become a center.
The Cavs have to keep Varejao around 20-25 minutes a night in order to squeeze as many games as possible out of him. Thompson, despite coming off the bench, should still be collecting close to the 31.6 minutes he received a season ago.
For now, Varejao should be Cleveland's starter, with Thompson serving as their more highly used big.
Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers for Bleacher Report since 2010. Connect with him on Twitter for more basketball news and conversation.
All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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