Handing out awards for the Cavaliers at the third-way point

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Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images /

Handing out Cavaliers awards: MVP – Donovan Mitchell

This was a relatively easy award to hand out, as Donovan Mitchell has clearly been the team’s best player. He is averaging 29.3 points per game, a top-10 number leaguewide and by far the best number on the team. He’s shooting 43.1 percent on a whopping 9.1 3-point attempts per game, a true modern weapon and a player who is nearly impossible to stop.

Mitchell has also increased his defensive effort since joining the Cavs, and as such his overall impact has been elite. Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM) ranks Mitchell 11th in the league overall and fifth in offense. He has been far and away the Cavs’ best player and wins the “MVP” award.

Most Disappointing – Isaac Okoro

Many all-in-one player metrics feature both a per-minute evaluation and a volume-based one; you want to identify who the best players have been, but availability also matters in evaluating which players have provided the most value. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, who has taken it away the most.

Isaac Okoro, in just his third season in the NBA after going fifth overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, has been incredibly bad to start the year. His defense has been fine, but his offense has been bottom-of-the-league bad. In fact, of all players who have logged at least 250 minutes this season, Okoro is tied with Charlotte’s James Bouknight for the worst offensive EPM in the league. EPM estimates that the Cavs would have been better putting a street free agent into the lineup rather than Isaac Okoro.

The ship is sailing past the point of no return for Okoro. His teammates seem to love him, and he tries hard on defense, but his reluctance to shoot from last season has turned into an outright fear of it, and their offense is strangled by having him on the court. When Ricky Rubio returns it should be the end of Okoro’s rotation minutes.