Cavs Player Grades: Cedi Osman starts well, then cools off some
By Dan Gilinsky
Osman’s offensive play in 2021-22
As we alluded to before, Osman did start off this season well, and it was nice to see him look more comfortable with role clarity.
On the season, he again had 10.7 points per game, in an average of 22.2 minutes, and connected on 35.7 percent of his three-point attempts.
He started the season off well shooting-wise from deep, and hit 35.6 percent from three pre-All-Star break. In November and December, he connected on 43.2 then 33.3 percent percent from three, but on plenty of occasions, was able to give Cleveland a spark.
Although, after the All-Star break, while he did still have some nice outings, Osman had less opportunities to make things happen. There were a number of DNPs, and when Osman’s shots were off, his minutes decreased as the coaching staff reportedly thought that was carrying over to other aspects of his play negatively.
I personally thought that was a bit overblown. Either way, Osman didn’t have the same impact, whether or not that was fair, from my perspective, given what he provided on plenty of times before then.
Post-All-Star, Osman shot still 35.7 percent from three, but his play in games was admittedly more on and off.
In fairness to him, I did still think when his role was clarified, and there was ample playmaking around him, Osman did fine for Cleveland, and at times near late-season, got a bit of a raw deal.
He still was able to make plays at times as a cutter as well, in transition and I still don’t discount his help as a ball-mover, either. Osman had 2.0 assists per outing as well, which was alright, in his role.
Relating to Osman’s offensive grade, he’s going to be streaky, but even with some ups and downs and head-scratching moments or games at times, he did fine. I’ll go with a B.