The Cleveland Cavaliers have a point guard problem right now. The Lonzo Ball experiment has failed miserably, Craig Porter Jr.'s development has kind of stalled, and Darius Garland continues to miss games with injuries.
In the meantime, rookie point guard Tyrese Proctor is getting hot from the perimeter. Coach Kenny Atkinson doesn't usually play rookies heavy minutes, but the Duke product might give him a good problem to have for the second half of the season.
The Cavs' pace-and-space offense could always use another sharpshooter. With Lonzo Ball potentially on the trade block, this team might benefit from giving Proctor a longer leash as a sharpshooter.
Tyrese Proctor's shooting is getting impossible to ignore
Proctor's red-hot shooting isn't anything new. If anything, it may have been the main reason why he was drafted in the first place. He shot a respectable 36.5 percent from beyond the arc in three years in college, including 40.5 percent on 5.8 attempts per game in his final year with Jon Scheyer.
That shooting has clearly translated to the pros. Despite the lack of opportunities on the whole, he's starting to get hot from 3-point territory.
He went on a four-game stretch without missing a single 3-pointer. He's 7-from-7 during that stretch, and while that's clearly not sustainable over the entire season, he's got a beautiful shooting form, a quick trigger, and the confidence to pull up as soon as he gets an inch of space.
Of course, that's not to say that Proctor should be the starting point guard. It's not even to say that he should be Darius Garland's primary backup at this point in his development. But, given how much Ball has struggled and how little impact Porter has had, it certainly won't hurt to get him on the court more often.
The Cavs are near the top of the league when it comes to 3-point makes per game. Despite the volume, they shoot a percentage from beyond the arc that ranks among the middle of the pack in the NBA.
Coach Atkinson loves to run a pace-and-space-style offense. Having efficient snipers on the floor obviously gives this team a better shot -- no pun intended.
Proctor's journey is just getting started. Like most older rookies, he might be closer to being a finished product. Then again, he got better with every year in college, so there's no reason to believe that trend won't continue in the pros.