Cavaliers Rookie Spotlight

Isaac Okoro

As he continues to start for the Cavs, Isaac Okoro is tasked with covering the best player on the other team. Obviously, he’s still a rookie, and there is a lot to learn. But on the defensive end, he has continued to flash his potential. He is going to be so much better down the road for all that he has had to endure this year. There is absolutely no question about that.

He knocked down back-to-back threes the other night, showing that he does, in fact, have the ability to heat up like a normal shooter. He isn’t known for his offense and might never be, but the fact that he can contribute in spurts could be big for his development with the team.

Look for Okoro to continue to play well and rise to the occasion as the team calls on him.

Brodric Thomas

Last week, there wasn’t much to say about Brodric Thomas. The Division-II standout hadn’t had much of an impact since coming to the Cavs. That changed during the comeback attempt against the Spurs on Friday. He came in for as the team struggled during the third quarter, and provided a lot.

Thomas knocked down a three and scored seven points during his extended stretch. He also came away with a steal and subsequently had a beautiful assist to an open teammate inside. He came away with a few steals and was part of a unit that cut a 22-point deficit in the second half to single digits.

Dylan Windler

The season has gotten progressively worse for Dylan Windler. It’s head-scratching to see two things. The first is that he has seemingly been on the decline, his scoring, rebounding, and minutes all down, regardless of what the score is. The other thing is that he has forgotten how to shoot the three. That stretch of him going 9-9 from three in a two-game spell seems like a foreign memory.

In most of the Cavs games, he hasn’t been getting any second-half minutes. Say whatever you will about the situation, but this is horrible for development. They used a first-round pick on Windler, so they may as well see what he can do.

Lamar Stevens

There is an outside chance that Lamar Stevens might be the most impactful rookie on the Cavs. He entered that Spurs blowout with Brodric Thomas and had himself a night. He finished with his first career double-double, 15 points, and 11 rebounds. He did that in just 17 minutes of action, so try that on for size.

He is a terrific defensive player and showed flashes of how he was six points shy of being the all-time scoring leader at Penn State. The fact that he was undrafted is still a bit baffling as he continues to show promise. Lamar had a nice showing in the loss to the Kings as well, but not quite as impressive as the Spurs game.