Grading the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bigs so far this season

Examining Robin Lopez’s play so far

Coming into the season, expectations weren’t exactly lofty when forecasting the outlook for Robin Lopez. He hadn’t been regularly involved in the Orlando Magic’s rotation the season prior, with them feasibly prioritizing young players getting developmental time, and from a Cavs’ standpoint, Allen and Mobley would figure to have the majority of the 5 man minutes.

Those caveats aside, Lopez seemed to be a decent offseason signing for playable depth in some matchups. He did still show he can be viable in spurts against more traditional 5s with the Magic, and in the season prior to that with the Washington Wizards. So, at least in theory, the Lopez signing was a sensible one by the Cavs in the offseason.

That’s not really been what’s transpired, though. Lopez has appeared in just 7.9 minutes per contest, in what’s been 30 appearances; in his time, he’s averaged 2.9 points and 1.3 rebounds.

There’s not been much as far as silver lining with Lopez on the floor this season, even with his signing likely being for some insurance and/or as mostly a locker room presence. It is Lopez’s 15th NBA season, and he’s bounced around a bunch, but his hook shot effectiveness when he has had some time on the floor hasn’t necessarily been there as much as one could’ve foreseen, and his defensive limitations have been apparent.

Lopez’s 2022-23 grade so far: C-

The dude is again in his 15th season, and it wasn’t likely that Lopez would be much of a regular contributor with Allen and Mobley in the fold. Even still, the results have not been too pretty when there’s been meaningful minutes for him. Perhaps Cleveland should utilize two-way player Isaiah Mobley more in spurts as opposed to Lopez, if injuries occur and Lopez were to have legit minutes.