1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in their win over the Wizards on Saturday

Cavs stud: Cedi Osman

Markkanen did have those six threes in the second half, and he was 5-of-6 from the free throw line, which was big for the Cavaliers here. Nonetheless, he was largely still off, though, and while he did go 6-of-9 from deep, he didn’t connect on any field goals from two, and for the game itself, I have to go with Cedi Osman as Cleveland’s stud.

Osman didn’t finish out the second half how he started, nearly, however, he kept the Cavs in the contest in the first half, as he had 12 points and four assists in the first half and as a result, that played into the Cavs being within striking distance.

For some stretches, Osman was really the only Cavaliers player getting penetration with Garland, LeVert and Rondo out, and even with some inconsistencies from him in that way generally, he still can get to driving finishes in transition and in pick-and-roll. That sort of thing gave the Cavaliers offense some life in this game, and fortunately in the second half, Markkanen and the bigs got some plays to go as the game progressed.

Osman for the game finished out with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting overall, with him going 2-of-5 from three, and he was second on the team behind Brandon Goodwin (six assists) with five assists, and tacked on four rebounds in 29 minutes.

Osman was a minus-2 for the game overall and had three turnovers, but with what he gave this team in the first half especially, the Cavs don’t have a chance here without him.

I’ve never been the biggest Cedi guy; even still, this season, I have to give him his share of applause. And he came up big in a game the Cavaliers desperately had to have here, and often, he’s given this Wine and Gold squad energy in his bench minutes this season.