NBA Opening Night: What to watch for in each match-up
By Joshua Mayer
Cavaliers: Bench Usage
As the defending champion, one led by the best player in the game with mostly the same players surrounding him, the Cavs do not have many question marks. At the same time, the NBA season is a grueling one that stretches 82 games. How Tyronn Lue monitors his starters’ minutes over his first full year will be something to keep an eye on. It can be expected that the former NBA guard will use his bench heavily to keep his starters fresh for the stretch run, but how exactly the bench will be used will be very interesting.
Cleveland currently has a second round rookie, Kay Felder, and an over the hill Birdman as its backup point guard and center respectively. Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and newcomer Mike Dunleavy are sure to get minutes, but a nine man rotation will not fly all year, especially when those reserves are a combined 131 years of age. Other reserves include sharpshooting yet old James Jones, as well as youngsters Deandre Liggins and Jordan McRae, who do not even have a full season of NBA experience combined.
It can be expected that Frye will be the first big off the bench, and then one of Shumpert, Jefferson, or Dunleavy will come with him. But will Felder be running the offense when Kyrie Irving sits, or will some combo of veteran wings run the offense? Will the team run with three bigs for the majority of games with LeBron playing more power forward, or will Chris Andersen play substantial minutes? Keep an eye out for the minute distribution of the Cavs bench if this game is close, as it can be a big clue to how the bench will play out all year.
Bonus to watch: Amount of times TNT flashes back to LeBron’s block and Kyrie’s shot.