Cavs: Lauri Markkanen is bench go-to guy for now, and that’s fine

It’s apparent that Cleveland Cavaliers offseason sign-and-trade acquisition Lauri Markkanen is going to have a prominent role on the offensive end.

Even with inconsistencies in his time with the Chicago Bulls, some of which were because of injuries, his shooting abilities were on display frequently from the perimeter. Last season, regardless of how it ended out with him as a bench piece, he did hit a career-best 40.2 percent of his 5.8 three-point attempts per outing.

In the preseason, while it has been just preseason so far, Markkanen did show how he’s a player that can create some for himself too, as has been shown throughout his career as well.

Along with that, Markkanen has looked to be viable at the 3 position for the Cavs as a supersized 7-foot option, and him and #3 overall pick Evan Mobley have shown positive signs in relation to their chemistry.

Now, in fairness, with Kevin Love’s injury history, and with him not nearly the player he once was and set for a role reduction anyway, I’d expect Markkanen to play mostly at the 4 when he’s in there. He competes defensively, but him against 3s/wings on-ball is far from ideal in an actual regular season scenario for extended stretches, as he’s hardly Isaac Okoro as far as that goes, and it can cause issues defensively, in my opinion.

I’m sure Markkanen will still get his share of opportunities at the 3, either way, this season, and I get that, from a length perspective and the offensive end.

Nonetheless, just in a general sense, while perhaps Markkanen could end up starting at some point more regularly this season, if that’s the Cavs’ plan, for now, he’s the bench go-to guy. That’s just fine, too, and that juice with him as the undisputed sixth man might be best for the time being.

Cavs: Markkanen is the bench go-to guy, and that’s more than fine for now.

If Isaac Okoro ends up having a bit of a minutes restriction, with Markkanen some at the 3 involved, Dylan Windler to some degree and Cedi Osman/Lamar Stevens a bit, so be it. Dean Wade could reportedly factor in at the 3 some, too, as KJG’s John Suchan noted, for what it’s worth.

The point here, for now though, is Markkanen, regardless, seems set for starter’s minutes, given his offensive skill set and with how he can provide plenty of pop as a scoring option when he’s out there.

But at this juncture at the outset of the 2021-22 season, which begins at the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, while Okoro must help more offensively, he’s a far better defensive option at the 3, and still is a very capable driver when getting downhill. That was seen more so post-All-Star break last season.

And I do believe if he’s assertive, and Cleveland gets him looks to utilize his strength in secondary transition and in the mid-post, which in the offseason was reportedly a focus, he’ll make more of an impact offensively, too. Hopefully playmaking options such as Darius Garland, obviously, and Collin Sexton/Evan Mobley, as secondary playmakers, help get him more cutting looks, from there.

Granted, I’d expect to see him in there with Markkanen some for stretches, anyway, and Okoro’s minutes will be at the 2 and 3 in playing time some with bench guys, such as Windler and Ricky Rubio.

No matter what plays out in that realm, for now, I do still expect Markkanen to be Cleveland’s clear sixth man and go-to scoring option, from a bench sense. The ex-Bull had 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing in his first four preseason games, and hit 46.6 percent from three then.

So, while we’ll have to see what happens in the early portion of the season here for the Cavaliers, for now heading into it, Markkanen is the bench go-to guy, and he’ll still get a bunch of minutes in varying lineups.

To me, for now, that’s fine, and him getting reps against second units, in turn, could help him get more comfortable with the Cavs, also. If he ends up being a closing time guy, anyhow, I’d get that, too.

And lastly, an aside, I just hope he stays healthy, given the juice he can give Cleveland’s offense.