When he’s brought up in discussions among Cleveland Cavaliers fans, rotational wing Cedi Osman is often a player whose going to be a polarizing guy in those settings.
Sure, some love the guy. He’s always had a boyish charm to him, even back in his rookie season (remember the celly’s with LeBron James?) and he has some flare to his game. Osman is exactly what one would want in a teammate, too, and his smile, amazing flow, and sense of humor have made him so lovable, to some fans.
There’s also some that are not too fond of him. Osman has had some really rough cold spells over the course of his time with the Cavaliers, and he can prone to taking bad shots, or simply being way off on open shots on catch-and-shoots. That sort of thing was on display in the Cavaliers’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at home a couple of weeks back.
At times, he can appear to be out of place on the defensive end, also, and athletically, he’s somewhat limited compared to other wings. With this being six years in, well at least five with him regularly involved in games, the flaws are known with Osman, as they are for most players by that time.
So, taking everything into consideration, then, what’s a fair assessment of Osman’s play this season for the Wine and Gold?
We’ll put the spotlight on Osman’s performance throughout this regular season here, in his sixth year with the Cavs.
Let’s begin with his offensive play, and in doing so, one has to acknowledge with inconsistency in opportunity, with a player of Osman’s archetype, that is going to result in inconsistency in his own play.
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.
Osman’s 2022-23 offensive grade: B
Osman’s 2022-23 defense
Osman is not going to be in games for being a defensive ace, such as is the case with Isaac Okoro, for example. Osman is going to be limited in some matchups on the perimeter, given lateral quickness limitations, and he gets caught trying to navigating ball screens in some sequences.
However, to Osman’s credit, he has been more competent with his off-ball play defensively this season, which has carried forward, to some degree, from last season. Then, he appeared to have turned a corner in that realm, and this season, he’s shown growth with his instincts as a helper.
While it’s not led to a bunch of deflections, his activity and timing when digging into gaps on drivers has helped the Cavaliers in stretches, and he’s at least done a better job of running shooters off the three-point line.
In addition, what seemingly goes unnoticed with Osman is how he is a solid defensive rebounder, from a positioning, timing and activity perspective. The splits of 2.3 rebounds per game weren’t a gaudy number, but his defensive rebounding rate of 11.4 percent was decent, in his role.
Objectively, though, Osman is still going to get beat and takes some bad fouls on shooters, and that’s feasibly played into his minutes-share variance, and in the playoffs, it’s an area of concern, along with his shot being streaky.
Osman’s 2022-23 defensive grade: B-
Osman’s overall play
Osman’s struggles at various points are not rough patches he should be completely absolved of, and over his tenure with the Cavs, he’s been a shooter that runs hot and cold for stretches of games.
Despite that, his finishing this season has been improved, as has his off-ball defense, and when he’s had consistent opportunities, he’s aided the club on plenty of occasions.
Furthermore, Osman being fourth in the NBA this season in total plus-minus among bench players, per NBA.com, is nothing to sneeze at. It also makes me wonder what could have been if he had been in J.B. Bickerstaff’s doghouse less, if he could have been able to have a far better rhythm for extended periods. With others involved, it had to have played into some of the variance, in fairness.
Either way, Osman has long been a player mentioned in recent seasons as a potential trade candidate, albeit to no point actually being moved. But, with his deal for next season non-guaranteed, it’s tough to forecast whether or not he’ll be back. He has been a great locker room presence, and has given this team energy a bunch in his time in Cleveland, on the plus side.
If it were up to me, I’d prefer to have the team and Cedi find a way to keep him around, as a glue guy/bench shooter-type. It’s not no simple with the soon-to-be-28-year-old, though.