Grading the Cleveland Cavaliers guards’ play so far this season

Examining Raul Neto’s play so far this season

Coming into the season, the signing of Raul Neto was predicated on him being insurance in the time until Ricky Rubio returned from his ACL injury. Neto showed offensive improvements in his two prior seasons with the Washington Wizards, but with Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell in the fold, one couldn’t have had particularly lofty expectations for Neto this season.

To his credit, Neto has given the Cavaliers meaningful energy in spurts, and defensively, he’s done commendable work disrupting operations at the point of attack. That’s been his most consistent contribution this season so far when he’s had legit playing time.

It’s not as if Neto has had a ton of burn, though. He’s averaged 10.3 minutes per outing, and has appeared in 39 games to this point, and has posted marks of 3.1 points and 1.4 assists in his appearances.

Neto is not going to be playing much from here, either, as Rubio has started to get re-acclimated with the Cavaliers, and he’s simply a different level of playmaker.

However, to Neto’s credit, he’s done decently in his spurts on the floor for the Cavs as a defensive presence on the perimeter, and offensively, he has helped the Cavs get into their offense to some degree, and his situational driving has been a positive.

Neto’s 2022-23 grade so far: B

Neto has done decently in a spot minutes role this season, from my perspective, and here and there, he could give the Cavaliers a defensive lift still as a point of attack pest. But the offensive shooting limitations are apparent, and looking onward, it’s even tougher to foresee Neto having role consistency.