Cavs Player Grades: Lamar Stevens has a promising Year 2
By Dan Gilinsky
Stevens’ offensive play this season
When there were opportunities for him as a rookie, there were some encouraging signs from Stevens as a driving threat and finisher, and his body control was something that really stood out inside.
There were more instances from Stevens in those areas in his second season with the Cavaliers, too, and in some spot starts or games where he had more chances, a production uptick followed.
Stevens, who was originally on a two-way deal with Cleveland as an undrafted rookie out of Penn State, had 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per outing last season. There were again some flashes from him last season on-ball offensively, and he did show some mid-range pull-up qualities as well, but this season, there were plays like that more frequently for stretches of games.
With more opportunities, Stevens had 6.1 points on 51.7 percent effective field goal shooting, and 2.6 rebounds per contest, in what was more chances to make plays, with 16.1 minutes per game. That was in 63 appearances, which included 13 starts, where he filled in at multiple positions for the Cavaliers.
There are some instances where Stevens might be prone to forcing things a bit here and there, and there still were some blown looks inside where you’d expect him to convert, but overall, I thought there was tangible progress from Stevens this season offensively.
He’s got a ways to go to be considered a viable catch-and-shoot threat, as while he did have some positive strides there, he still hit only 27.7 percent from three, and I do believe some more playmaking from him on drives could be a point of emphasis.
Even still, for a rotational contributor that feasibly can have some notable variance in minutes for stretches of games it seems, Stevens’ offensive play was encouraging. When there were consistent looks, he provided some legit driving and finishing help, and his cutting feel also improved, in my opinion.
He’ll need to show more off-ball growth, but Year 2 was solid from Stevens.
We do know the deep shooting is a point of emphasis, however, and Stevens does need to make quicker decisions at times.