Cleveland Cavaliers: Tracking Isaac Okoro’s development

The 2020 NBA Draft was labeled ‘weak’ by many. But, a quarter through the season, many rookies are beginning to stand out as high-impact players. This trend rings true for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are satisfied with Isaac Okoro‘s development thus far.

Entering the league, Okoro was expected to be an instant impact defender who could struggle to shoot the 3-pointer and create his own shot on offense. Unsurprisingly, this is exactly how Okoro has looked, but there’s more to his game than his 8.2 points per game.

We are a quarter of the way through Isaac Okoro’s rookie season and it’s time to reflect on how he has performed for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

At 35.8 minutes per game, Okoro is the only rookie in the NBA playing over 30 minutes a night. Yet, he isn’t top-10 in points or rebounds – and just barely clocks in at ninth in assists among his class. So, how is it that a player with such underwhelming statistics is seeing so much time on the floor?

Well, it’s simple. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a better team with Okoro on the floor – even if the advanced analytics don’t exactly show it. Okoro has a negative Net Rating, but this can be explained by the massive amount of minutes he has played while the Cavaliers were without multiple key members of their rotation.

There’s no denying that Okoro has had his fair share of rookie moments, as well. He’s prone to occasional lapses on defense and his offensive game is far from polished. However, his constant effort on both ends of the floor and willingness to play within his role has made him a stable presence each night for Cleveland.

Okoro is relentless in the passing lanes. He is constantly harassing ball-handlers with his long reach and quick feet. Okoro is a core reason the Cavaliers force the most turnovers in the league. Defending the perimeter is Okoro’s greatest attribute.

Another strength of Okoro’s is finishing at the rim. He doesn’t elevate as much as you’d expect from an explosive athlete, but he’s shown a soft touch when driving to the hoop and has converted some impressive layups around defenders with his scoop shot. And, he’s capable of throwing down thunderous dunks when he gets enough runway to take flight.

The main thing holding Okoro back from being a better offensive player is his ball-handling ability. He has a loose dribble, often losing the ball and struggling to change directions. He doesn’t appear to be comfortable handling the rock and this limits him from moving around with possession.

This has to be the main focus of Okoro’s development. Tightening his handle and adding some tricks to his bag will go a long way toward becoming a bigger threat. He has the instincts of a natural playmaker, firing kick-out passes to open shooters routinely. He just isn’t able to do it as often as he would like due to his lackluster handling.

Less of a concern is his 3-point shooting. While yes, connecting on less than 30 percent of your 3-pointers is less than ideal, it’s obvious that there are no glaring issues in Okoro’s mechanics, aside from perhaps an awkward stance before he fires catch-and-shoot attempts. This could be a reason Okoro shoots 10 percent better on pull-up shots, as he has more rhythm than when spotting up.

Nonetheless, he has all the workings of someone who can get his accuracy up to league average with proper development. The best comparison for Okoro remains a hybrid of Andre Iguodala and Robert Covington, somewhere in between a traditional 3-and-D threat and a two-way slasher. Thus far, Okoro appears to be on track to reach that potential.