Watching the NBA Playoffs, it’s still a little tough to watch and not be a bit disappointed that the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t be in the field. The team had a very promising season, to say the least, as they had 44 wins, which was the most by a Cavaliers team without LeBron James since 1998.
The Wine and Gold improved their win total by 22 games, doubling it from last season, and guys such as Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen had breakout campaigns. Both of those two even repped the hometown Cavaliers in the All-Star festivities in Cleveland this year, too.
Unfortunately for the Cavs, injuries eventually caught up with them, and Allen’s fractured finger, in particular, played a crucial role in the team stumbling to the finish and they lost two play-in games, resulting in missing the postseason. The Cavs post-All-Star had just nine wins, and their defense was not close to as effective, that’s also with the loss of Dean Wade to some extent.
It was still a season where the team exceeded seemingly everybody’s expectations heading into the year, on the plus side, and as we noted, there were a number of guys that took their games up a notch. Garland and Allen were big-time, Evan Mobley was outstanding as a rookie, Kevin Love terrific in a shift to a bench role, and Lauri Markkanen seemingly got more comfortable as the season wore on.
Another player that jumped out to me as somebody who stepped up was Lamar Stevens, who we’ll examine further here.
Next up in our KJG Cavs grades is Stevens, who was a pleasant surprise.
In his second season with the Cavaliers, Stevens turned a corner. With that, let’s take a closer look at his offensive grade for 2021-22.