Is De’Andre Hunter + the Core 4 the Cleveland Cavaliers best 5-man lineup in a playoff series?

Versatility has been an issue at times for the Cleveland Cavaliers. De’Andre Hunter was brought in to solve that. His ability to comfortably play the three and four while slotting in nicely to either a starter or reserve role was part of what made him such an attractive target for Koby Altman and the rest of the front office.

That versatility has shown through on the court. His shotmaking and length have come through repeatedly for the Cavs, most notably, in their Feb. 28 win over the Boston Celtics. Hunter closed the game, poured in three triples, and proved to be a serviceable defender against a wing-heavy front line. It was exactly what the Cavs needed.

Those skills have allowed Hunter to fit into multiple lineups, although that hasn’t really included slotting alongside Cleveland’s core four of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.

Hunter has only played 30 minutes with that core group since the trade. A third of that time came in the first game Hunter participated in against the Minnesota Timberwolves. By contrast, the core four have played 127 minutes with Max Strus in that same time frame.

According to head coach Kenny Atkinson, that minute distribution is something he wants to alter.

“[That’s] not enough sample,” Atkinson said immediately after being asked about that group only playing 30 minutes together. “I’d like to look at it more. I know we don’t have a ton of games left, but I definitely want to look at that more. That’s something we talked about as a staff.” | https://www.fearthesword.com/2025/4/1/24399103/cavs-playoffs-deandre-hunter-kenny-atkinson-cleveland-cavaliers-lineups-nba

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10 comments

  4. With the full Core Four I kinda like Strus off the top of my head, but I wanna see Hunter with them more before I say anything. Strus has a lot of motor and I like the Mobley/Tatum Allen/Porzingis matchup. But Hunter lets you put Allen on Porzingis and let Mobley and Hunter eat vs Tatum/Brown

  9. This is the worse group of commentators ever. I am sorry. It is so hard to listen to these three together. I get it, it is their opinion but really. They talk so matter of fact and really some of the comments have little logic.

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