LeBron James Supports Dion Waiters’ Move To Sixth Man Role

The Cleveland Cavaliers are reeling off early, losing three out of five winnable games, and two-time NBA champion LeBron James is preaching patience to both his teammates and the fan base. But that does not mean that newly minted coach David Blatt will not tinker with the lineup. During the Cavaliers' win over the Denver Nuggets Friday, the former European mentor changed his starting lineup and moved shooting guard Dion Waiters to the bench, a move that James is endorsing.

"For the best of the team, that should be Dion's role," James said per Cleveland.com. "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."

The move proved to be instrumental in the 110-101 win over the Nuggets with Waiters posting solid numbers of 17 points in just 24 minutes off the bench. While the third-year player stated before the season has started that he was looking at a starting shooting guard spot, the move is slowly being embraced by the former lottery pick. He said that he is willing to do whatever it takes to bring the win, to the extent of becoming the team's "water boy."

With James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love all in the starting lineup, it was hard for the team to distribute shots to players who were used to being the number one options in their previous teams. Waiters was also profiled as shoot first guard, thus the move to the bench was a no-brainer for Blatt who saw the opportunity to add firepower to a set of relievers that include youngsters in Matthew Dellavadova, who is out 2 to 4 weeks with an ankle sprain, and Canadian forward Tristan Thompson.

Blatt was pleased with the effort of Waiters in the last outing, given that he delivered the nail in the coffin when he scored with a breakaway dunk that increased the lead of the Cavaliers to eight with just under four minutes to go. The team will be looking for Waiters to replicate that role especially when the Big Three goes to the bench for breathers. In his place, veteran Shawn Marion started for the title-aspiring Cavaliers. It is unclear if the team will continue to parade the same lineup in the forthcoming games.