Predicting Peyton Watson’s Minutes and Stats With Cavaliers

For Peyton Watson in Cleveland, the sky is the limit. The team’s most impactful forward since LeBron James is ready to get to work from day one. He has been working out with the aforementioned James, and Kevin Durant recently.

Putting time in with two of the best to ever play the SF spot.

The Cavs needed everything that the former Nugget brings, and now that he’s in the fold, big things are in the works. Let’s predict what his stats, and minutes will look like in the first of a four-year, $88 million extension for Watson.

Predicting Minutes Per Game

The new-look Cavs are quite the scary-looking bunch on paper. Interestingly, Kevin O’Connor mentioned they could be as high as #2 or as low as #9, but the addition of Peyton Watson should keep them far from the play-in discussions. 

Looking at how the new forward fits in, he’ll likely slot in as the starting small forward. There will likely be a split of minutes between that SF spot and then the rest at power forward. Watson provides solid size to be next to either of Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley while they get their rest time. Mario Hezonja or Jaylon Tyson can slot nicely too as the SF next door when that happens.

Probably wanting to build him up early on, expect the Cavs to play Watson a bit less out of the gate. A projection of 28-32 minutes a game is a solid ballpark for the beginning of the year. Bottoming out between 30-34 over the course of the year would be nice to see from the new forward. 

His presence on the floor will impact so many aspects of the game, Cleveland may find it hard to not have him in.

Predicting Main Statistics

Averaging about 15 points per game in 29 minutes per contest last year, Peyton Watson did benefit from playing a number of games with a short-handed squad. The month of January saw him at his best, peaking with a 35-point performance on a highly effective night,