Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters crusade to start lasted all of three games.
David Blatt started bringing Waiters off the bench last week, and so far, it’s proven to be a success (he had 17 points in 24 minutes of burn against the Denver Nuggets in a road win Friday night.)
LeBron James, the Cavs’ de-facto GM and head coach, says it’s best for the team if Waiters’ is its sixth man.
Per the NOMG:
“For the best of the team, that should be Dion’s role,” James said. “Dion comes off the bench and brings us that scoring mentality but more than that, he brings us another defender off the bench, which we need. Someone that’s tough, someone that can guard one through three. It’s a new role, but it’s a good role for him.”
“I got to do whatever I got to do for the better of the team,” Waiters said. “If it’s starting, if it’s coming off the bench, if it’s the water boy, I got to do it. Whatever is best for the team.”
Waiters has had a different coach in each of his three seasons. Due to that instability, establishing a role hasn’t been easy for him, and it’s why Blatt made sure he went out of his way to praise the efforts of his scoring guard Friday night. […] “I thought he had a terrific game today, and I told him so in the locker room,” Blatt said. “Because he came in and did exactly what we needed him to do from the bench: Score the ball, he played hard and right.”
Related:
Dion Waiters Doesn’t Want to Be a Catch-and-Shoot Player for the Cavs
