Cleveland Cavaliers: Pluses and minuses vs. the Indiana Pacers

Cedi Osman is struggling.

Cedi Osman came into camp with a little too much hype thanks to workouts with LeBron James and stellar performances for the Turkish national team this summer. He didn’t do anything to slow down the hype in preseason and his first two games as he played like an above average starter, which is more than you can hope for considering his age.

Unfortunately, he’s come back to earth since the hot start. Osman started off the game well with seven first quarter points, but he finished with just 10 points on four-of-13 shooting with six turnovers. He is now averaging 8.3 points on 29.2 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from deep with 3.5 turnovers in his last four games.

Osman could be an important part of the Cavs’ future. He started the season playing with confidence, but wasn’t playing outside of himself. His shot that made him an offensive threat the first two games left him and he’s been unsuccessful in forcing things back into place.

Osman has shown skills, but his overall development as a player probably hinges on his outside shot. If he’s able to find that again, the rest of his game will fall into place. Osman is athletic and good in transition, but he’s not skilled enough to break defenders down in the half-court when they don’t have to respect his shooting.