Lamar Stevens continues to give Cavs quality minutes, is turning into steal

With what he has provided for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the past two seasons after originally being an undrafted two-way signing following the 2020 NBA Draft, it’s pretty difficult to not like Lamar Stevens.

Stevens, who was signed to a multi-year, albeit non-guaranteed deal during last season, did get some legit playing time as a rookie in 2020-21, when his on-ball defense jumped out, along with his versatility on that end of the floor. His cutting seemed to improve as the year wore on, too, and his finishing was a positive.

During this 2021-22 campaign, Stevens has responded nicely also, and it’s led to him having more opportunities game-to-game when healthy. He’s missed a stretch of games earlier on in the season with an ankle sprain, recently a couple because of knee soreness, and last month, he missed a batch out in health and safety protocols, but he’s often provided given a lift off the bench in his appearances.

In 35 games thus far, Stevens, while a defensive-oriented player, has had 5.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per contest. That minutes-share is up some from last season, when he averaged 12.5 minutes per appearance, and he was involved with the Cavaliers in 40 games then.

Stevens this past month had a batch of interim starts with Isaac Okoro then sidelined with an elbow sprain, and Lamar responded well, showing what he can do in the mid-range area, as a driver. He had career-highs in two of three games earlier last month, with 17 in a loss at the Golden State Warriors and then 23 points in a win over the Utah Jazz, Rudy Gobert being out notwithstanding.

Stevens, objectively, has proven to be a solid find by the Cavaliers, and the player developmental staff and Stevens for his hard work both deserve credit for how he’s come on in Year 2. It’s been a pleasure to see, among other storylines from this resurgent season for Cleveland.

Stevens has continued to give the Cavs quality minutes, and he’s turning into a steal for the team.

The more we see Stevens in games, the more he seems to have an impact on the defensive end, and while there were a tough two games for him versus the Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks, when he was a combined minus-31, he gave the team a lift defensively against the Milwaukee Bucks. He was only 1-of-5 in terms of shooting, but affected games in other ways, as he typically does in stretches, and had five rebounds and three steals in 19 minutes; he was a plus-13.

He had just one point in eight minutes in that Sunday loss to the Detroit Pistons, although he might’ve helped the squad more had he had more opportunities in that one, when Cleveland’s starters struggled after the beginning of the game.

And from there, Stevens once again gave the bench a lift against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday, and showcased more of his driving abilities, with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting, to go with four rebounds, three steals and even two blocks.

His contributions, along with Brandon Goodwin and Cedi Osman’s (playmaking-wise) aided Cleveland’s efforts and in their comeback in the fourth, which was needed with Darius Garland out because of back soreness. In fairness, the Pels were without Zion Williamson still and Brandon Ingram, but Stevens, among others, had a notable impact for Cleveland, which was encouraging.

Regardless, when he’s had a decent chunk of minutes, in the past two months, in particular, Stevens has consistently given Cleveland good defensive play in the individual and team sense, and he’s shown tangible progress offensively.

For a guy who played a considerable chunk in college at Penn State at the 4, and did so last season, and still has this season, as an aside, he has shown viability at the 2 this year as well, which I don’t discount.

He has at least demonstated some growth on catch-and-shoots from three, too, and his finishing, mixed in with his mid-range pull-up game, and transition scoring has been great to see as the season has worn on here.

With how Stevens has gotten gradually better and more comfortable on both ends, he’s established himself as a legit rotational contributor with positional versatility, and he’s honestly turning into a steal for Cleveland.

Stevens’ deal is guaranteed for the rest of this season, as of earlier last month, and he’s signed through essentially via minimum, non-guaranteed deal for next season and 2023-24, currently. The 2023-24 campaign has a team option.

He’s fully embraced his role as seemingly an emotional leader for the Cavs, which is no small thing, but on the floor, Stevens has made quite an impact as well. The 24-year-old was a heck of a find.