Cedi Osman shouldn’t be a starter regularly for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he’ll be a solid bench piece.
The Cleveland Cavaliers starting rookie Isaac Okoro on Wednesday in their 2020-21 regular season opener was the right move. Okoro has the makings of a big-time defender for Cleveland at the 3, and looking onward, he has the ability to defend a variety of positions for stretches.
As KJG’s own Amadou Sow alluded to, it’s fair to say that we should see Okoro’s playmaking come along as his rookie year progresses, too. And as a scorer/shooter, I think he should be able to do the same, and showed positive signs as a catch-and-shoot three-point shooter in preseason, as he hit 45.5 percent of his attempts then.
In Cleveland’s opener on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets, I really liked what I saw from Okoro defensively, too, and offensively, he did pretty well in a tertiary role early. In that realm, Okoro had 11 points on four-of-five from the field, but also was a productive ball-mover/nice decision-maker, en route to him having five assists to just two turnovers.
So how about Cedi Osman, who was Cleveland’s regular starting 3 the past two seasons, then? He looks to likely be in a bench role moving forward, frankly. But in a bench role when he can initiate for himself, and others to an extent, he could do commendable work.
That sort of bench role is ideal for Osman for the Cavs.
Osman who hit 38.3 percent of his three-point attempts last season, has solidified himself as a quality spot-up threat for the Cavs. He moves without the ball well, too, though, and is a productive cutter when he’s in for Cleveland, which can lead to high percentage looks at times for him in settled offense and in transition.
That said, against starting wings, Osman has had struggles on-ball often in regards to getting separation, somewhat due to him being fairly limited from a quickness standpoint. His handle, against starting-caliber wings, doesn’t generally lend him to being a consistent factor off-the-bounce.
And on the defensive end, Osman’s limited athleticism and quickness laterally leads me to firmly believe he’d struggle often against starters a significant amount of the time, as has seemingly been the case the past two years. Now, I don’t want to completely grill Cedi for that sort of thing, and it’s not as if he’s had All-World defensive personnel on the floor with him a considerable portion of the time.
On the plus side, in more so a bench role/feasibly in spurts/stretches against reserves, I’d imagine Osman should be better-suited.
In his time on the floor on Wednesday, he was seemingly very engaged, too, at least offensively, and while again I’d rather Osman be playing as a reserve mostly for Cleveland looking onward, him being assertive when out there was good to see in that role.
In 18 minutes versus Charlotte, Osman had 11 points on four-of-nine shooting, to go with four rebounds and two assists. And he was in a nice shooting rhythm from the perimeter, as evidenced by him going three-of-six from three-point range.
Plus, he seemingly fit in well with JaVale McGee, to go with Damyean Dotson some, and Darius Garland hit Osman a few times for deep looks on-time/on-target.
Cedi make a few really nice passes, too, and overall, in a bench role/playing against reserves, it just demonstrated how him in a role making things happen in spurts off the bench is ideal for him. That’s in a general sense on the offensive end.
And unfortunately, with Dylan Windler having injured his hand, of which we’ll find out more after his re-evaluation, per the team seemingly at some point next week, the Cavaliers could use this assertive style of Cedi in coming games, anyhow.
Hopefully, Osman can keep showing productivity and make things happen in a reserve role for the Wine and Gold, feasibly in some stretches at the 3 sure, and perhaps, some at the 4 if needed. Granted, with Kevin Love feasibly back fairly soon in the lineup, potentially after the weekend, regarding his current calf strain, we’ll have to see.
Again, though, Osman’s performance in his first game of 2020-21 was, let’s hope, an encouraging sign for what’s to come.