Cavs Mailbag: Best Lineups Of J.B. Bickerstaff Era, Upcoming Schedule

Spencer Davies answers Cleveland Cavaliers' fans questions before facing the Philadelphia 76ers on the road Tuesday in NBA In-Season Tournament group play.

Welcome to Cavs Mailbag! In this daily mailbag, Spencer Davies will respond to fans’ curiosities surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the duration of the 2023-24 season. In order to submit yours, simply send your questions on X to @SpinDavies or via email at spindavies22@gmail.com.

After a perfect weekend at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and three straight wins, the Cavs had Monday off before traveling to Philadelphia for an NBA In-Season Tournament group-play matchup with the 76ers. 

Cleveland will be without Donovan Mitchell for the third consecutive contest with a hamstring injury. Isaac Okoro is going to miss his eighth straight as well, continuing to rest an ailing knee. Ty Jerome remains out with an ankle sprain too.

Let's get to your questions:

In your opinion what is/was the best five-man lineup the Cavs have put on the court since J.B. became head coach? - @gemdata

A thought-provoking question! There are a bunch that come to mind in the J.B. Bickerstaff era. Five-man units are tough to think about because of this team's injury history, so I'll go with combinations instead.

In terms of success, the original size-and-skill trio in the 2021-22 season truly popped. Having Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen out there together gave Cleveland an identity no other team (aside from the Toronto Raptors) dared try before it. They had so much length that opponents had so much difficulty scoring, which meant the Cavs didn't have to be perfect offensively. 

Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love and Cedi Osman's chemistry with each other in that season was short-lived in terms of how long they spent together, but fun to watch in the form of the "Cavalanche." That's probably the most exciting offensive-display group they had during that season. 

If you're asking about my personal favorites and not necessarily consistently successful, it was when Cleveland was sending out Larry Nance Jr., Andre Drummond and JaVale McGee together. It bogged games down, putting an emphasis on mucky, grimy basketball the way Bickerstaff liked it. It served as the blueprint for the aforementioned seven-foot three-man combo too. (Maybe I'm crazy, I'm sure not many others liked that lack of shooting altogether. I enjoy unorthodox things!)

Speaking from a more recent perspective concerning this particular team, the Cavs' most successful five-man units have involved Max Strus and Caris LeVert. Once the starters get to jelling, I'm sure they'll be up there as well. 

But right now, according to NBA.com, it's these three: 

• LeVert-Mitchell-Strus-Wade-Mobley (plus-31.1 net rating in 21 minutes)
• LeVert-Mitchell-Strus-Niang-Mobley (141.7 offensive rating in 30 minutes)
• Garland-Strus-Wade-Mobley-Allen (97.9 defensive rating in 23 minutes)

Nov 19, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) drives against Denver Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson (7) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

What does success record-wise look like in these next three or four games while we’re possibly without Donovan, Okoro and even Caris? Including Sunday's win, is it 2-2, 3-1, etc.? - @fungible1944

Well, with the Cavs going to Philly without Mitchell available, it's going to be tough to beat the Sixers. They did just beat the defending champs shorthanded, but that was at home. If they could get LeVert back, it would be a big boost. 

While Cleveland will go through the ringer this week and next, it will play all of its games at home after Tuesday. The Miami Heat will be on the schedule on the second night of a back-to-back, followed by a weekend back-to-back with the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors. Going .500 during that stretch, to me, would be a victory.

If the Cavs do that, they'll finish the homestand with a confident Atlanta Hawks team and a banged up Portland Trail Blazers bunch before a four-game road trip to start December. (Let's not forget, there will be In-Season Tournament games mixed in there as well at the beginning of the month.)

Regarding Craig Porter Jr. being on a two-way contract is another team allowed to sign him to a normal contact? - @mprugh

Nope! The Cavs have his rights outright. And even if Porter reaches his limit of games played — combined, two-way players are only allowed a total of 90 active games if a team isn't carrying a full 15-man roster — that won't be a worry.

What's curious to me: If Porter continues to be on this tear, would the team entertain converting his two-way contract to a standard NBA deal? It's probably too early to ask that, but it'll definitely be front of mind the more he plays and shines.