Anything For the King: The Cleveland Cavaliers Offseason Moves in Spider Graphs

For the third time in two years, the Cleveland Cavaliers have reinvented their starting lineup.

By bringing in Shaquille O’Neal and Anthony Parker—both of whom might be starters—the Cavs have shown that they won’t be satisfied with anything less than championship.

After Cleveland’s NBA Finals appearance in 2007, they brought in Delonte West and Ben Wallace before the February trade deadline to help LeBron James bring home a ring. When that didn’t happen, they traded that summer for Mo Williams as a point guard upgrade.

But just how much of an upgrade are O’Neal and Parker over Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West (assuming Parker gets the call to start over West)?

We won’t know for sure until we see which team is lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy in 2010. But Spider Graphs can give us an idea statistically of what we can expect from this new lineup.

If you’re new to Spider Graphs, they’re a new way to reflect a player or team’s statistics in a visual way that gives you an overall impression of their style. Read the quick Spider Graph explanation here before you go any further to get a handle on how they work.

And just as another refresher, the top half of the graph represents offense, the bottom is defense; the top right is perimeter players, and the bottom left is big men.

First up is Parker vs. West. These graphs use 2008 regular season numbers, per-48-minutes instead of per-game to remove any discrepancies in playing time:

We started with this graph because it’s easily the least dramatic Spider Graph you’ll ever see.

West has a slight edge in quickness, which is reflected on the steals axis. His better FG% could be tied to quickness as well, as West can finish at the basket better than the aging Parker.

Parker has the edge in rebounding, which for a 2 guard is all about court smarts. Statistically, that’s all he’s got on West.

Parker fills a larger role for the Cavaliers, though, which isn’t measured in numbers.

He’s known for his on-ball defense, and that combined with his long arms gives the Cavs a shut-down defender that can handle an opposing team’s star. Taking on that role relieves LeBron James of that duty, taking some pressure off the King and allowing him to focus on what he does best.

So who gets the starting role? It doesn’t matter in the end, as the point of signing Parker was not to replace West.

It was to have two Wests.

Whether West or Parker is on the floor at tip-off, the acquisition allows the Cavaliers to have a talented shooting guard—a first-stringer on most teams—come in with the second unit. And since Delonte West can slide over to the point as well, the Cavaliers’ depth problems in the backfield may be over.

Now the bigger (get it?) comparison, Shaq vs. Ilguaskas:

Hello, upgrade.

One thing Spider Graphs do well is show when a player outdoes another player in every (or almost every) statistical category—the dominating player’s graph completely encompasses the other’s.

This is one of those cases.

Shaq isn’t the league-dominating center that he once was, but if his production is anything like last year’s he’ll be a welcome addition to the Cavaliers’ lineup.

Shaq has more scoring potential than Ilgauskas, for sure, but the biggest difference is found in their FG%—which is also terribly deceiving.

Though Ilgauskas’ listed FG% is lower than O’Neal’s, it’s actually because he’s a better shooter. He can, and does, shoot from anywhere on the floor, whereas Shaq plays all his offense within dunking range of the basket.

That’s the liability with O’Neal, as well. Since Ilgauskas can shoot from anywhere, he spreads the floor and opens up the driving lane for LeBron. If Shaq clogs up the lane with his 300-pound frame, the James’s impact is marginalized and the offense will suffer.

The Cavs’ center situation, however, is just like their 2 guard situation—they’ve brought in a capable player while still retaining the incumbent.

While Ilgauskas is slowing down as well, he’s still a serviceable center and provides a high-level backup to O’Neal. He’s also a fan-favorite, and held many of the Cavaliers’ records that LeBron has since broken.

And finally, we compare last season’s starting five (Williams, West, James, Varejao, and Ilgauskas) to next season’s potential starters (Williams, Parker, James, Varejao, O’Neal):

The difference is anything but dramatic. Team FG% goes up slightly because of Shaq, and Shaq’s scoring boost is mostly offset by starting Parker in place of West.

In short, while Cleveland’s biggest coup this offseason may have been snagging an aging, has-been center, they’ve still come out as a much better team because of their much improved depth.

For the third year in a row, it brings them one step closer to their ultimate goal.

A ring for the King.

This is the fourth in a series of articles analyzing the offseason moves of the league’s elite teams, each using Spider Graphs. Check out also the analysis of the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics.

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