Lauri Markkanen’s return for Cavs will put less on Kevin Love, Cedi Osman

It was unfortunate when Lauri Markkanen sustained a high ankle sprain back just under a month ago in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Markkanen has had share of inconsistencies this season in his first year with the Cleveland Cavaliers following his sign-and-trade acquisition from the Chicago Bulls, but he had really gotten rolling.

In Markkanen’s last 10 games leading into his injury, he had knocked down 44.6 percent of his three-point attempts, and he was mixing in some quality play inside the arc paired with that. He shot 52.1 percent overall in that span, and he seemed to be getting much more comfortable playing off other guys.

Coming into the season, one had to assume it’d take time for the 7-footer in Markkanen to find his footing with the Cavaliers, and this season, he’s had to adjust to playing often with two other bigs for extended stretches, in that case being Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. As we noted, though, Markkanen appeared to be turning a corner pre-injury, and his chemistry with others has gotten better as the season’s progressed.

And while Markkanen has missed Cleveland’s last 11 games dating back to him originally getting injured on Jan. 22, he is progressing in his recovery, and is reportedly ramping up his workouts. He seems to be set for a return pretty soon following the conclusion of the All-Star break.

That should help the Cavs offense in general a considerable amount, as Cleveland’s spacing should improve with his shooting reputation and natural talent, and with that in mind, along with some on-ball creation, he should help Cleveland get off to better starts when he’s back. Markkanen will feasibly take some time to get himself fully back, but he’ll make a difference early on when is ultimately back.

Additionally, when he’s back in there, Markkanen will put less onus on bench contributors Kevin Love and Cedi Osman, who have realistically been relied upon more in their minutes as catch-and-shoot threats.

Markkanen’s return for the Cavs will put less of an onus on Love and Osman.

We’ve seen Love crush it in a shift to a bench role this season, as he’s been such a crucial shooter in those minutes, and has had 14.3 points per outing and knocked down 39.3 percent of his three-point attempts in 22.3 minutes per game. He’s been a quality finisher and still mid-post player/secondary playmaker in his time in games too, and can be a bench stabilizer when he’s in.

In Osman’s case, while he’s always a player that is streaky, and I’ve been critical of him in the past, at this point I accept that he’s a guy that can give the Cavaliers energy minutes, and even with the streakiness, he can get hot. That’s been on display plenty of times throughout this season, and with more of a clear bench mostly catch-and-shoot/off-ball role, it’s helped Osman out, without question.

Love and Osman have had 15.7 points and 12.3 points per game in their last 10 contests, and have shot 36.0 and 36.5 percent from three-point land, respectively, in that stretch, for context.

But as we touched on, when Markkanen is back in the fold, I do still believe it will alleviate some pressure on Love and Osman as shooters in their bench minutes.

Granted, those guys have come up clutch for the Cavs still in recent weeks and in big ways in some games, and I’m not suggesting they won’t still be impact contributors. In Love’s case he always is, at least with his shooting/spacing presence and rebounding prowess, in that realm.

Now, it’ll take some games for Markkanen to get his rhythm and his feel within the game down once again for Cleveland, as one would attest. If Markkanen can do so, however, and I believe he will, based on the chemistry much improved with others at nearly the 3/4 poll of the season, then Love can be eased more into games, and Osman’s production could be more of a bonus, so to speak.

As an aside, this is factoring in Caris LeVert as either a supersub-type guy or potentially in there at the starting 2 at some point as well. He’ll be a significant offensive piece from here, too.

In any case, while I recognize that Love himself will continue to receive minutes in crucial stretches either way, and when he’s been on, it’s typically led to success overall for Cleveland, when Markkanen is back, it could really free up Osman as an added shooting boost in spurts/stretches.

That’s not to take anything away from Cedi; Lauri hopefully back soon could just help the bench play with more confidence, which is key with guys like Osman. Osman should get some play with Markkanen, also, anyhow, and so could Dean Wade and/or Lamar Stevens.