This is area Cavs have to consider, regarding the starting 3 outlook

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Kevin Love and Lamar Stevens, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

It’s still early in preseason for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had their first preseason game of their 2022 four-game slate on Wednesday. In that one, the Cavaliers lost to the Philadelphia 76ers on the road 113-112.

Make no mistake, the squad did some nice things in the contest, and the Darius Garland-Donovan Mitchell backcourt was very sharp with Garland having 12 points and four assists in 15 minutes, and Mitchell having 16 points and five assists in 19 minutes.

For Cleveland, they’ll have three other preseason contests set to take place next week, with another on Monday, then in Cleveland. After that, the Cavs will host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, and close out preseason play at the Orlando Magic next Friday. All of those matchups are at 7 PM EST.

Now, one has to take preseason games with a grain of salt, well probably more than a grain; either way, one of the biggest storylines in this preseason is the starting 3 battle.

The Cavaliers do not reportedly have a frontrunner at this time for that role as the fifth starter, and Isaac Okoro, Caris LeVert, Dean Wade, Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler are all said to be in the running. Cleveland will have to make their determination following training camp and the preseason, with the 2022-23 regular season set to begin on Oct. 19 at the Toronto Raptors.

It’s been only one preseason game in yet, so there’s still some time before that’s decided. Although, I’d think Okoro and LeVert could be the early favorites to land that spot, for differing reasons. LeVert did start the first preseason game, so we’ll see how things transpire in coming preseason outings.

I personally would lean Wade, and could maybe be sold on Stevens, as an aside. Despite that, I wouldn’t necessarily expect either to enter the season in that role.

That being said, while it’s not ultimately the deciding factor, and I acknowledge other elements are at play here, there is one area the Cavaliers also can’t overlook in this sense with that role.

It’s not the be-all and end-all, but the Cavs do need to be considering rebounding, regarding the starting 3 outlook.

First, we’ll take a closer look at that area with the starting 3 outlook.