The Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off the 2022-23 season by facing the Toronto Raptors last night in a game that featured many things, including the debut of star guard Donovan Mitchell, tough defensive play, scrappiness, and questionable officiating but perhaps the biggest takeaway of all was the loss of franchise PG Darius Garland. Garland, fresh off a stellar third season, took a nasty poke to the eye by Toronto's Gary Trent Jr. in the team's 108-105 loss to the Raptors that left him with a lacerated eyelid which may sideline him for a few games.
With the fourth-year point guard exiting the contest with 3:51 left in the 2nd quarter, a void in the rotation was left wide open and someone needs to fill it. Last night, Mitchell did his damndest to keep the team afloat in a performance that was reminiscent of many of last year's outings by Garland. He put his team on his back and the shat-sheet showed. He poured in 31 Points (tied for most ever by a player making their Cavs debut) and 9 Assists on 12/21 from the field including 2/8 from deep.
Spida is perfectly capable of taking over a game and carrying it to victory but it always helps to have a co-star or some form of help. With that in mind, here are 3 players to keep in eye on until Garland returns.
3. Isaac Okoro - Was this a sign of things to come or an aberration?
Okoro seemed to have a rough start to the year as he was in foul trouble early and never truly saw the floor enough to develop any semblance of a rhythm. The Raptors played him very well and kept him off balance while using their unique blend of size and length to make life difficult for him. It may have just been a bad matchup for him and a fluke overall but it wasn't the start that most had envisioned for him coming into the 2022-23 campaign. He saw the floor for just 12 minutes and attempted just 1 shot (which he air-balled) and he was passed in the lineup by swingman Cedi Osman who usurped all of his minutes in the 2nd half following Garland's injury.
As has always been the case for Okoro, developing a reliable enough 3PT shot that defenders must respect is at the top of the list for skills that he must add. Attacking closeouts might be a close second. Either way, he must find a way to add something of merit to his offensive game as well as the team's. We saw him do both in preseason play and at various points throughout the duration of the 2021-22 season. It's certainly within the realm of possibility for him to become a dependable option in Garland's absence. He will need to be given a long enough leash to do so though. That's on JB Bickerstaff to figure out.
2. Lamar Stevens - Can he capitalize on yet another opportunity?
Lamar Stevens has been here before. Biding his time, just waiting for another opportunity to showcase his talents. Despite logging the dreaded DNP last night, Stevens is more than capable of bringing heart, hustle and grit to the rotation. There are only so many minutes to go around though and that means that he must sit and wait his turn. If Garland truly misses time, that could open up the door for Stevens to see the floor in various areas including the 2-guard where he actually spent a considerable amount of time at last year. 8 of Stevens 13 total starts in 2021-22 came at the SG position and to dive deeper, he spent over 56% of his total minutes (956) lined up there, Per Cleaning The Glass.
Admittedly, the Penn State product didn't have the best showing in preseason, averaging just 4.8 Points, 3.3 Rebounds, & 1.0 Assist, converting just 26.7% of his total field goal attempts. On top of that, he was already facing an uphill battle for more playtime and a spot within the rotation behind the likes of LeVert, Okoro and Osman. We know what Stevens can bring to the table. He's a tough-nosed defender who tends to give maximum effort no matter the opponent who is capable of making midrange pull-ups, the occasional uncontested three and timely cutter. If given the chance, Stevens could once again ingratiate himself to the masses in Cleveland by bringing that junkyard dawg mentality to the rotation.
1. Caris LeVert - Can he step up in a major way?
Caris LeVert is already in the midst of what many consider to be a make or break season. His play in last night's game was encouraging at times and it did confirm that much of what we witnessed throughout his preseason performances has carried over to the regular season. He moves the ball well and is a capable facilitator as either a secondary ballhandler or tertiary option and has shown to be a respectable off-ball shooter. 1 of his 2 makes was a pull-up jumper from beyond the arc. The other? A spot up triple off a kickout from Dean Wade who was driving around the baseline.
I would imagine that this was a large part of why LeVert was named the opening night starter over Isaac Okoro and Wade among others. His offensive capabilities seem to fit well enough to give him the opportunity. The biggest question heading into the game in regards to LeVert may have been what he would actually look like functioning as the 3rd or perhaps 4th option in the offense, a question that was nearly impossible to answer last year considering he often acted as Cleveland's 2nd option alongside Garland.
With that said, the Michigan State product played decently enough as he totaled 10 Points, 5 Rebounds and dished out 7 Assists. He only converted 2 of his 7 total shot attempts but they were mostly within the flow of the offense and the two makes were from distance which is welcome sight for a player not really none for spacing the floor. Perhaps the most important stat to keep in mind though is that he was on the court for roughly 35 minutes. Will this level of playtime become necessary? Time will tell but one thing is for certain, the Cavs need the best version of LeVert right now.
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