Why Ante Zizic should be a part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ future
An often forgotten part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ trade with the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2017 is 22-year-old big man Ante Zizic.
Recently (partly due to injury), the Cleveland Cavaliers have called upon Ante Zizic to take on a more significant role in the lineup. In fact, Zizic has logged 18.8 minutes per game in Cleveland’s past five games, and in that stretch, he’s averaged 10.0 points on 70.7 percent true shooting, per NBA.com.
On Wednesday, to combat the Portland Trail Blazers’ trio of big men, Zizic played a season-high 27 minutes and scored 16 points on five-of-eight shooting from the floor and recorded eight rebounds as well (per ESPN).
Could this be a sign of things to come from the second-year pro?
It could possibly be, but as of now, the amount of time Zizic sees the floor will be based on who the Cleveland Cavaliers face. In this new era of fast-paced basketball, where big men are often an afterthought, Zizic still is developing into an every game player.
As mentioned before, Zizic is just 22-years-old and lacks in-game experience and will have to adjust to playing with his new set of teammates. Zizic also has to deal with inconsistencies in his playing time.
Before playing in the Cavaliers’ five most recent games, Zizic played a total of zero minutes in the five games prior (again, according to NBA.com).
One of the benefits of Zizic’s development over the past two seasons was the ability for Ante to go down to Canton and play meaningful minutes with the Cavs G League affiliate, the Charge. Sure it was against lesser competition, but the experience is what matters most.
Such as seeing a double team, or working on post moves, Zizic’s time in Canton was all about getting reps and getting comfortable with his positioning on the floor.
While this way of handling Zizic’s development works, for now, there will come a time when Zizic will have to prove his value on an NBA floor against the best competition in the world.
If Zizic is to have any future plans in the league, it is best to play him as often as the Cleveland Cavaliers feel the need. It will be a good way for Cleveland to see what they have in Zizic.
His height does disguise the fact he is younger than many of you reading this post.
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Look at the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Steven Adams for example, who our past KJG co-editor, Nathan Beighle, mentioned could be the realistic ceiling of Zizic. Adams was your prototypical seven-foot big man with no outside game, and it took him a few years to get into a rhythm and find his footing.
I’m not saying Zizic will turn into the next Adams, but the point is that Zizic needs time to develop his game as well as his body.
Look at a picture of Adams when he was a rookie and compare it to what Adams looks like today; it’s night and day.
That is a solid blueprint on how to develop into a quality interior-oriented NBA center; they need to work on post moves and scoring from the inside as well as rebounding and blocking shots.
Even in today’s modern NBA, having a true rim protector and post presence still would be beneficial to have on any team, and overall, as Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor recently pointed out, “Zizic is out to prove there’s still a place for someone with his tool box.”
Zizic should strive to be like Adams, and thus far in his career, he has a solid 16.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per 36 minutes, per Basketball Reference.
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While teams will likely be calling the Cleveland Cavaliers to inquire about Zizic, for now, the best move would be to hold onto the Croatian big man and see how he develops. He could just be the center the Cavaliers can rely on for the next several seasons.