Cavs Roll Out Crowded Two-Big Lineup Around James Harden Against Timberwolves

The Cleveland Cavaliers are rolling out a starting five that sounds like a 2K MyTeam experiment gone wrong. According to Underdog NBA, Cleveland will start James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen on Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Starting two non-shooting bigs next to Harden is certainly a choice. Harden has spent the bulk of his career thriving in perfectly spaced, five-out offenses where he can dribble the air out of the ball before kicking to an open shooter. Now, he gets to operate in a paint more crowded than a Spirit Airlines boarding line.

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The spacing around the Harden-Mitchell backcourt is going to be incredibly tight. Evan Mobley is shooting just 30.4 percent from deep, and Jarrett Allen’s shooting range ends exactly where the restricted area begins. Throwing Peyton Watson into the mix on the wing means the Cavaliers are prioritizing size and defense over giving their guards room to breathe.

Head coach Kenny Atkinson is betting that Harden’s basketball IQ can solve this geometry problem. The Cavs are sitting at 1-1 with a negative net rating, and they are about to test this supersized lineup against an undefeated Minnesota squad that currently sits at 3-0.

If you are looking at player props tonight, expect a lot of congested pick-and-roll traffic and potentially some deflated assist numbers for Harden until they figure out the spacing. We will see if this two-big experiment actually holds up against a real Western Conference contender, or if Atkinson is forced to stagger his frontcourt before halftime.