Cold As Ice: Isaac Okoro's Playing Time Plummeting
Isaac Okoro has struggled to start the season.
That may be putting it lightly. Okoro had scored eight points in five games coming into Sunday night’s matchup with the New York Knicks.
Okoro has always been known more for his defense than his offense, but the Cleveland Cavaliers were hoping this year would be a breakthrough season for Okoro.
It’s been nearly the opposite.
Cleveland drafted Okoro out of Auburn with the No. 5 overall pick in 2020 to help transform their overall team defense.
He routinely drew the toughest assignment for a team that was rebuilding, and you could make the argument that Okoro has helped lay the foundation for this current version of the Win and Gold that ranks second in the NBA this season in opponent points per game (105.2).
Okoro’s playing time has plummeted this season. He played a season-high 26 minutes in a road win against the Bulls but was 1-of-5 from the field and scored just two points. That number fell off a cliff in recent games. He saw the floor for just over five minutes in Friday night’s 132-123 overtime win over the Celtics.
Even more glaring, he was a minus-12 in those five minutes.
Perhaps most indicative of Okoro’s current role on this team his is place in the rotation. With Caris LeVert sliding into the other guard spot alongside Donovan Mitchell, Okoro has found himself on the outside looking in.
Cedi Osman, Kevin Love and even Raul Neto have been coming off the bench ahead of Okoro recently and Okoro didn’t check in until the 9:51 mark of the 2nd quarter on Sunday night.
Okoro said he worked on his three-point shooting in the offseason but the results throught he season’s first five games aren’t there. Dean Wade provides similar defensive capabilities in guarding multiple positions and has been shooting at a 40-percent clip this year. He’s supplanted Okoro in the rotation and the starting lineup.
At times this year, we’ve seen Okoro kick-start his offensive game by getting a basket in transition early, but Okoro hadn’t attempted a free-throw until Sunday night against the Knicks. He connected to two from the charity stripe but the aggressiveness the Cavs had been hoping for has yet to show.
Okoro had a strong preseason which had the Cavs coaching staff excited about his potential this year, but it hasn’t translated in the early season. As his playing time falls, it’s fair to wonder where he fits into the lineup moving forward as Garland’s return looks to be coming sooner rather than later.
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