The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten off to a nice start and are looking to keep up their quality play.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are 4-2 and are playing their best basketball since the end of the LeBron James era, or at least one would assume that. Through six games, these Cavaliers are looking like playoff contenders and have fans excited for what’s next to come.
The Cavs have started this season off well behind their gritty defense and fundamental offense and we have head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to thank for that. Coach Bickerstaff has put players in their best positions to succeed, seemingly forming a culture and foundation during the offseason.
Through it all, this year’s Cavaliers are fun and we should be in for a great treat this season. The Cavs are slated to play four more games during this road trip, which will bring some interesting conversations regarding whether or not this team is serious about a playoff push.
The Cavaliers are going to need all hands on deck to finish out this road trip strong but, there will be some players to keep an eye on during this stretch.
With that being said, here, we will look at three players to watch during the Cavaliers’ next four games.
One of those relates to an up-and-down wing.
One of three Cavs to watch in these next four games: Cedi Osman
Coming into the season, it can be said that a lot of eyes were on Cedi Osman. With the Cavaliers drafting Isaac Okoro with the fifth overall pick, it appeared evident that Cedi’s time as a starter was coming to an end some time this season.
For most of training camp, with the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic, there were seemingly thoughts that Osman may be the starter to start the season but we quickly learned that Okoro would take that starting small forward role.
Osman off the bench was looking like a genius move by Bickerstaff but the hype surrounding Cedi would quickly diminish. In his first three games, Osman averaged 15.7 points per game, shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from three-point land. In the next three games, however, his splits would drop drastically to just 6.7 points per game on an abysmal 21.9 percent shooting from the field and 21.1 percent from deep.
There are some factors that looked to have caused this slump for Osman such as injuries to key players and the rearranging of the rotation but, for the most part, this is who Cedi is: an inconsistent wing player.
With Okoro (foot sprain) and Dylan Windler (fourth metacarpal fracture) out with injury, this would have been the chance for Osman to show why he may still deserve to be a starter but it has shown why moving him to the bench was the right choice.
Okoro, who was placed into the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol pretty recently also, reportedly may have a shot to play in Monday’s game at the Orlando Magic, though. And his return should give us a better understanding as to whether or not Osman’s slump is just a slump, anyhow.