Cavs: Cedi Osman helped initial starting 3 case, but won’t stick

Cedi Osman looked sharp offensively in preseason for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

When he was out there in preseason action, Cedi Osman made things happen for the Cleveland Cavaliers offensively. In Cleveland’s first preseason game versus the Indiana Pacers, Osman had a game-high 23 points on six-of-11 shooting in 22 minutes.

In that outing, he was getting to the free throw line, too, and hit eight-of-nine from the charity stripe. Plus, he was in a nice rhythm from beyond the arc, and knocked in three of his six three-point attempts. Osman, along with the shooting, had five rebounds and a steal.

From there, Osman would then not be in action in Cleveland’s next two preseason outings again versus Indiana and then at the New York Knicks. That was due to a seemingly minor ankle sprain, albeit Osman did have a pretty encouraging outing in Cleveland’s preseason finale on Friday, at the Knicks again.

In that one, Cleveland clearly was without so many key players, of which you can view more on about who was out here, and the Cavs were obliterated by the Knicks for most of the way. They ended up losing 119-83, but again, minus so many crucial players, such as Kevin Love, Andre Drummond and Larry Nance Jr., among others, don’t take much, if anything, from that.

On the plus side, Osman, circling back, did make things happen and did seem to have it going. Cedi had 19 points on seven-of-eight shooting, including going five-of-six from three-point land, in 22 minutes.

Nonetheless, while it’s been a positive to have seen Osman perform well when he’s been out there in preseason action, I still don’t think it will mean much, ultimately, after fairly early into next season.

Osman helped his initial starting 3 case for the Cavs, but won’t stick.

Osman was a largely effective three-point shooter, particularly off-the-catch, in 2019-20; he hit 38.3 percent of his triple attempts in what was Year 3 for him.

I don’t discount that, and it’s a key reason why he could very well be a fine rotational piece for Cleveland next season/perhaps moving forward. He also hit 66.7 percent from deep in preseason.

That said, I’d honestly expect Isaac Okoro, who is such an impressive defensive player and is uber-switchable if needed, to be Cleveland’s starting 3 after fairly early on. Aside from the last preseason outing, Okoro did look very good in preseason, too, and even at 6-foot-6, he’s more than capable of being Cleveland’s regular starting 3.

Despite a report from The Athletic‘s Joe Vardon (subscription required) about there being questions coming out of Cavs camp about whether Okoro is “big enough” to play the wing, it’s abundantly clear that he is, quite frankly. And on the contrary, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor reported how the Cavs’ “primary decision-makers view Okoro as a 3 as opposed to a 2, even though the positions are mostly interchangeable.”

In any case, Okoro should be, quite frankly, even pretty early on next season, Cleveland’s starting 3, due to the defensive issues Cedi has had, both in the on and off-ball sense. Okoro, for further context, placed in the 90th percentile in one-on-one defensive situations in his one season at Auburn, too, per Synergy Sports.

Osman’s lack of lateral quickness has been a recurring problem, and even in preseason, his defensive problems even showed too frequently, such as off-ball in getting through screens to contest, for instance.

Anyhow, while I do acknowledge that Okoro isn’t the catch-and-shoot threat of Osman, I know it’s only been preseason thus far, but him showing promise as a spot-up threat has been a positive sign. Okoro hit only 28.6 percent from three-point range at Auburn, albeit he has started off well in that area with Cleveland, and did hit 45.5 percent from there in preseason.

Okoro’s finishing near the rim, both with touch and from playing through/initiating contact, with his sturdy 225-pound frame has been on display initially, too. So while I’m with KJG’s Matthew Fagan in believing Okoro should be Cleveland’s Opening Night starting 3, I’d probably expect Osman to start out in that role for Cleveland in 2020-21.

Cedi again did look sharp offensively in preseason, and I give him credit for that, but the Cavaliers need to have Okoro in that starting 3 role soon enough.

And Osman could still get his share of meaningful minutes at times for Cleveland, anyhow, as Kevin Porter Jr. could feasibly get burn as a de facto reserve 1, with Dylan Windler/Damyean Dotson at the 2, and Osman as a reserve 3.

Osman could realistically have a more engaged role in reserve lineups at times even as well. We’ll ultimately have to see, though.

Moreover, I see Okoro as Cleveland’s long-term starting 3, and pretty early on in this upcoming season, I’d expect him to be the starter there.

We’ll see what plays out involving that soon enough, and the Cavaliers begin their 2020-21 campaign versus the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.