Cavs: Lauri Markkanen and Isaac Okoro’s openers were encouraging

The Cleveland Cavaliers opened the 2021-22 NBA season with a road matchup against the upstart Memphis Grizzlies which ultimately resulted in a loss to the tune of 132-121. While no one could be blamed for doubting that this would end up being a high-scoring affair, I don’t think anyone viewing it began the night with a preconceived notion that the two would combine for over 250 points.

Perhaps another unforeseen development occurred when the team announced that it would be starting offseason sign-and-trade acquisition Lauri Markkanen shortly before tipoff. Sure, it was hinted at throughout the day by Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor when he indicated in a report that there was a “growing belief around the team that Markkanen will start.” But no one truly knew what to expect in that regard.

Make no mistake, the former Chicago Bull wasn’t exactly a tailor-made fit for this type of lineup, but he performed at a high enough level to garner at least 1-2 more games to make his case. His ability to space the floor was likely why the decision was made and although he only managed to sink 2 of his 7 attempts from range and 4-14 of his overall field goal attempts, however, the very threat as a shot-maker he provided opened the floor up tremendously for the bigs.

Defensively, the Finland-native was often beatable off the dribble as was the case for long stretches of the game due to being matched up with the more nimble, Desmond Bane. He was also a target in the pick-and-roll but his length was largely able to mask both of those issues. He may not be able to consistently stay in front of smaller and quicker true small forwards but he can use his body to make life more difficult for them.

Conversely, Isaac Okoro, who made his first career appearance off the bench, appeared to make the most out of his limited time on the court, chipping in 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and a very nice block in just 21 minutes of action. He attempted a mere 5 shots including his lone attempt from range but it just didn’t seem to matter as much while sharing the floor with the likes of Ricky Rubio because of his strengths as a cutter and ability to put pressure on the rim being maximized.

Granted, he didn’t do much ball-handling but made the right play when given opportunities, and overall, his play/approach left room for optimism, with both ends involved, as was similar in relation to Markkanen, to some extent there.

Cavs: Markkanen’s and Okoro’s 2021-22 openers were encouraging.

To that last point, on the less glamorous end, Okoro was routinely given the toughest defensive assignment on the court much as he was during his rookie season. Tonight’s primary antagonist? The high-flying Ja Morant, fresh off of leading his club to the playoffs.

Now, if you’re solely taking the box score into account, you would assume that Morant completely cooked Okoro. That is simply not the case as he did much of his damage in the first half scoring 20 of his game-high 37 points in the first 24 minutes of the contest with most of that coming with Okoro on the bench due to foul trouble.

Though he dealt with that foul trouble, he remained plastered to the Murray State product throughout and while you can’t completely stop an athlete the caliber of Morant from getting to the rim as was the case on numerous highlight reel dunks, Okoro did his best to make the opposition uncomfortable.

In fact, Okoro’s lone block came on a beautiful defensive sequence in which he trailed Morant around a Bane screen and blocked his layup attempt before it even left his hand. One just has to wonder whether or not Morant scores at that rate if Okoro had been out there longer.

This was absolutely a performance that both Markkanen and Okoro can build off of moving forward regardless of who is starting at the moment. The shots will begin to fall in the case of the former while the latter’s playtime should continue to increase as his ability to space the floor does.

Next up, the team’s home opener versus the LaMelo Ball-led Charlotte Hornets on Friday.