It’s been nice to see Dylan Windler finally out there for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
One can’t help but feel good for Dylan Windler, who has been a participant for the Cleveland Cavaliers in both of their first two preseason games.
Windler didn’t appear last season for the Cavs at all, aside from a few outings with Cleveland’s G League affiliate team, the Canton Charge, due to a stress fracture in his lower left leg.
Again, though, it’s been a plus to have just seen him out there, even though it’s been for two preseason games thus far, both of which were against the Indiana Pacers.
Granted, as expected, there’s been plenty of rust for the Cavaliers in a general sense, as their last regular season game action was on March 10. That was due to novel coronavirus concerns/them not having been an Orlando-area bubble team.
And to be clear, there’s been some for Windler, in the shooting sense, really, albeit you can’t blame him for that.
Cavs fans shouldn’t be worried about Windler at all.
Windler hasn’t exactly lit it up as a shooter in preseason, as he shot two-for-6 and two-for-five from the field versus Indiana in his first two games. He’s shot one-for-six from three-point range, which wasn’t the greatest, and has seemingly had the yips in a number of instances, which included the free throw line a bit in the preseason opener.
But rest assured, Cavs fans shouldn’t be the least bit worried about Windler’s shot. The dude didn’t play in game action with Cleveland last season, so some rust early is the furthest thing from shocking.
Windler, who hit 40.6 percent of his 4.2 three-point attempts per game in a four-year collegiate career at Belmont, will be more than fine as a shooter I’d imagine pretty early on next season.
He’s a gifted catch-and-shoot player, both via spot-ups and off of movement, and Windler placed in the 85th percentile on pull-up attempts in the halfcourt as a senior at Belmont, per Synergy Sports. We’ll see the shooting capabilities from him a ton in coming years, I believe.
Now, we’ll have to see as far as the minutes-share, and while Windler is reportedly in a competition for Cleveland’s starting 3 with Cedi Osman and Isaac Okoro, I wouldn’t expect Windler to start next season there. Albeit he should have his share of opportunities off the bench, feasibly in minutes at the 2 and 3, anyhow.
On a positive note, too, though the J for Windler hasn’t been the best so far, he’s still moved well without the ball, passed effectively/aided others around him, and defensively, his positioning has been a bright spot.
And as he displayed at Belmont, where he averaged 7.8 rebounds per game in his career, Windler in the preseason opener had eight boards, and his positioning at both ends throughout contests has helped other guys secure rebounds to some extent otherwise. He could be a capable putback threat, too, and has flashed that.
In any case, to drive it home, really, Cavs fans shouldn’t be worried about Windler at all; the dude’s shot will be on display a ton when he’s out there next season for Cleveland and in coming years.
Just as will play out in regards to Damyean Dotson, Windler will make others, such as Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Kevin Love and Kevin Porter Jr., better around him factoring in the spacing/shooting/finishing element.
Windler be fine once he gets his legs under him/comfortable with those around him on the Cavaliers, which won’t take long I believe. That’s provided he stays mostly healthy, and I firmly believe he will next season/looking onward.