Cavs’ Cedi Osman is ‘wild card’ for team in need of bench production

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mired in a bit of a March shooting funk, with a drop in playing time attached to his inconsistent play, Cavs mercurial swingman Cedi Osman just needed to see one shot go in.

By any means necessary.

Recommended Cavs stories

Osman’s first hoist — a pullup 3-pointer from the top of the key — sailed wide right. Then Osman uncharacteristically smoked a driving layup. His third attempt looked just as ugly. Osman took a pass from point guard Darius Garland and launched a triple from the right wing that banged off the backboard and, somehow, dropped through. Coaches and teammates on the bench covered their eyes and giggled while Donovan Mitchell stood up and shrugged his shoulders.

Osman shook his head in disbelief.

“I did not call bank,” Osman told cleveland.com with a laugh following Cleveland’s 120-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets. “I need to just see one go in. I knew it would be a good game from there.”

It wasn’t just a good game. It was Osman’s best in more than a month. One of his best all season, showing the kind of impact he can make for the erratic-shooting Cavs as the playoffs approach.

“It was great to see that tonight,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We know what Cedi is capable of. He is a guy that can ignite both sides of the floor. He can make shots in a hurry, but also does a great job defensively of getting deflections, chasing guys, getting through screens. All that stuff brings energy and we’re going to need that.

“I think he just played free, and that’s when Cedi’s at his best, when he just goes out there and tries to be the best version of himself. We’ve got to give him opportunities to do that as well. But I thought his teammates did a great job of finding him. Every time he was open, it seemed like the ball was in his hands and he had his confidence rolling and his teammates kept pushing him.”

Osman poured in 24 points on 8 of 13 (61.5%) from the field and 6 of 10 (60%) from 3-point range. After the unattractive start, he caught fire, making eight of his final 11 attempts and wearing the spoils of his confidence-boosting performance around his neck afterward — being named the team’s Junkyard Dog award recipient.

It’s the most points Osman has scored since a season-high 29 on Jan. 29 — a night that coincided with Turkish Heritage Night. It’s the second time this season he’s made at least six triples. It’s his sixth 20-point game — and first time scoring double figures since the calendar flipped to March.

“He is full of energy and can kind of make our offense go sometimes,” Lamar Stevens said. “Great to see him have that confidence to shoot those shots and have some go down tonight.”

Prior to Tuesday’s eruption, Osman was averaging 4.2 points on 7 of 20 (35%) shooting in a measly 12.6 minutes this month.

But Osman stayed ready and knew a bigger opportunity was coming when regular starters Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen were both ruled out. Mitchell missed the game because of injury management related to a sprained left middle finger and Allen was held out of a second straight because of a right eye contusion suffered during Friday night’s loss in Miami.

It was on Osman to capitalize.

“I just have to play like myself every time I get a chance,” Osman said. “Just do what I do. Bring a lot of energy offensively and defensively. Move my body. Move the ball. Do the right thing at both ends of the floor. That’s what I expect from myself. It felt great tonight. I needed that because the lineups for me, it’s been in and out. It was important for me, especially when Don was resting today and not playing because of his finger, to go out there and perform well with a bigger opportunity.”

That’s life as a back-end bench piece. Playing time isn’t guaranteed. Osman has accepted that reality — even though it’s been a mental challenge.

“It’s tough. It’s not easy,” he admitted to cleveland.com. “I feel like when you don’t play and then you do play, sometimes you’re trying to do more than you would normally do because you’re trying to stay in the game, you’re trying to show you deserve to be out there and that’s what is best for the team. I’ve learned how to deal with that throughout the season. I would say it’s going better for me now.”

Cleveland has a set rotation, with seven players getting the bulk of the workload — Garland, Mitchell, Allen, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley, Caris LeVert and Ricky Rubio.

Hard-nosed, defense-first swingman Stevens has recently replaced struggling forward Dean Wade as the eighth rotational piece. Stevens has started the past two games at power forward in place of Allen, with Mobley shifting to center. Even before Allen’s absence, Stevens had been getting more consistent run.

Nonetheless, for weeks Bickerstaff has spoken about the eighth and ninth spots being fluid. It will remain that way. It’s how he’s most comfortable managing his rotation, especially with the postseason a few weeks away. Playing time for the non-seven is going to be determined by matchups, team needs, play style, offense vs. defense, flow of the game and, most importantly, feel and instinct.

“We have a pretty consistent seven to eight and then we can use those other combinations in a bunch of different ways that we’re comfortable with, depending on what we need in that moment,” Bickerstaff reiterated Tuesday. “We have a wild card. We have guys that we’re confident in that can really help us coming off the bench and they kind of fill voids or fill needs for that night, whether it’s offense, movement, pace, defense, versatility, switchability, whatever it is, we feel we can go the bank and pull one of those guys for that night.”

That means veteran sharpshooter Danny Green, Osman, Wade, and even Stevens — if his production starts to slip — will keep getting yo-yoed.

Not every night will belong to Osman. He played 31 minutes against Charlotte — one of just 10 times crossing the 30-minute threshold this season. There will be DNPs, single-digit minutes and ineffective clunkers mixed in. But Osman’s fingerprints were all over Tuesday’s outcome, giving the team the kind of bench production that’s been lacking for most of the season — and even more so in recent weeks — while also providing a glimpse into how he could be unleashed in a playoff series.

“We have a good basketball team and different nights call for a different spark,” Bickerstaff said. “If you can be the spark that night for what the team is looking for then you’re gonna get your opportunity.”

If you or a loved one has questions and needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966 or the National Council on Program Gambling Helpline (NCPG) at 1-800-522-4700 or visit 1800gambler.net for more information. 21+ and present in Ohio. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.

©2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit cleveland.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.