The Cavs quickly became one of the NBA's deepest teams over the offseason. Even with trading pieces such as Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton for Donovan Mitchell, they didn't need to blow up the bench because they also brought in veterans such as Robin Lopez.
Because of this depth, there are few players who received substantial minutes last season but aren't even in the rotation anymore. One of those players is Lamar Stevens .
Stevens played an average of 16.1 minutes and even started 13 games last season. However, he's barely cracked the rotation this year. But is he deserving of more playing time?
I would say, absolutely!
The Cavs were down both Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and Dean Wade in Sunday night's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Because of this, Stevens got the start at small forward and shined in the opportunity he was given!
He finished the night with 15 points on an efficient 5/10 from the field as he played a season-high 30 minutes. Stevens also brought a boost of energy that this Cavs team has missed at times so far in their first 13 games.
He embodies the "Junkyard Dog" mentality that the Cavs have embraced and it shows when he's on the floor. Stevens is active on defense and smart on offense. He's always willing to cut to the basket and score in the paint.
Stevens still doesn't fix the shooting problem. He's a career .239 percent from behind the arc. I'll give it to him though, he knows he's not a knockdown shooter. He averages less than one three attempts a game in his career.
If Stevens does get more playing time, someone has to lose out. In this case that would have to be Isaac Okoro. Okoro had high hopes heading into the season but has struggled since opening night.
It's time for the Cavs to start winning again and Lamar Stevens helps them do this.
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