Cavs: Dylan Windler has made an early impact defensively

When the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Dylan Windler from Belmont, he was expected to make an impact by shooting the basketball. Early on in the first real season of his career, Windler has made an impact on the defensive side, which has been quite unexpected.

Windler was a stud in college where he balled out and helped the Belmont Bruins earn an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament in 2019.

He attracted teams as a first-round talent with his offensive ability and primarily his shooting; he hit 40.6 percent of his three-point attempts in a four-year collegiate career there. And as a senior, Windler had 21.3 points per game.

The Cavaliers picked him with the number 26 selection in the 2019 draft. But unfortunately, the now-24-year-old lefty didn’t play a single minute last season, with the Cavs that is, after suffering with complications regarding a stress reaction in his left leg.

Coming back this year, Windler was one of many young players that Cavs fans were excited to see. He only played in nine minutes in his first career game where he suffered a fractured left hand, and would think that many people within the organization were feasibly concerned this could be a serious injury. Windler returned about a month later, though, which has been a key positive.

The second player taken by the Cavaliers in the 2019 draft has played in five games since, where he has exceeded most expectations by all, as KJG’s Grant Puskar seemingly alluded to in an overall sense recently. Windler is averaging 6.7 points per game on 44.4 percent shooting from the three-point line. He’s also averaging 1.2 steals a game, though, and the defensive end of the floor is where Windler has truly surprised people.

Windler has made an early impact for the Cavs on the defensive end.

According to NBA.com’s defensive tracking data, Windler is holding players to a 45.8 percent field goal percentage. This isn’t stellar, but what you can see from Windler is that he’s been a highly capable perimeter defender on the perimeter.

Offensive players have shot 25.0 percent from behind the arc when guarded by Windler. And from beyond 16 feet, they’ve shot just 33.3 percent, again, per NBA.com’s defensive tracking data.

Seeing this from Windler is really encouraging after Kevin Porter Jr. departed to the Houston Rockets via trade, of which was essentially a dump. A young “three-and-D” player is precisely what the Cavs need to replace KPJ, but I feel as though, Windler can be more than that.

The culture change within the Cleveland Cavaliers has been more than impressive, and as a result, the work ethic has been tougher and stronger. This, in my opinion, creates a stronger defensive team that won’t let anyone outwork them.

This is perfect for the development of the many young players that the Cavaliers have, such as Windler, Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, for instance.