Cleveland Cavaliers youngsters Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic had rough shooting nights in their World Cup Qualifiers debuts.
In the second round of the World Cup Qualifiers, Cleveland Cavaliers fan favorite Cedi Osman led Turkey to 79-69 victory over Montenegro with a team-high 18 points on 6-15 shooting from the field, 2-6 shooting from three and 4-7 shooting from the free-throw line. He also grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 2 assists and had 3 steals in a team-high 36 minutes.
It wasn’t a pretty shooting night for Osman but he got it done on both ends. Offensively, Osman has continued to grow his growth as a ball-handler, often using a decisive crossover dribble to get to the rim.
Cleveland Cavaliers center Ante Zizic also made his debut in the World Cup Qualifiers on Friday. Like Osman, Zizic would also have his struggles from the field.
In a one-point loss to Lithuania, Zizic tallied 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block in 15 minutes for Croatia. He just was 1-4 from the field though he went 4-4 from the free-throw line.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are surely keeping an eye on their young Euro talent, or two, hoping they get through their games healthy and monitoring the development of their skills.
At this point, Osman has shown himself to be deserving of a prominent spot in the rotation. He’s knocking down his threes, getting to the rim and making plays for others. He’s excelling on the defensive end, his high-motor enhancing his every ability.
On the wing, or as a small-ball four, he’s going to be a dependable player.
Zizic is a reliable low-post scorer who must improve his defense, namely when asked to guard players in space, in order to argue for regular playing time.
How good Zizic looks in these World Cup Qualifiers to the regular season will dictate the Cleveland Cavaliers’ willingness to move Tristan Thompson this season or beyond.
On Thursday, Tristan Thompson had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds as Canada defeated Brazil in the second round of the World Cup Qualifiers.