3 Cleveland Cavaliers who deserve more playing time

Sticking with the theme of two-way players, the Cavaliers have an interesting option awaiting them at point guard. With Ricky Rubio away from the team and Ty Jerome out for an extended period  (and reportedly not close to returning) the Cavs have largely tried to cobble together minutes at point guard from other positions, placing the ball in the hands of Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert.

For 51 total minutes this season, they have put undrafted rookie Craig Porter Jr. on the court, and he hasn’t been completely overwhelmed. The 6’2″ guard out of Wichita State enters the league at 23 years old, so he isn’t a teenager, and has brought a level of poise that is not often seen in rookies.

Porter also has the skillset, with shrewd passing vision and the strength and mentality to fight for rebounds and loose balls. He stepped immediately into Summer League and filled up the stat sheet, then was prolific again during his preseason run. He hasn’t played in the G League yet this season because the Cavs have needed him on the bench to fill in for their injury-gutted backcourt.

For as long as Ty Jerome continues to be out, the Cavaliers should feed some minutes to Porter and see how he grows on the job. If they can cultivate a long-term backup who brings the two-way impact that Porter projects to bring, they’ll have the ideal backcourt complement to Garland and Mitchell.