The Cleveland Cavaliers were the average for the NBA last season in terms of three-point shooting. They finished the regular season ranked 15th in three-point percentage. As the young players on the Cavs continue to develop and round out their games, their individual three-point percentages will continue to climb. Along with this, Cleveland’s roster features a handful of vets that are lights-out from distance.
It is likely that next season, the Cavs will finish well above the 15th spot for three-point percentage. There are three players who stand out coming into the season that will lead the way, as well. It could be on their shoulders to carry the Cavaliers from deep and lead the team to possibly being a top 10 three-point shooting team in the league. If the Cavs are able to achieve this, there is no reason that they should not be a playoff team this year, possibly even avoiding the play-in as well.
A jump in outside shooting this year would be game-changing for the team as a whole. The first major positive change that would occur is the teams’ floor spacing being further improved.
With Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, both starting and not being effective scorers outside of the paint, having elite shooters around them will give Cleveland a very well-rounded offense.
So taking those into things account, here we’ll touch on who I think could definitely be Cleveland’s top three shooters from deep, in particular, for the season ahead in 2022-23. We’ll start with #3.
#3: Ochai Agbaji
The first player that could end the year as a top-three shooter for the Cleveland Cavaliers is Ochai Agbaji. This may be a tall task for Agbaji as he is coming into his rookie season, however, when looking at his collegiate numbers, he is more than capable of making an immediate impact from deep. Agbaji improved every season from three in his four years at Kansas.
He shot 30.7% from three in his freshman year, 33.8% his sophomore season, 37.7% his junior year, and 40.8% in his final campaign with the Jayhawks. Coming into the draft, Agbaji was considered to be one of the best three-and-D players in the class along with being one of the most NBA-ready players.
As long as he does not run into much trouble transitioning from the college three-point line to the NBA’s, look for him to make an immediate impact for the Cavaliers along with being a sniper from the start.
It would not be outlandish to believe that Agbaji could finish his rookie season shooting 36-37% on a notable volume, as the season wears on at least. There will likely be a slight drop off from his senior year of college due to the three-point line change from NCAA to NBA, but, there should not be a significant decrease.
#2: Kevin Love
The next player that will lead the Cavaliers from deep next season is Kevin Love. Love was one of the best three-point shooters for Cleveland last year, and next season should be more of the same. Since joining the Cavs, Love has made major adjustments to his game compared to his style of play with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He transitioned from more of a traditional big who was a 20-20 threat to a stretch four or five who is one of the best at what he does.
Last season, Love led the team in three-point percentage (of qualified players who played more than 25 games) at 39.2%. This was a hell of a year for Love from three and will be very difficult for him to replicate. Despite there possibly being a regression in three-point percentage from Love this season, it will not be a major one. Over his six years with the Cavaliers, he has shot 37.8% from three. This is still an incredible shooting percentage for a big man.
Look for Love to have another great season coming off of the bench for Cleveland and making another run for the Sixth Man of the Year award, of which he finishing second in the voting for last season.
He will once again be a reliable option from three and if he is able to have an even better year from three, it could mean big things for the Cavaliers.
#1: Darius Garland
The player that will likely be the biggest three-point scorer for the Cavs this year is Darius Garland. Garland has been one of the Cavs’ top shooting threats since he joined the team. Since then, he has only improved and is quickly becoming one of the top young outside scorers in the league.
Garland will likely make another jump this coming season as he has every year he has been with the team. With the offense running through him once again this season, he could possibly jump to seven or eight three-point shots attempted a game. If he is able to roam around the three-point percentage he has had the past two seasons (39.5% and 38.3%), Garland will not only lead the Cavs from beyond the arc but also be one of the best outside shooting guards in the entire NBA.
Barring significant injuries, and I understand that’s an if, this could be shaping up to be the year that both Garland and the Cavaliers finally have their breakthrough. Individually, Garland made his first All-Star game last season and looks like he could stake his claim as a top guard of the future. As a team, Cleveland made the playoffs, technically, but were unable to get past the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament.
If Garland can break through as a top three-point scorer in the league, he will establish himself as one of the best at his position, and the Cavaliers will make their big playoff push.