2022-23 Cavs Grades: Cedi Osman has ups and downs, but not all on him
By Dan Gilinsky
Osman’s 2022-23 offense
Ahhhh, the Osman discourse. It’s a been a bit of a rollercoaster ride once again for Osman on offense this season, and overall, realistically.
On the year, Osman has had decent splits of 8.7 points per outing, and has connected on 36.3 percent of his attempts from three-point range. There’s been ups and downs for him as a deep shooter, though, which has been a typical thing over the course of his time with the Cavs.
That said, one has to cut him his slack, as yet again, Osman’s minutes-share has been, well, inconsistent. He’s once again, just like last season, had some baffling DNPs this season, and since the turn of the year, regardless of circumstances, Osman has had seven appearances where he’s played single-digit minutes. He’s had eight other appearances in that span where he’s played less than 14 minutes, along with that.
Objectively, Osman does have his flaws, and at times, he can take ill-advised shots, and he’s been a streaky shooter in his time with the Cavaliers. There’s going to be some volatility with Osman, and this season has been no exception in that realm.
But, he’s also shown how he can be a red-hot shooter off the bench for the Cavs, too, as he did last season, and when he’s had more chances game-to-game in his play, he has proven he can be an impact bench scorer that can make some plays to counter hard closeouts. And Osman has long been a quality secondary/tertiary playmaker.
Plus, he has converted on 57.2 percent of his two-point looks, to his credit, which has been a positive, and Osman’s transition finishing has been a constant when he’s been the opportunities. He can find ways to generate free throw opportunities as well, and has made strides with his shooting off movement.
To reiterate, one would prefer to have more consistency from Osman, but he has found ways to give the Cavaliers a jolt on a number of occasions this season. In his last 38 appearances, he’s connected on 39.2 percent of his three-point attempts, in which have amounted to 4.2 per game, and his deep shooting clip has been 37.5 percent across his last 21 appearances.