3 reasons Wade should keep starting for Cavs if Okoro remains out

Dean Wade is now in his fourth season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The former Kansas State product has had a good career with the Wine and Gold. His statistics will never jump off the page, but I’ve said for years, he contributes in ways that are not always picked up in a box score.

This season he’s suffered a couple injuries midway through the year and because of that and his slow progress back, he’s been unfairly criticized by the masses. However, he is now starting to return to the form that had many fans initially excited about what the sharpshooting forward could contribute.

There have been numerous critics of Wade’s game in recent months, especially after Kevin Love was bought out and then went to play for the Miami Heat. Eventually, Wade was pushed out of rotation of the Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. I wrote about that earlier last month and how Wade and Cedi Osman were in the coach’s dog house.

The critiques of both players were not fair takes of these two important players to Cleveland’s chances at doing well in the playoffs. The benching of these players and the everyday decision-making of Bickerstaff is extremely unpredictable. Outside of the four core players in the starting squad, including Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, there has been no logical rhyme or reason to the coach’s decisions when it comes to rotations and matchups.

Now, Wade is seemingly out of Bickerstaff’s doghouse, to some extent, as he’s started the last handful of games in place of an injured Isaac Okoro, who is dealing with knee soreness of late.

There’s no telling how long Wade will get these starts but while he is starting, it’s probably one of the best decisions that the Cavs head coach should try and stick with moving forward, especially in this first playoff round matchup with the New York Knicks. Let’s look at three ways that keeping Wade in the starting group makes sense, at least with Okoro being out. It’s at this point uncertain if Okoro will be ready in that first-round series.