The Cavs definitely need Isaac Okoro to step up on offense this year

In the midst of arguably the craziest offseason ever, the Cleveland Cavaliers went out and acquired All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz via trade. With the addition of Mitchell, the Cavs have three, really four, All-Stars in their starting lineup.

Darius Garland, Mitchell, and Jarrett Allen were All-Stars last season, and Evan Mobley is good enough to make many All-Star games moving forward. However, the one position that isn’t solidified, the small forward, could potentially come back to bite them.

When looking back at some of the recent champions, they all have something in common: the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks, 2020 Los Angeles Lakers, 2019 Toronto Raptors, 2018 and 2017 Golden State Warriors, 2016 Cavaliers, 2014 San Antonio Spurs, 2013 and 2012 Miami Heat had a player listed at the small forward position who was capable of giving their team a minimum of 15 points any given night.

Can the Cavaliers definitively say that they have someone who they can insert into the small forward position and know they’re going to get 10, 15, or even 20 points in a game? The answer at this moment is no. They don’t, if this plays out how I ultimately believe it will, with Isaac Okoro being the starter there.

Now, others are reportedly in the mix for the starting small forward spot, too, for what it’s worth. Caris LeVert, Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens, Cedi Osman and Dylan Windler are said to be in the mix for that role, along with Okoro.

But, either way, it does seem that Okoro is set to play a big role, and him playing starting minutes seems likely. And Okoro could slot in as the starting small forward when the season opens north of the border in Toronto against the Raptors on Oct. 19.

It’s evident that the Cavs really need Okoro to step up on offense this season.

The Cavaliers drafted Okoro fifth overall in the 2020 NBA Draft out of Auburn mostly because of what he could do defensively. Since then, he’s been very good defensively, but not great. The problem with that lies in the opponents the Cavaliers have to face on a nightly basis in the Eastern Conference, and to reiterate, Okoro could still play a bunch.

The Bucks, for example, have an All-Star caliber player at small forward in Khris Middleton. Before Giannis Antetokounmpo exploded for 50 points in the championship-clinching Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals in Milwaukee against the Suns, I thought Middleton was going to win Finals MVP. Had Middleton been available for the Bucks during their second-round series against the eventual East champion Boston Celtics, they would have made the 2022 NBA Finals against Golden State.

The Celtics have two All-Star caliber players of their own in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who can both play the small forward position; granted, they’ll slot in at other positions as well. On any given night, one or both will go off for 20-30 points, dropping the occasional 40 piece. In the Eastern Conference Finals, Tatum and Brown, among others, had to work hard to slow down the Miami Heat’s All-Star forward, Jimmy Butler.

Butler is a somewhat similar player to Okoro. They’re both defensive-minded players who can give the man they’re guarding headaches. But, with Jimmy, the Heat know they can count on him to provide quality scoring, and playmaking off that. The Cavaliers don’t yet know that with Okoro.

Granted, he’s a young player who could become a dynamic two-way player. Sometimes it takes a few seasons for defensive-minded players to develop an offensive game. For example, Butler, in his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, averaged 2.6 PPG. His average went up to 8.6 PPG in year two and his numbers jumped up to 13.1 PPG in his third year. In his rookie year with the Cavs, Okoro averaged 9.6 PPG, but his numbers dipped to 8.8 PPG in his second season, albeit with a bit less minutes on average. The Cavaliers have to be hoping Okoro is on a similar trajectory offensively to Butler.

Offensively, the Cavs don’t know what they’re going to get from Okoro each night. In the first matchup with the Bulls last season, a 115-92 victory at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Dec. 8, Okoro provided a measly nine points. In a close 112-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on April 3, Okoro scored a pathetic three points in 32 minutes of action. In a one-point loss, 109-108, against the Jazz on Dec. 5, Okoro contributed six points. He did score 20 points four times last season, on a positive note, and scored a career-high 32 points against the Suns in April of his rookie year.

Given the caliber of talented wing players the Cavs will be going up against across the NBA, not just within the Eastern Conference, they need Okoro to live up to the slot he was drafted. To that point, Okoro making notable strides on offense, such as with his shooting, would indicate him doing so.

However, several recent champions had a non-scorer getting a considerable chunk of playing time. Those players find other ways to contribute like how Draymond Green acts as the defensive quarterback for Golden State. The Warriors’ dynasty plays Green, the early 2010s Heat dynasty played Shane Battier, the 2011 Dallas Mavericks had Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd (Hall of Famer), while the 2018-19 Raptors had several rotation players below 10 PPG.

But, the Cavs have a much better shot at making a deep run in the playoffs if Okoro can become a well-rounded two-way player.

Now again, we’ll have to see what shakes out in the starting 3 battle, and it’s not clear if Okoro will win that spot. It does appear that regardless, though, he’ll have his share of minutes, and it would be very meaningful if he can prove to be more viable on offense this coming season if he’s going to be on the floor a bunch. And him reportedly working a ton on that end in the offseason is encouraging, at least.