Cavaliers Rookie Spotlight

Injuries and role changes have shifted the opportunities for a lot of the Cavs rookies. But some guys have gotten out there and performed as the chances to do so have arisen. Let’s take a look at where everybody stands.

A team with four rookies always has information to write about. And that’s a fact.

Dylan Windler

Unfortunately, there is no good news for Dylan Windler. The reason for last week’s DNP’s seem tied to some knee issues he has been having, and it might be some time before he plays again. Windler can be a capable role player for the team, but his time to heal is upon us again.

Brodric Thomas

A few weeks ago, Brodric Thomas was in the regular rotation. As injuries became prevalent and the team got short-handed, he found his way into the starting lineup.

Cleveland was playing decent ball with him logging big minutes, but he could not regularly perform. He showed a nice touch from the outside and proved to be a capable defender.

Coming from a Division II school, it is impressive that Thomas found his way as a starter. The future for him remains bright, as his role is a bit uncertain at this juncture.

Lamar Stevens

Barring injuries to Taurean Prince or Isaac Okoro, we won’t get a ton of Lamar Stevens as the season goes down the stretch. Hopefully, he does get some form of opportunity anyway, as was the case against the Spurs. With the team trying not to ride Kevin Love too hard in the third quarter, Stevens got some minutes to close it out.

He was able to showcase his ability on D once again while providing a little bit of offense too. His game-winning dunk against Atlanta is going to remain as the highlight of what has been an impressive year after he went undrafted, but plenty of good games are yet to be played for him.

It’s truly a blessing that he landed with the franchise, and they will be reaping the benefits for a while, assuming he signs an extension of some sort this summer.

Isaac Okoro

Okoro has been playing very well of late. Jimmy Butler also said after the Heat and Cavs met over the weekend that Isaac’s future in the league could be bright. Butler goes on to say that he envisions him as a player that could become a star if he puts enough work in on his game.

Okoro has been shooting the three very well for Cleveland over the last few games, even scoring a career-best of 17 points recently. He will not wow you with his offensive ability, but he makes smart passes and is a good cutter. He threw down a monster dunk against San Antonio during the victory, making his presence felt with that emphatic play.

As the year continues, Okoro will get all the chances to remain as the starting small forward as he has been all season. And the better his offensive game is, the more versatile he is. He is the team’s best rookie, hands down. There is a reason he was the #5 pick.