The NBA playoffs are approaching with a couple days left in the regular season. As the playoffs near, teams are preparing to fill in their rosters because they have only a few days remaining to turn in their official post-season rosters.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have had an open roster spot ever since the trade deadline and have been searching for the right player to fill in the gap. When the Cavaliers traded Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Iman Shumpert, and Channing Frye at the deadline, it was rumored they would sign Kendrick Perkins.
In fact, the seasoned Big Man made a post on social media about signing with the Cavs, but it never happened and the post was deleted.
The Cavaliers fill in their final roster spot with veteran big
Now, the Cavaliers have indeed signed the veteran big man to complete their post-season roster. Perkins, who played part of the season in the G-League, was on the Cavs’ preseason roster but was released. He was also part of Cleveland’s playoff roster in 2015, playing eight post-season games and averaging 1.3 points and 1.1 rebounds in 4.1 minutes per contest.
The big man was last in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans, playing 37 games and earning five starts during the 2015-2016 season. He averaged 2.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game that year.
Signing Perkins doesn’t necessarily mean that the Cavaliers will use him in their regular rotation. He will most likely not see any minutes at all, unless they are short on big men due to injuries. Perkins has always been known as a great locker room guy, which is the main reason Cleveland is bringing him back. He brings veteran leadership and does an excellent job of mentoring the younger players.
Cleveland’s rotation for the playoffs
Last week, the Cavaliers announced that Jeff Green will be starting in the frontcourt with LeBron James and Kevin Love. That would leave Tristan Thompson to come off the bench, along with Kyle Korver and Larry Nance Jr. Meanwhile, in the backcourt, the Cavaliers will have George Hill and Rodney Hood, with Jose Calderon and J.R.
Smith coming off the bench, giving the team a perfect 10-man rotation. If needed, the Cavs will dig deeper into the bench to use Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic.
The Cavaliers have been playing better basketball of late, but are currently pursuing the third seed after falling to fourth with a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. Their roster and rotations are set, as the playoffs will begin Saturday, April 14.
