https://youtu.be/e0gKM9m1nmE
I’m not sure how many people realize that Isaac Okoro is currently first among all rookies in minutes per game, at 31.8 (Anthony Edwards is at 31.3). Since Okoro is a relatively low-scoring player, the amount of minutes he’s playing is a surprise. For reference, the two players getting 30 MPG this season who are averaging fewer points than Okoro are Draymond Green and Royce O’Neale. That’s good company, I guess? But to be associated with low-caliber scorers like that is something that a rookie would generally want to avoid.
I really don’t watch enough Cavaliers games to know exactly WHY Okoro is getting the minutes he’s getting, but it must be for a reason other than his scoring. Maybe his defense is really good, or maybe he just fits in well with the Sexland combo, or maybe the Cavaliers want to fast-track his development by overwhelming him with playing time early in his career, or maybe the Cavaliers really don’t want to give any minutes to Cedi Osman so Okoro is the next best choice. That’s a lot of maybes. The biggest “maybe” is maybe the Cavs have no idea what they’re doing and Okoro getting this many minutes is just an oversight or an accident.
Nineteen points is Okoro’s season high. All those games being the full-time starter and he has yet to muster a twenty-point game. I’m not going to rag on him too hard, though. He never asked for this kind of role, after all. Unless he did. If he did actually just walk up to coach Bickerstaff and demand to be the starter right out of the gate, then he’s brought this upon himself.