Dean Wade will start in Cavs’ opener
Wade will start in place of the injured Max Strus.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will reportedly start Dean Wade in place of Max Strus (OUT - Ankle) for their season opener against the Toronto Raptors according to Chris Fedor of cleveland.com. Wade started in 32 games last season, and the Cavaliers went 21-11 in those games.
Wade provides two-way value as a 6’9” defensive wing who shoots 37% from three for his career. He hasn’t always been the most reliable in terms of availability and production, but this season could be a different story. Head coach Kenny Atkinson plans to push Wade out of his comfort zone. Inserting him into the starting lineup is the first indication of this.
“Yeah, he needs to shoot more,” Atkinson said about Wade. “Let that thing ride, let that thing go. I just think he doesn’t know how good a shooter he is.”
An increase in volume without sacrificing efficiency would make Wade a premier role player in today’s NBA, given his defensive skillset. Wade’s one of the best isolation defenders and the Cavs finished in the 100th percentile when he shared the floor with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley last season.
Starting Wade next to the core four could be a revelation. This lineup thrashed opponents with a net rating of +20.8 in their limited sample size during the 2022-23 season. But they didn’t even register enough minutes together in the 2023-24 campaign for the tracking data to appear. We never got an answer to the long-term viability of this lineup — Atkinson will likely remedy that.
This isn’t to knock Strus, who has been a fantastic addition to the Cavaliers. His three-point volume has filled a much-needed gap in the starting lineup. But if Wade is successful in his place — the fit of this roster makes more sense. Strus has been playing above his weight class at small forward and would have an easier time reverting to his traditional role as a shooting guard.
Strus is sidelined with an ankle sprain for at least the next six weeks. That gives ample runway for Wade to prove whether or not he can hang with the starters. With the season opener just hours away, let’s do this thing.