Grading the Cleveland Cavaliers’ wings so far this season
By Ismail Sy
The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten most of their production from their guards and bigs this season. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland are the engine of an offense that ranks ninth in the NBA and Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are the anchors of the league’s best defense. However, the Cavs have gotten very inconsistent production from their wings this season.
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has tried to find the right fit at small forward, but there hasn’t been a guy that has separated himself.
That said, here, we’ll go in-depth in our grading of the Cavs’ wings thus far this season, with each on an individual basis in this sense.
We’ll start with a player that was supposed to be the answer for this weakness on the roster.
Examining Caris LeVert’s play so far
Caris LeVert has been the biggest headache for Cavs fans this season. It feels like his 41-point outburst against the Boston Celtics was eons ago. The thing about LeVert is that he is a jack of all trades, but a master of none.
On the season, he is shooting 36% from three, but he has shot 22% from three since February-on. He can score the ball at will at times, as he has 11 games with 20 points or more. But, he has not crossed double digits since Feb. 10 and hasn’t scored 20 points since Jan. 20. It has not been all bad for LeVert though this season.
He has improved on catch-and-shoot opportunities, as he is shooting 39% on catch-and-shoot threes. His playmaking has also been a constant for the Cavaliers this season, especially lately as he has been averaging 5 assists per game since Feb. 6. That is where the good stops with LeVert since the new year, though.
He needs to step it up if he wants another contract from the Cavaliers and this season he hasn’t shown that he has earned that.