From Distance: Cedi Bores and Other Things

four point play….

1. I was looking forward to praising Cedi Osman’s MVP performance in the Rising Stars Game at All-Star Weekend. I even pushed back the column in order to allot the proper amount of time and enthusiasm for Cedi’s fantastic play.

Alas, Cedi was rather terrible, only seriously competing for LVP. Obviously, a Rising Stars Game doesn’t mean anything for Osman’s professional career. The game is even more laissez-faire than a normal All-Star game. We all know that Osman’s primary gifts lie in effective team play.

But I gotta admit, it would have been nice to see Cedi drain some threes and maybe throw down a good dunk. C’mon, man. Show out a bit! Nope.

Who did show out was rookie Trae Young and second-year players, Ben Simmons, Kyle Kuzma, and Jayson Tatum.

The game was a pleasant watch in the typical “wow, those dudes are ridiculously athletic” kind of way. Whatever, we don’t really need to talk more about it since Cedi wasn’t the hero.

2. This past week of basketball leading into the All-Star break was a pretty solid one by Cavaliers’ standards. It has been fun to watch some new players infuse a bit of energy into the team.

We no longer have to watch Rodney Hood wander lethargically around the court, or be confronted by the enduring curiosity that is Alec Burks’ hitchy release.

Instead, we have been treated to some remarkably fine shooting from Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss. It has led some of us to enthusiastically declare, “hey maybe these guys aren’t that bad!”

I don’t know. Maybe they aren’t that bad. Still, it would be wise to consider sample size. Brandon Knight is probably never going to be any better than he was a few seasons ago. Fine, but not a player to build around. Though Marquese Chriss is somehow still only 21 years old, it is rather unlikely that he will continue this scorched earth shooting from deep.

Either way it has been fun to watch and Chriss has certainly given Cavs fans something to analyze instead of something to dread. Marquese has an easy athleticism for a big man, and has exhibited a soft touch both around the rim and from distance.

His shooting form has never really been in doubt, nor has his potential as a defender. Essentially the only thing that is stopped Chriss from being a decent young player is the actual act of being a decent young player.

The most consistent technical issue that I’ve seen with him over the years is that he sometimes gets his shoulders out of balance. He leans over instead of keeping his shoulders square above his hips.

That can be a problem defensively when trying to stay in front of quicker players. That being said, he has mostly played out of position as a stretch four. In the short time that he has been in the league, the game has already changed enough to allow him to spend more time at his natural position as a stretch 5. At the five, his defensive limitations are easier to mask.

It also would be prudent to apply the negative Suns’ defensive tax to any metric we see. The Suns didn’t play with any defensive framework whatsoever. Young bigs are also notoriously slow to grasp NBA weakside defense even if they are lucky enough to play for a competent squad. Basically, his defensive struggles with the Suns don’t really bother me as much as they would if he were a guard.

Though it is slightly surprising that Chriss didn’t find more success with the Rockets, there is no reason to write him off quite yet. I, for one, am intrigued by his skill-set though only cautiously optimistic that he will be a productive Cavalier next season.

3. Jordan Clarkson continues to chuck his way into high scoring games here and there. His 42 point outburst in the triple overtime thriller against the Nets was not his least efficient path to 42.

In recent weeks Jordan has been doing a better job of shooting 3-pointers instead of working his way into long two-point jumpers. The Cavs are setting the initial ball screen a little bit higher on the floor allowing Jordan to come off the pick still behind the three-point line. It is a better approach for any chucker than setting the screen lower (closer to the paint).

Jordan is capable of hitting that off-screen shot leaning into the rim, and that extra point certainly helps his overall shooting efficiency. Even so, Clarkson remains an absolute travesty on the defensive end. Nothing about his defense will likely get any better. He is who he is and unless some magician invents a scheme that somehow rewards hopping around aimlessly and losing focus, Clarkson will never be an adequate defender.

However, if he can more consistently stay behind the 3-point line, knock down some of those shots, and pass the ball when it makes sense, he has an opportunity to be a functional NBA player on a decent team. He is not there yet.

4. Most encouraging has been the development of Collin Sexton. Collin is finally learning to keep his dribble through thick and thin, over hill and dale, and all the way to Grandmother’s house.

Thank you!

Really, I appreciate it. We all very sincerely appreciate it, Collin.

Sexton has been more comfortable in continuing his dribble with a defender on his hip, seeing what is in front of him, and having the patience to dribble through traffic instead of blindly heaving a contested layup. He still is incapable of using the glass with any kind of regularity, but dribble continuation is a huge first hurdle that he seems on the precipice of clearing.

I’m not sure whether that is a natural development or whether Matthew Dellavedova has been in his ear, but whatever. Cheers, Young Bull. Let’s see what you can do in the second half of the season.