How vital is the Cavs’ backup point guard role?

Well, even the backup point guard job is pretty similar to the third big.

You know how we've talked in the past about the Cavs really don't have a lot of value to the third big.

And that guy is just more like behind the scenes and chemistry type guy and locker room lieutenant.

And the reason why they don't have great value to that particular position and a reason why that they haven't invested in that particular spot in the past is because of what they already have on the roster.

And the way that the Cavs view it is, well, technically, Jared Allen is the starting center and Evan Mobley is the backup center.

So why do we have to invest and why do we have to go out and make sure that we have a reliable, a consistent third big when our two bigs are some of our most important players, our highest paid players? So so many fans have gotten so annoyed by the fact that the Cavs kind of ignore this spot on the roster.

But the way that they look at it is what they already have.

And I think it's similar when it comes to this this backup point guard job.

Now, this this has to play itself out.

And there are a lot of things that are going to go into this.

But I think first and foremost, the Cavs are saying, do we really need a prototypical backup point guard? James Harden is going to dominate the ball.

Donovan Mitchell is going to dominate the ball.

We're going to stagger those two guys at various points.

So when James is off the floor, the ball is going to be in the hands of Donovan because we trust him the most because he's our best offensive engine and he's our best source of playmaking, shot making and creation.

And then there's obviously a plan to get Evan Mobley more involved.

Let's increase his touches.

Let's increase his involvement.

Let's increase his shot attempts.

So if you have somebody that is going to be that involved offensively, you ask yourself, OK, if we're looking for a second unit stabilizer or we're looking for a backup point guard, what do we need out of that particular spot? Do we need ball handling? Do we need shot creation? Do we need scoring? Or is it more about what they bring on the defensive end of the floor? Is it more about what they do off the ball? And I think it's been interesting throughout the course of the last couple of weeks just to kind of get a sense from President of Basketball Operations Kobe Altman, Kenny Atkinson and a lot of the players about the way that they view the backup point guard spot based on their roster construction is probably not the same way that other teams around the NBA view it.

And it's certainly not the same way that the Cavs viewed it before they acquired James Harden.

You know, because at the time of last season, as it was going on and they were looking at the way that their roster was set up, they started to feel like they needed a more reliable, a more consistent, a steadier presence to anchor that second unit.

And that's part of the reason why they went out and got Dennis Schroeder.

But given everything else that's already on this roster and the way that they want things to run with both the starting group and the second unit, it seems like to me, Ethan, that the thing that may separate this cluster of guys is who can bring it most on the defensive end of the floor, who can guard their position, who can do all these other little things that sometimes go way beyond what you would expect from the prototypical backup point guard.

And the interesting thing about it is You know, when you think Craig Porter Jr, yeah, you think the blocks and you think the steals and the deflections and stuff like that, but you also wonder, you know, does he have the physicality to hold up at the point of attack? When you think about Malik Thomas, you think about the pure shooting stroke, you think about the offensive prowess.

Yeah, he's a competitive dude, but he's also 20 years old.