Cleveland Cavaliers: Anthony Bennett Tries To Find His Role
We’re almost four months removed from this year’s NBA Draft and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ selection of UNLV forward Anthony Bennett with the first pick still feels a bit surprising. Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, despite a torn ACL, seemed like the consensus top pick. If not Noel, maybe Indiana guard Victor Oladipo or Maryland center Alex Len could potentially sneak in and steal the first pick. But Bennett? No one saw that coming. Nerlens’ look of disbelief spoke for the entire basketball world when David Stern called Bennett up to the podium.
(NBA.com photo)
Despite being the No. 1 overall selection in the draft, Bennett does not seem to have the usual pressure that accompanied past top picks. Look at the past five top picks before Bennett: Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, John Wall, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. All of those guys were franchise saviors. Rose and Griffin have already turned their respective franchises into contenders, while Wall, Irving and Davis all have their eyes set on the playoffs this season. Bennett, on the other hand, feels more like a complementary piece, someone who will give productive minutes off the bench at first and then, at his peak, maybe make a few All-Star games, but never as a future franchise cornerstone.
The unusual circumstances for Bennett may ultimately prove to benefit him. With Tristan Thompson already securely in the starting power forward slot, the Cavs didn’t have a pressing need for Bennett. To them, Bennett provided them with a safe option off the bench to relieve Thompson and occasionally log minutes at small forward. There will obviously be pressure since he is the top pick in the draft and the team clearly thought highly enough of him to choose him over other prospects that may have higher ceilings, but Bennett won’t be under the same microscope of most top picks due to the nature of his role with the team.
Bennett underwent shoulder surgery after UNLV’s season, but that does not seem to be his biggest injury concern. At times this preseason, Bennett has seemed overwhelmed with the pace of the NBA game, looking breathless after only a few trips down the court. The shoulder itself may have healed, but Bennett’s lack of offseason conditioning has already slowed him down. On top of this, coach Mike Brown revealed earlier this week that Bennett suffers from asthma and sleep apnea.
Once Bennett finally does work out his medical issues and get into playing shape, he will be looked upon to provide valuable minutes as the team’s seventh or eighth man. So far, he has looked solid, but not great, on offense. He’s displayed his range, knocking down six 3-pointers in the first four games. Still, aside from the fourth quarter against the Magic, he’s never had a commanding stretch of play and he’s struggled many times to create his own shot.
Bennett has the most room for improvement on defense. In the preseason, he’s seemed overwhelmed at times. In the first three games, he racked up five fouls twice and fouled out against the Bobcats. He’ll need to get stronger and more physically fit to keep up with the league’s top scorers, as he’ll be asked to guard both the 3 and 4 this season. He’s grabbed 5.8 rebounds per game so far this preseason, a decent number in limited minutes, but something that will need to improve once the games become meaningful.
It will certainly be a growing year for Bennett. His unique position as the top pick without the normally outrageous expectations will help him as he overcomes the league’s learning curve. I don’t think Bennett will ever justify the Cavs selecting over Oladipo and Noel, but he should eventually mold into a good, potentially great, pro. This season, the Cavs won’t look upon him as a superstar. Instead, they’ll let him carve out his own role off the bench and figure out who Anthony Bennett will be in the NBA.
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