Dion Waiters Won't Have Much Time to Completely Change His Game
Entering the 2014-15 season, it was widely assumed that Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Dion Waiters would have to re-evaluate his game.
During his first two NBA seasons, Waiters became known as an excellent reserve scorer. He took defenders off the dribble and got to the basket with relative ease.
The knock on Waiters, however, is that he would often sacrifice rhythm and flow of the offense to create his own scoring opportunities. Too often, teammates would be stuck watching him engage defenders in isolation plays, many times resulting in low-percentage shots.
Waiters finished the 2013-14 season with an impressive 15.9 points per game primarily as the Cavs' sixth man, but he did so on just 43.3 percent shooting from the field. His pull-up game, despite yielding just a 38.7 percent success rate, was a move Waiters went to a whopping 39.4 percent of the time, via NBA.com/Stats.
Surely, he would have to change this playing style next to guys like LeBron James and Kevin Love, right?
"Not really," Waiters told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group this preseason. "I've been able to play my game. I've been able to attack when I want to, shoot when I want to shoot. So, nothing has really changed. We've been jelling well because everybody knows their roles. As long as we take care of what we need to take care of we'll be fine."
No disrespect towards Waiters, but he's wrong.
Although he remains a part of the loaded Cavaliers' starting unit for now, Waiters must make some major changes quick or once again find himself moved to the bench, or worse.
A Rocky Start
Although it's been just two games, Waiters is struggling to adapt to his new role.
Despite averaging 32 minutes, Waiters has responded with 9.5 points, 1.5 assists, 36.8 percent shooting from the floor and a 5.5 PER. His usage percentage has dropped from 26.9 percent last season to just 17.1 percent so far.
Waiters has always possessed extreme confidence in his game, something that helped get him to this level.
That being said, Waiters needs to realize his role on this team. He's now the fourth-best offensive option on the Cavs starting five, a far cry from a season ago.
Even sharing the court with a player like James hasn't affected Waiters' bravado, nor his wanting to take the last shot.
While this would be fine should he be starting for a team like the Philadelphia 76ers with few offensive weapons, Waiters has to accept a limited amount of shots with the Cavs.
No longer can he halt the team's offensive flow for his own personal stats. Waiters must adjust to a Danny Green-like role, constantly moving, coming off screens and knocking down open shots.
During the fourth quarter and overtime of an Oct. 31 114-108 win against the Chicago Bulls, Waiters found himself watching from the sideline. Coach David Blatt decided to ride second-year backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova over the 2012 fourth-overall pick. Blatt had been barking at Waiters earlier in the game over his defensive effort and didn't hesitate yanking him from the game's most critical moments.
Chris Haynes of the NEOMG also touched on Waiters' benching in his recent online chat:
"I think Blatt felt like he couldn't trust Waiters to close that particular game out. He said afterwards that he trust Delly, which speaks volumes. We're going to see that during the course of the year with Dion. Similar to how Blatt is going to approach Andy and Tristan, he's going to gauge how Dion is meshing with the group before he decides to play him when it matters.
"
Waiters may not be in Blatt's doghouse, but it doesn't appear the first-year coach is too happy with the way his shooting guard is performing thus far.
Team Balance
No definitive statements should be made about the Cavaliers two games into the season.
OK, so maybe just this one: The team's going to need better production from the bench.
Here's how Cleveland's reserve core ranks after the season's first week, per HoopsStats.com:
| Cavs' Bench | MIN | PTS | AST | STL | 3PM | FG% |
| Stat | 14.4 | 16.0 | 5.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 41.2 |
| NBA Rank | 26 | 30 | 24 | 30 | 29 | 19 |
Coach Blatt has ridden his starters extensively, even more than he planned to do entering the season. James, Love and Kyrie Irving are all averaging at least 39 minutes per night.
Looking at Cleveland's reserve core, Blatt should already be itching to move Waiters back to the second unit.
The Cavs have primarily used Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson with 20 combined minutes of Shawn Marion and Mike Miller sprinkled in during their first two games. All of them bring certain skills to the table, but none can create instant offense for themselves or others.
Waiters would be perfect in this role, where he could command the ball a little more often.
Cleveland has plenty of scoring with James, Love and Irving in the starting five. It can't be concerned with how many shots Waiters is getting, nor should it be. A player like Miller would be a far better complement, someone who excels without the ball in his hands and can space the floor.
Looking Ahead
All the little imperfections of a team can be easily covered up by winning. Drop a few games, however, and those faults quickly come to light.
The longer Cleveland keeps winning, the longer Waiters may get to remain a starter even if his poor play continues. Should the Cavs stumble early, he'll be an easy target to cast blame upon.
Peeking ahead to the Cavs' next week of games, some challenges certainly arise.
For one, Cleveland is continuing its road trip out West, never an easy task for an Eastern Time Zone club. The Cavs begin Tuesday in Portland against the Trail Blazers, with road games against the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets upcoming. That string of contests is followed by a home duel against Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 10.
By that time, we should have a good idea of where Waiters' future is headed.
Leverage
Not many former No. 4 overall picks find themselves trying to just play the 3-and-D role, but that's exactly what the Cavaliers need from Waiters.
If he can't do it, there's plenty of other players in the association who can.
Unfortunately for Waiters, he doesn't have a lot of leverage right now.
While the past few years were more focused on player development and building a strong core, the signing of James changed all that.
Suddenly, Cleveland became championship contenders. Yes, individual players still matter, but they're expected to make sacrifices for the betterment of the team.
With all the talk about Love and Irving having to accept lesser roles next to James, Waiters has often become forgotten. The Cavaliers have to worry about keeping James, Love and Irving satisfied with their shot attempts. If Waiters gets his, that's simply an added bonus at this point.
There remains one key difference between Waiters and the Cavs' core three: money.
Irving has already earned a five-year max contract extension, one that will likely go above $90 million. James and Love have accomplished enough in their careers to garner max contracts of their own, ones that general manager David Griffin won't wait long to offer this summer.
For Waiters, his value is very much in question.
Alec Burks of the Utah Jazz just signed a four-year, $42 million extension. Klay Thompson got $70 million over four years from the Golden State Warriors. Ability-wise, Waiters likely ranks somewhere between the two.
If he can prove to be a perfect complement in the starting lineup with fantastic defense, floor spacing and smart shot attempts, the Cavs would be happy to give him a healthy contract extension.
If not, things could get ugly.
Waiters likely feels he's worth star money, but his role on the Cavaliers won't lead to such a payday. A trade request could ultimately come if the two sides can't agree on monetary figures.
For now, Waiters needs to adjust his game in a hurry.
Cleveland needs him to change if it plans on winning a title in the near future. Waiters actually needs to do less, something not often asked of a 22-year-old fourth-overall pick.
This next week of basketball will be key to Waiters' role, and future, with the team.
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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