Cleveland Cavaliers: Kay Felder Has Benefited From His Time In Canton
By Jared Kungle
The Cleveland Cavaliers may have found their answer at backup point guard in the form of Kay Felder.
Ever since losing Matthew Dellavedova to the Milwaukee Bucks in free-agency, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in serious need of a backup point guard. To this point, Iman Shumpert has been splitting time as the team’s backup point guard and shooting guard. That trend could be coming to an end.
The Cavaliers may have found their bench facilitator that they have been desperately searching for. No, it didn’t come via trade. It wasn’t a free-agent find, either. Instead, Kay Felder has emerged as a spark off the team’s bench.
Carving out consistent minutes wasn’t easy for Felder, whom the Cavaliers selected with the 54th pick in the 2016 NBA draft. He has spent a large part of the season thus far riding the bench, only seeing court time in the closing minutes of blowout games. He was even sent to Canton to play with the Carge, the Cavaliers D-League affiliate team.
In his debut with the Charge, Felder scored a team-high 33 points while dishing out seven assists and hauling down seven rebounds. More importantly, he left Canton with a newfound confidence.
Felder, 21, has appeared in two games with the Cavaliers since his short stint in Canton. In these two games, Felder has shown a similar play-making ability that he showed during his college days at Oakland.
The Cavaliers have been without Kyrie Irving the last two games after he injured his hamstring against the Boston Celtics on December 29th. Second year Cavalier Jordan McRae was tasked to hold down the starting point guard position in Irving’s absence while Felder came off the bench.
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In Saturday’s 121-109 win over the Charlotte Hornets, Felder scored 12 points on 83.3 percent from the field in 19 minutes. This game gave head coach Tyronn Lue a deeper look into what the rookie can do–score the ball in a wide assortment of ways while holding his own on defense, tallying two steals and one block.
Monday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans was no different. In 22 minutes off the bench, Felder finished the game with 12 points going 6-11 from the field. He was a part of a Cavaliers bench that scored 44 points, which is a step up from their season average of 29.6 points per game.
Although it is a small sample size, Felder has shown flashes of being a high volume scorer, which is something the Cavaliers desperately need off the bench. If he continues this level of play, the 5-foot-9 point guard could start to see consistent minutes with the Cavaliers.
Whether or not his confidence came from his trip to Canton is unknown. However, one thing is certain: Kay Felder could be the backup point guard the Cleveland Cavaliers have been searching for all season.
Related Story: The Growth Of Kay Felder
What do you think, is Kay Felder the answer the Cavaliers have been looking for at backup point guard? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @KJG_NBA.