Cavs Player Grades: Caris LeVert inconsistent as second banana

Cavs Player Grades for Caris LeVert:  Offensive Production

The raw numbers for Caris LeVert on offense are shaky right off the bat. He played in 19 regular-season games for the Cavs and averaged a pedestrian 13.6 points per game, which over a whole season would have been his worst mark since his second season with the Brooklyn Nets. He shot 43.5 percent from the field, just 31.3 percent from deep on limited attempts, and only dished 3.9 assists per game.

To his credit, however, the raw stats don’t tell the whole story. LeVert’s mere presence on the court helped the Cavaliers on offense, as suddenly defenses couldn’t key onto Darius Garland as heavily. Replacing a player such as Isaac Okoro or Lamar Stevens in lineups juiced the versatility of the offense, even if LeVert didn’t convert well when he did choose to shoot.

According to Cleaning the Glass, a website that filters out garbage time, Caris LeVert played 567 minutes for the Cavaliers and the offense was 5.1 points per possession better when he was on the court. The Cavs’ turnover rate plummeted and their free-throw rate skyrocketed, even if they didn’t necessarily shoot better.

Lineups specifically with both Caris LeVert and Darius Garland had a 118.4 offensive rating, a mark that would have led the league; the top-ranked Utah Jazz had just a 116.7 offensive rating. We’ll dig into what the Cavs gave back in just a moment, but clearly the idea that LeVert could help this offense perform at a higher rate was correct.

In summation: LeVert was inefficient scoring the basketball, but his overall impact on the offense was positive. Would LeVert or another player been more of a help if their shots had gone in? Absolutely. But LeVert’s reputation and ability to push the defense into rotation helped Garland and others have space to score.

Unfortunately, when the Cavs needed him to score the most he was unable to do so. In the Cavs’ two play-in games LeVert shot just 9-for-25 (36 percent); yet even then he totaled 12 assists and the Cavs were a cumulative +2 in his minutes. It’s a mixed-bag for LeVert, but certainly not as bad as his cold shooting suggests.

Grade: B