I’m not going to suggest that the Cleveland Cavaliers have been crushing it as a team in recent weeks, as the team is 7-10 in post-All-Star break play. The Cavs last week went 0-3, and had two very disappointing performances in losses against the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors, and Cleveland’s anemic offense in the first half ultimately did them in versus the Chicago Bulls.
That was tough to see, after the Cavaliers had a 3-1 week the week prior, and even with injuries, showed the resilience they’ve exhibited much of the reason. That was on display, even more so, in an overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets where the squad chipped away in the second half, and clawed their way to a win.
Nonetheless, in the majority of Cleveland’s contests this month, they have looked for stretches off on the defensive end, and while the team misses Jarrett Allen (finger) badly, they have to be better from a communication standpoint. Diddo for the squad’s closeouts to catch-and-shoot threats and on the defensive glass.
All of that being said, what the Cavaliers have done for much of this season has been more than satisfactory, as the team still can make the postseason, and is currently seventh in the Eastern Conference.
It’s not going to be a simple task to do so, as I know, and Evan Mobley’s recent ankle sprain during Cleveland’s win against the Orlando Magic on Monday, is something that really stings, too. He didn’t return after that happened in the second quarter, and we’ll see if he misses time; his x-rays reportedly came back negative, on the plus side.
The Cavs will have an uphill battle to get back to a top-6 seed and re-claim that from Toronto, but they still have seven games left, and may not have to be in the play-in tournament, provided they can gain some momentum. I recognize that’s easier said than done.
In any case, even with the club’s ups and downs, the Cavs have still had some solid performers, with Darius Garland coming to mind and Evan Mobley often making an impact (again, we’ll see on his health from here).
Here, though, we’ll hit on two performers that are seemingly finding their rhythm of late for the Cavs, by and large.
The first is the likes of Lamar Stevens.
#1: Lamar Stevens
I’m not discounting the efforts of Garland (regardless of him being off from three of late), but I have to give Stevens a shoutout for his recent efforts.
With Dean Wade unfortunately suffering a partially torn meniscus and being sidelined for the rest of the season, Stevens has had some starts lately, and he’s done a pretty solid job, all things considered.
Stevens is not going to be a crucial offensive focal point, generally speaking, in his minutes, but he can create some for himself offensively via drives in catch-and-go instances and in transition, and his finishing at the rim has been impressive.
In Stevens’ last seven games, four of which have been starts, he’s had 11.7 points in 23.3 minutes per outing, and has hit 59.6 percent of his shots. That’s been on a volume of 8.1 attempts per appearance.
Along with that, even with the volume not being high at 1.0 per game, which is how it’s going to be with Stevens, no matter the minutes-share seemingly, Stevens has hit 57.1 percent from three in that span. Nobody’s going to refer to Stevens as a floor spacer any time soon, but his catch-and-shoot progression over the course of his second season, when the opportunities have come, has been meaningful.
And while his defense, physicality and toughness are going to be the selling points for him for minutes from here, and potentially for some in the playoffs, Stevens’ mid-range abilities at times have been jumped out, too.
There still are going to be some rough stretches at times for Stevens, admittedly, but his recent play has been a positive for Cleveland, and he’s looked pretty comfortable, more often than not.
For originally a two-way player that was an undrafted signing following the 2020 NBA Draft, Stevens has turned out to be a nice rotational player for the Cavaliers that could stick around next season and maybe beyond, also as a prominent locker room presence.
#2: Lauri Markkanen
The other Cavaliers player that seems to have been finding his rhythm recently, that’s been more of note lately, has been Lauri Markkanen.
Markkanen will still have some rough games here and there, and his role has seemingly changed given the players in and out of the lineup for Cleveland throughout the season, and his own injury didn’t help. He also left mid-game on Monday against the Magic due to a knee-to-knee collision, but did return and ended up coming up big down the stretch, and had 20 points, albeit on 6-of-15 shooting. He did go 5-of-5 from the foul line, though.
For the most part, Markkanen has been a bright spot for the Cavs offense, regardless, and while he might be somewhat banged up, him returning was a good sign. And the same goes for Stevens, who had a hard fall on his wrist on Monday, but did still play from there, and is as tough it gets.
We’ll have to see involving both from here; when it comes to Markkanen, anyway, he has been finding his rhythm again, and in his last seven games, he’s had 17.7 points on 64.0 percent true shooting. He’s connected on 35.2 percent from three on 7.7 attempts per outing then, and has added 6.3 rebounds.
Now, it’s not tough that Markkanen is likely banged up again, and especially after getting his rhythm down following his absence because of his prior ankle sprain, but his recent play has been encouraging. Mobley dealing with the ankle ailment, even with x-rays reportedly being negative, could put more pressure on Markkanen, however, offensively, Lauri has been playing very well of late, and that can continue.
Circling back, I’m again not glossing over Garland efforts, but lately, the play of Stevens and Markkanen have been positives for Cleveland in recent weeks.
Let’s hope that guys such as Kevin Love and Cedi Osman can get going here, as the Cavs need it, as an aside, and Love did deliver on Monday with 19 points. Well, that’s if Osman gets the opportunities, to the last point.