Cleveland Cavaliers: Is DeAndre Liggins the Answer?
January 16, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard DeAndre Liggins (14) dribbles the basketball against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 126-91. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been at their best when DeAndre Liggins is on the floor. They should consider starting him until J.R. Smith recovers.
The Cavs’ starting lineup hasn’t been at its best without J.R. Smith. Smith has the perfect skillset to accompany a starting lineup featuring LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Smith provides solid defense and hustle with the ability to spot up and hit open 3’s.
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Cleveland hasn’t been the same since Smith went out with a thumb injury in December. Smith missing the entire month of January was a large part of why the Cavs finished that month with a losing record. Oddly enough, there could be another reason why the Cavs struggled in January.
Iman Shumpert is having an outstanding season. He is showing the ability to hit 3 pointers on a consistent basis. He is shooting .402% from 3 which includes an outstanding .440% from corner 3’s. Shumpert has been showing that he can be the player that we all hoped he could be when he came over from New York.
That being said, he shouldn’t necessarily be in the starting lineup. The Cavs are 7-5 in games that Shumpert has started. The normal starting lineup of Irving, Shumpert, James, Love, and Thompson has a net plus/minus rating of +4.1 per 100 possessions.
They also have a positive effective field goal percentage over their opponents per 100 possessions of +.017%. Those are solid numbers, but they don’t really seem to be as high as they should be considering the fact there are three all-stars on the floor at the same time.
Dec 14, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard DeAndre Liggins (14) drives against Memphis Grizzlies forward Jarell Martin (1) in the second half at FedExForum. Memphis defeated Cleveland 93-85. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
How Liggins Impacts as a Starter
Conversely the Cavs are 11-5 when DeAndre Liggins is in the starting lineup in place of Shumpert. The five man lineup of Irving, Liggins, James, Love, and Thompson are the Cavs most effective five man unit by a mile. They are a +34.2 per 100 possessions over their opponents.
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To put that in perspective, the next closest Cavs’ lineup is a +19.8 points over their opponent per 100 possessions. To put it in even more perspective, the Warriors’ starting lineup last year during their historic regular season was a +13.2 per 100 possessions. Obviously this was done in about 400 more minutes played than the Cavs’ lineup with Liggins.
The starting lineup with Liggins also has a better effective field goal percentage than their opponents by +.108% per 100 possessions. This isn’t necessarily a small sample size either. This lineup has played over 150 minutes on the floor together.
Oddly enough, LeBron has been at his best this year when he’s on the floor with Liggins. The Cavs have outscored their opponent by 12.2 points per 100 possessions when James and Liggins are on the floor together.
Oct 18, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard DeAndre Liggins (14) against the Washington Wizards at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. The Wizards won 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The Limitations of Liggins
Liggins has many limitations offensively. He isn’t a particularly good shooter, even though he is shooting a solid .440% on corner 3’s. Liggins doesn’t finish at the rim very well, .511% in the restricted area, and doesn’t have a midrange game at all, .200% on midrange shots. However, he does bring defense and energy that isn’t otherwise in the lineup. A lineup with Irving, James, and Love doesn’t lack scoring, but it can lack defense.
Shumpert is a good defender, but he isn’t as solid of a defender as Liggins. Shumpert also provides vital scoring to the second unit that Liggins can’t provide.
Shumpert injured his ankle in the game Monday night in Washington. He is expected to miss the Cavaliers’ next two games in Indiana and Oklahoma City. This should give us a chance to see if the Cavs solid play with Liggins in the lineup continues. If it does, Liggins should be in the starting lineup until Smith’s return.
Basketball is a results based business. When Liggins is on the floor, the Cavs are getting the right results.
All stats were taken from basketball-reference.com.