Lamar Stevens was sneaky good on drives for Cavs, looks to build on that

I get that Lamar Stevens is not going to be a player that’s going to get the same pub as the likes of Darius Garland, or Evan Mobley, when it comes to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stevens was originally a two-way signing before the 2020-21 campaign, as an undrafted player out of Penn State, where he played for four seasons.

Stevens showed multi-positional defensive abilities in his rookie year with Cleveland, and some rim pressure and mid-range qualities when he was given opportunities, though, and in his second season, he benefited from more chances.

Stevens had 6.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per outing during this season for the Cavaliers, and took advantage of more playing time and more chances to regularly be involved in the rotation in his second year. It was nice to see him again do a solid job on defense, and offensively, I thought Stevens gave Cleveland’s bench energy as a physical player and finisher in his minutes on plenty of occasions.

Stevens’ cutting feel also got better as his second season progressed, and in the open floor and/or in secondary break situations, he was very difficult to defend.

Stevens is not a player that’s going to create for himself on high volume as a jump shooter, but as a driver, he again showed the capability to finish at the rim through contact, and his body control was impressive, as was the case in Year 1. In 2021-22, though, his driving qualities were more regularly seen, and next season, I’d expect him to look to build on that, too.

Stevens was a sneaky good driver for the Cavs this season, and hopefully, in rotational minutes, he can keep building on that in 2022-23.

Stevens had minutes at more so the 3 spot this season, as opposed to the 4 a bunch the year prior, and had some playing time at the 2 position as well. His defensive versatility made a difference for the Cavaliers, and I’d personally expect that to play out again next season, provided he receives the opportunities.

As we touched on, however, it was good to see Stevens take his driving game a step further in his second year, and look to make strides offensively as well. He had those aforementioned 6.1 points per game, in what an increased minutes-share, with 16.1 minutes per appearance, which included 13 starts when filling in for injuries.

Stevens does still need to make quicker decisions at times, and it’s apparent that he’ll need to improve his catch-and-shoot play, as he still hit only 27.7 percent from three in Year 2. I’m not disputing that.

He seemed more comfortable in finding gaps as a driver, though, and his ability to finish through contact, and with impressive body control as a 230-pound wing/forward gave the team a lift.

He was able to either convert in catch-and-go situations along the baseline, or make quick plays through gaps on the strong side, where he could either convert on straight-line drives pretty consistently. As a counter, at times he was able to use subtle moves to get to spots on the interior to free himself up, too.

On drives, Stevens improved in his second year, and while there were still times where he was over-extending a bit, or didn’t see kickouts, I thought he showed considerable growth in his effectiveness there. In 2021-22, Stevens had 2.4 drives per game, and converted on 49.5 percent of his shot attempts in those situations, per Second Spectrum. In Year 1, his hit rate on drives was 35.3 percent, and points rate was 47.2 percent.

Those constituted 1.5 field goal attempts, which might not be considered a ton, obviously, but in Stevens’ role, where he had 5.1 shots per game, that was meaningful. And just generally, even with him not being the driving presence of Darius Garland, Caris LeVert or Collin Sexton, in the event Sexton is back and potentially around long term (I hope), this season, Stevens demonstrated he can be sneaky good as a driver in rotational minutes.

Stevens’ points percentage on drives was 71.1 percent in his second season, too, and looking onward, Lamar will look to build on this area of his game, perhaps while mixing in some floaters more as well. For what it’s worth, I don’t gloss over Stevens’ mid-range abilities, either.

So, while I can’t say definitively if Stevens is certainly back next season, given others involved on the wing, seemingly with a possible wing draft acquisition, too, Stevens should be a player Cleveland looks to keep around. His deal is still team-friendly, also, for nearly $1.8 million in 2022-23, with a team option the year following.

I again will admit that the catch-and-shoot play needs to improve, but his driving presence is notable, and he could show further growth in Year 3. It’ll be intriguing to see how Stevens, who turns 25 in July, can do in 2022-23, provided he’s around.