No surprise here, the newest Cavalier signing and reunited second banana to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade will be starting at shooting guard for the Cavaliers this season.
Tyronn Lue says he has named Dwyane Wade his starting shooting guard to start the season. J.R. Smith will come off the bench.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 9, 2017
According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, Rose will start at point guard with Thomas’s absence, but will leave the game early and come back in with the second unit to accommodate Wade’s addition to the team.
While Wade is far more accomplished player than J.R. Smith and frankly still better, even at the age of 35, it doesn’t really make much sense schematically for Wade to be starting in lieu of Smith as he is a better three-point shooter and defender, the kind of guy you want to surround LeBron James with. That is especially true when your point guard in Derrick Rose who is not a good three-point shooter either.
Wade is a superstar player while not on that level anymore and has played alongside LeBron James better than anyone in LeBron’s illustrious career so it makes sense for the Cavaliers to maximize their time on the court together.
Wade should be rejuvenated and add another injection of basketball experience, I.Q. and leadership to the team on and off the court and the Cavaliers are better overall now that they have him.
The Cavaliers have a lot to figure to make their pieces work, but it should be fun to watch and most NBA fans should be grateful to LeBron and Wade team up for one more season.
