Breaking Down Cleveland Cavaliers' Point Guard Position for 2014-15 Season
Kyrie Irving leads the Cleveland Cavaliers' point guard attack into the 2014-15 season, but who will be around to back him up?
Irving's abilities are well-documented. After three years in the league and a recent breakout at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, we've got a good idea of what Irving brings to the table.
While that's nice and all, who's going to provide him with some relief during games or—heaven forbid—if Irving continues to miss games with injury issues?
Jarrett Jack is gone but will hardly be missed. Dion Waiters can run the point at times but will receive most of his minutes at shooting guard.
Here's how the Cavaliers' point guard position stacks up heading into the new season.
Last Season's Results
Like he's been doing for the past three years, Irving started at point guard for the Cavaliers.
While many expected him to take the next step, Irving actually saw a drop in many of his offensive categories. His scoring, field-goal percentage, three-point percentage and PER all took a hit.
A possible explanation? Playing in a Mike Brown isolation-heavy offense.
Brown often employed the "get the ball to Kyrie and let him make a play" play. Unfortunately, this often resulted in a tightly-contested jumper or double-teamed "I just need to get a shot up before the clock runs out" type of heave.
Despite shooting better than 39 percent on three-pointers during his first two seasons, Irving dropped to just 35.8 percent last year.
Make any assumption you want. His shot mechanics didn't really change, but the offense was definitely not as player friendly as it was under Byron Scott.
The good news for Irving going into last season was that, for the first time, he would have a reliable veteran behind him.
Jarrett Jack was inked to a four-year, $25 million contract that seemed like a good deal at the time. Jack was coming off a fantastic season with the Golden State Warriors, helping guide them to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. His leadership was praised, as was his work with young guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Surely he would do more of the same with Irving and Waiters, right?
Well, somewhere on the trip from Oakland to Cleveland, Jack must have lost a step. His scoring fell from 12.9 points on 45.2 percent shooting to 9.5 on 41 percent.
Yes, one could also blame this on Brown's offense, but what about Jack's sudden change in playing style?
Instead of working to get his teammates involved and mentor the younger players, Jack often looked to get his own shots. His assist percentage of 22.7 was the lowest since his 2008-09 campaign with the Indiana Pacers.
New GM David Griffin was quick to erase the previous regime's mistake and shipped Jack off to the Brooklyn Nets this summer in a cap-space-clearing move.
If there was a bright spot to the point guard position, it was the play of undrafted rookie Matthew Dellavedova.
While his season statistics of 4.7 points and 2.6 assists seems rather insignificant, one can't put a value on Dellavedova based on numbers alone. At 6'4" and 200 pounds, Dellavedova is often one of the smallest players on the floor, yet has made a big impact on the Cavaliers.
When the Cavs needed a defensive boost or just a new breath of energy, Dellavedova came through. An Australian native, Dellavedova was the heart of the St. Mary's basketball program during his four years there.
Cleveland had a plus-4.3 net rating per 100 possessions with Delly on the court compared to minus-6.9 with him off, via 82games.com. He gladly moved the ball, found open guys and knocked down three-pointers when needed.
Here's where the Cavs point guards ranked collectively in seven key categories, via Hoopsstats.com:
| Cavs PGs | PTS | AST | STL | TO | FG% | 3P% | PA |
| Stat | 23.6 | 8.1 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 42.9 | 36.1 | 20.5 |
| Rank | 8 | 21 | 16 | T-9 | 11 | 13 | 10 |
Cleveland remained pretty average across the board, finishing the highest in scoring and ball-handling thanks to Irving and Dellavedova. Jack's poor shooting numbers and failure to pass efficiently helped prevent the Cavs from finishing in the top third of the league in those categories.
While Jack was moved this offseason, Irving and Dellavedova return.
Grade: B+
To Be Decided
Some new faces will join the point guard rotation for training camp. Whether or not they make it farther than that remains to be seen.
Accompanying Irving and Dellavedova for camp will be veterans John Lucas III, A.J. Price and undrafted rookie Chris Crawford.
Lucas III, 31, has played in six NBA seasons for the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz. He came to the Cavaliers via a trade for forward Carrick Felix this summer. His $1.6 million contract for the 2014-15 season is completely non-guaranteed, per Spotrac.com, making Lucas III a prime trade or cut candidate.
Price's signing was first reported by Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
"The Cavs will bring veteran point guard A.J. Price to training camp. He played in only 28 games for Minnesota last season, and saw little action. The 6-foot-2 Price has played in 235 NBA games, averaging 5.9 points and shooting .381 from the field for his career.
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Collecting most of his pro experience as the Washington Wizards' starting point guard to begin the 2012-13 season (while John Wall rehabbed from a knee injury), Price may be the most likely to make the Cavs' final roster. He's 27 and has filled in admirably at times in the league.
Crawford will join the Cavs after failing to hear his named called on draft night.
After four years at Memphis, he's a longshot to make the team but has some intangibles that could earn a spot in the D-League. At 6'4", Crawford has terrific defensive potential as a point guard. His shot mechanics definitely need some work, even after a strong showing with the Houston Rockets' summer league team.
With 20 players invited to camp, the Cavs will need to cut five before the season officially starts.
Unfortunately, this position appears to be a prime candidate for cuts. Don't be surprised if Cleveland releases two (or three) of these three point guards, as they certainly won't want five floor generals on the roster.
This Year's Rotation
Obviously, a healthy dose of Irving will be needed.
After taking a step back last season under Brown, Irving needs to raise his game to the next level.
Excuses can no longer be made about coaches or surrounding talent. Irving won't have to lead by himself anymore, but shouldn't step out of the spotlight completely, either.
An ideal stat line for Irving would be somewhere around 18 points, eight assists and a three-point percentage back around 39 percent or higher. While Irving will no longer have to score 20-plus points a game with LeBron James and Kevin Love around, his assist total should rise significantly.
With his new superstar teammates drawing their share of attention, Irving should find himself with plenty of open looks. Expect his field-goal and three-point percentages to rebound quite nicely.
Irving logged 35.2 minutes a game last season, which should be right on par for what's expected of him this year.
Dellavedova has also earned regular playing time. Cleveland needs his defense, especially with Irving's struggles on that end of the floor. Dellavedova has already begun to establish a reputation as a pest on defense, as noted by Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal:
Offensively, Dellavedova should carry over the same responsibilities he shouldered a season ago. Move the ball, set guys up and knock down the open three. With all the talent on the roster, at no point should Dellavedova be higher than the fourth scoring option on the court for the Cavaliers.
The Cavs should give him at least 10 minutes a night, even more when they need a spark.
As for the three fighting for a roster spot? It's tough to tell right now. Lucas III has the most experience, Crawford the most raw talent and Price falls somewhere in between.
Honestly, with Irving, James, Waiters and Dellavedova as ball-handlers, it doesn't matter which one, if any, make the team. None will see regular minutes with the Cavs, barring any major health issues.
After signing a five-year, $90 million max extension this summer, the pressure is on Irving to earn his pay.
With a new coach, offensive system and upgraded roster, the Cavaliers point guards should enjoy a prosperous 2014-15 season.
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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