The Cleveland Cavaliers have been exhilarating to watch in a rollercoaster of ups and downs a little over the halfway point this season. The Cavs are trying to continue their rise above expectations, sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 28-18.
The team from Cleveland has seen it all early on. Injuries, a Darius Garland 51-point performance, a terrible stretch of perimeter defense, late game growing pains, not to mention one of the greatest offensive games of all time by Donovan Mitchell. Caris LeVert matched Donovan for 41 points in Boston, there’s been a Kevin Love shooting slump, again it’s been a ride.
The Cavaliers are rumored to be keeping their eyes peeled for another wing shooter/scorer via trade. It’s been the Cavs’ weakest spot from a starting standpoint, and although the bench has helped at times, it’s the inconsistency that keeps you up at night. If the Cavaliers seriously want to compete and contend, the team needs to have weapons firing on all cylinders, contributing night in and night out from all starting positions.
LeVert has done his fair share of contributing to the offense, starting 21 games for the Wine and Gold this season. No. 3 has been labeled as the Cavaliers’ most obvious trade chip at this time, according to a report from NBA Insider Marc Stein in his Substack (subscription required). LeVert does have the ability to help the squad run up the scoreboard and is probably the player Cleveland could get the most for in a return.
There for a while, the Cavs went with the undrafted 25-year-old Lamar Stevens starting in 18 games this season. He started 11 total games in the month of December, where the team had a record of 6-5. He averaged 24.9 minutes per start, 6.2 PTS, and a 37.7 overall field goal percentage, shooting 29.0 percent from the three during that span.
What are Koby Altman and this front office going to do the closer we get to the trade deadline? That’s an answer nobody will know until it’s time to know, unfortunately. Will the Cavaliers acquire a sharpshooting wing who can light it up from behind the arc in the near future?
One would like to think so, but who does one turn to? Who have J.B. Bickerstaff and staff called on to fill the void of what has been one of Cleveland’s weakest links? As of late, the team has dialed up none other than their former 5th-overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, in Isaac Okoro.
Okoro continues to rise
The term bust has yet to be used lightly against the Auburn alumni. Has the Atlanta native been an absolute cornerstone piece the Cavaliers have been able to build around? Not necessarily. Nor do I think that he’s done developing as a player either.
The Cavaliers selected Okoro as the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He’s halfway through his third NBA season and turns 22 on Jan. 26. To say he’s done developing would be a fib, especially since he’s progressed every month since the start of his junior campaign.
During a time when the Cavaliers have been eagerly looking for a consistent 3 in the rotation, the 6-foot-5 wing is steadily climbing month after month. The climb has been slow but constant, and if you’re still looking at No. 35 as the fifth overall pick, you might be doing a disservice to yourself.
He simply doesn’t have to be “that” guy Cleveland expected him to be coming out of the 2020 NBA Draft. Say what you want, but one thing you can’t say about the kid is that he’s not hooping. How did Okoro get to this point a little over the halfway point this season?
In the month of October, Isaac Okoro was averaging 16.2 minutes, 1.7 points on 22.2 percent shooting. He averaged 1.7 three-point attempts during the month, coming out with a goose egg percentage of zero in October.
In November, Okoro climbed the ladder a bit, averaging 20.6 minutes, 5.3 points on 45.9 percent from the floor, going on to average a poor 28.2 percent shooting clip from three through the second month.
In the final 31 days in 2022, Okoro’s minutes lessened by two minutes averaging 18.2 minutes per game. At 48.6 percent from the field, Okoro averaged 6.2 points per game, also shooting (29.4 percent) from deep in the month of December. It’s not much, but I’ll tell you what it wasn’t..regression.
January Okoro: The 21-year-old’s arrival
Flip the page from 2022 to 2023, and you’ll see Okoro on the front page, the Cavaliers talk of the town as of late. If the front office was spazzing about adding an additional piece for a deep playoff push, they might be less desperate now.
Bickerstaff and company have tried a different variety of starting lineups through the course of this season. Looking for consistency in every phase of the lineup is what the recipe calls for.
Should they still add one? Yes. But with Okoro’s recent play, we’re not scrounging the floors anymore like a Gen Alpha on the hunt for their vape. Things are smooth.
During the month of January, Isaac Okoro is averaging 22.7 minutes, 8.7 points, and is tied for a team-high in steals with Donovan Mitchell, averaging 1 per game. Not to mention leading the team in 3-point percentage at 62.5 percent.
It’s been 92 days since the start of this season, and this is Okoro’s best month, which shows his steady progression; for a young guy most had seemed to give up on early this year, he’s playing out of his mind during the Cavaliers’ previous five games.
In the last five, Isaac Okoro is averaging 24.9 minutes, 10.2 points and leading the squad with an overall field goal percentage of 72.0 percent. He also leads the Cavaliers in overall three-point, percentage shooting 64.3 percent from behind the arc.
Okoro’s effective field goal percentage (90.0) is a team-high among Cavs’ players who average twenty minutes or more over the last 5 games. The former one-and-done also has the team-high for catch-and-shoot percentage (96.4) among Cavs’ who average 20 minutes or more over the previous five games.
In a road game on Wednesday night against the third-best team in the NBA, Okoro stepped up and contributed big time. With the team already on the road again, Mitchell was out due to a groin strain, which put the Cavs’ team in another uphill battle.
Okoro, yet again, gave the Cleveland Cavaliers another reason to feel giddy during the game in Memphis. Making his 16th appearance as a starter, Isaac played a total of 34 minutes. He shot 100 percent from the field on 6-of-6 shooting, totaling 17 points. Plus, he shot 100 percent from deep, knocking down four triples in the narrow 115-114 loss to the Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Is No. 35 here to stay?
The progression is there, and the numbers prove it. You suddenly pray to the Basketball Gods that this is his true breakout season because the kid from Georgia is on an absolute tear. Okoro has certainly arisen from the dog house, and it only makes this team that much better, but does his play continue to rise?
You love to see the Cavs finally getting a return on one of their investments at the perfect time. Injuries are going to continue; that’s just part of the game, and the team still needs to add another consistent scorer, but the soon-to-be 22-year-old is coming into his own.