Cavs have to give Brandon Goodwin some meaningful minutes

It’s a broken record at this juncture, but we know that the Cleveland Cavaliers have dealt with injuries recently, and throughout the season. Darius Garland has been available, and that’s the positive.

It’s been difficult for Cleveland to have been without near-trade deadline acquisition Caris LeVert because of a foot sprain for post-All-Star break, though, and Jarrett Allen (finger fracture) could be sidelined for the rest of the regular season.

LeVert is reportedly progressing, but Lauri Markkanen, who missed an 11-game stretch prior to the All-Star break, missed the Cavaliers last game in a loss at his former, club the Chicago Bulls, on Saturday. That was due to ankle soreness, so that’s something to monitor.

Dean Wade is currently listed as questionable for Cleveland versus the LA Clippers on Monday, and Rajon Rondo, who has dealt with injuries since being acquired via trade, is doubtful for then with an ankle sprain. That’s less than ideal, too, with how heavy Darius Garland’s workload is already, for what it’s worth. The club needs LeVert back, also, in that realm.

Anyway, while the Cavs are in a rough spot right now, and have lost eight of 11, they have to get Garland again some playmaking help. That’s been evident, either way, and while I acknowledge his worth to this team, they have to still get him pockets of rest, and with Rondo banged up again, Brandon Goodwin needs to be getting some opportunities in upcoming games.

It’s apparent that the Cavs need to give Goodwin some meaningful playing time in upcoming games.

Goodwin was previously a hardship exception signing with Cleveland earlier on this season for COVID-19-related insurance for the team, and then he was later signed to a two-way deal. He was also on two two-way deals with the Atlanta Hawks before this season, for further context.

That said, Goodwin did help Atlanta and in a handful of spot starts this season, he’s done decently for the Cavaliers, and generally, he’s done respectably, given the circumstances. That’s when you factor in the constant change of lineup construction during the season for the Cavaliers as well, and it’s always going to take some time to form chemistry with new teammates.

While I understand that Goodwin is not going to be a guy that gets a ton of minutes, necessarily, when Garland is available (he has missed stretches of games due to back soreness), with Garland’s huge workload at the moment, we should see Goodwin in some again.

In Goodwin’s 24 appearances, he’s had five starts, and 16.2 minutes per contest overall, in which he’s had 5.5 points on 40.2 percent shooting, and 3.4 assists. But in non-starts, 19 said games, that’s been 12.1 minutes per appearance, in which he’s averaged 4.6 points and 2.4 assists, and shot 46.2 percent.

The gist is, the dude’s not going to have the most prominent role from here, if DG is available, as Goodwin is mostly going to be playing on-ball when he’s in, with maybe minutes sprinkled in with Garland here and there. Goodwin is 6-foot and more of a slender build, and we don’t see that often.

In any case, with Rondo’s ankle sprain, and with Garland having inconsistencies for stretches in some games lately, perhaps resulting in more turnovers than are typical for him, such as at the Bulls in a loss on Saturday, maybe due some to fatigue, Goodwin needs a few spurts again. That could help the team as a result.

Goodwin has not played over five minutes in three of his past four appearances, and did not play at the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday in a win. But he did play 14 minutes versus the Toronto Raptors the Sunday before last; in that one, he did have five assists and was a plus-15, though, which made a difference in that win.

Now, I’m not suggesting Goodwin minutes are always going to be that effective, obviously. However, he has gotten some nice chemistry down with players such as Isaac Okoro as a cutter, Evan Mobley on the interior, and with perimeter shooters such as Cedi Osman and Kevin Love.

Goodwin potentially being converted to a standard roster spot via team-friendly deal for a potential postseason run would be in-line with that chemistry element, too; we’ll have to see on that, as I understand LeVert will have playmaking duties when he’s back as well.

But circling back, just to help provide some energy, it seems clear that the Cavs need to give Goodwin some meaningful minutes, even for a few spurts in upcoming games. Maybe that could’ve made a positive impact for Cleveland in a loss at the Miami Heat on Friday in meaningful stretches, when Garland really had a rough go of it for much of then.

Garland needs some legitimate point guard playmaking help a bit in games here, as even while he’ll always produce at counting value, he might be better and the offense might be better off as games progress with Goodwin spelling him a bit more throughout the game.

This is something I’ll undoubtedly be watching on Monday night versus the Clippers from Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and company.