For much of the 2022-23 season, we didn’t see Lamar Stevens in game action much for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Through the first 12 games of Cleveland’s season, Stevens registered only 23 total minutes, and was active in only three of those contests.
With the growth he demonstrated throughout the course of last season, that was disappointing to see, and he’s a player that can give the team energy. He’s multi-positional defensively, and on offense, he improved last year as a cutter, and he can give the Cavaliers an on-ball lift at times.
Nonetheless, we haven’t seen much of Stevens so far this season in meaningful minutes. But, he got a spot start on Sunday versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he was in the starting unit once again on Wednesday night at the Milwaukee Bucks.
Unfortunately, the Wine and Gold fell short in those contests, and thanks to a third quarter letdown, of which our Robbie DiPaola touched on, the Cavaliers dropped their fifth straight game at Milwaukee. Now, injuries didn’t help Cleveland’s cause, as Donovan Mitchell (ankle strain) missed the Minnesota game, and Jarrett Allen (ankle soreness/non-COVID-19-related illness) wasn’t active in either of those outings.
That said, Stevens’ play was one of the positives of late for the Cavs, and prior to the Cavaliers’ game at the Bucks on Wednesday, J.B. Bickerstaff hit on how Stevens can aid this Cleveland squad. Bickerstaff essentially expressed how when Stevens has been given opportunities, he’s answered the call, and has aided the club. Here was more on that soundbite from Bickerstaff’s media availability then on Tuesday, via the Cavaliers.
"“He’s been that way since he’s been here. And, you know, every year, he finds his way on the floor. And he deserves the opportunity. Again, it’s early and we’re still trying to figure out lineups and rotations, and that type of stuff. You know, injuries play a part, but he’s a rotational player. I just got to find a way to get him on the floor.”"
Stevens now has his chance for the Cavs, and he looks to be making the most of it.
There’s been others involved, such as Caris LeVert, and Cedi Osman and Dean Wade, so that’s played into Stevens not having much burn to this point in the season. It is still early, as Bickerstaff did hit on in his aforementioned media availability on Tuesday, so it’s going to take some time to nail down rotations/substitution patterns.
However, when watching Stevens, and with how the Cavaliers have been reeling, and not defending how they were during their eight-game winning streak, it’s apparent that he should receiving his share of minutes.
There’s still been some hiccups at times in the past two games with Stevens, and he’s not the shooter of say, Wade; I recognize that. But, Stevens showed his defensive chops last season when he was regularly involved, and his playmaking on that end can give this team energy.
Stevens had four blocks on Wednesday, and he was a significant reason for Giannis Antetokounmpo having a season-low 17 points in that one.
Some of that was also due to the Cavaliers wanting to limit Antetokounmpo’s paint opportunities, sure, and he did have eight assists. There were several sprayouts to Brook Lopez, who was unconscious from three, and Jordan Nwora and company stepped up with Milwaukee without Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, Grayson Allen and others.
Despite that, and Stevens going just three-of-10 from the field on Wednesday, his defense, physicality, grit and rebounding were positives; he would finish out with 10 points and five boards. And as Bickerstaff mentioned in his media availability from Tuesday, Stevens provided a “spark” in his play versus the Timberwolves, a game in which he had 15 points and six rebounds.
The Penn State product was one of the guys who helped the Cavaliers will their way back into that contest sans Donovan Mitchell and Allen and Wade again, and though Darius Garland’s 51-point binge was the main takeaway, Stevens’ tenacity made a difference as well.
Following the Cavs’ disappointing end result against the Bucks, and Bickerstaff seemingly hinting at potential lineup/rotational changes with the team amid a five-game slide, and as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com touched on in a report, it seems that defenders such as Stevens should now be more involved.
I personally think it’d be a bit much to be playing Okoro way more than Osman, a la Wednesday, even with Osman’s recent shooting struggles, as an aside. But either way, it’s evident that Stevens has been a positive in these last two games.
While Bickerstaff described the Cavaliers’ group as having ‘kind of a fat cat mentality,'” in response to complacency seemingly setting in a bit following their hot start, Stevens has not been a player that fits that bill. As our own Brayden Todd laid out and Stevens’ trainer, Henry Woo Jr. alluded to in that interview, Lamar is always a guy that stays ready, can impact games on both ends, and will always answer the bell when his number is called.
Stevens has his flaws, but right now, it’s growing increasingly clear that the third-year man and former undrafted, two-way signing is earning his minutes, and that shouldn’t be a temporary thing. Lamar embodies the Cavaliers’ Junkyard Dog Chain, and Bickerstaff and company better not lose sight of that. It’s Stevens’ time, and he’s making the most of it, despite the group themselves being in a rut.