CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The clock started ticking toward the end of the first half, as Darius Garland danced with the ball up top. First, power forward Georges Niang crowded him, bringing the kind of size that has bothered Garland at times. Then guard Tyrese Maxey scurried forward. There were multiple defenders pestering Garland -- a recurring defensive strategy over the last month.
Recognizing the trap, Garland snapped the pass to Caris LeVert on the left wing while Lauri Markkanen, posted in the near corner, pointed the opposite direction. LeVert lofted the crosscourt pass to Isaac Okoro. Before James Harden could recover, bouncing between Okoro in the right corner and Lamar Stevens flashing to the free throw line, Okoro took the ball and rose up for an open 3-pointer. Bang.
With two defenders focused on Garland, repeatedly trying to get the ball out of his hands, someone will be open. Oftentimes it’s Okoro, the still-developing offensive player with a disrespected jumper.
It’s on him -- and other teammates -- to punish opponents. It’s the best way to loosen the congested court.
“Not even him making them, it’s him taking them,” LeVert said of Okoro’s 3-point shooting. “He’s going to make a lot of 3s. But I think we’re all encouraging him to take as many open ones as possible. He’s in there in practice every day working on his shot, we all trust in him to make those shots and take those shots, so it’s going to be big for our team and for himself. Obviously, he’s an elite defender and just needs to open his game offensively and be confident to take those shots. He’s been doing it and knocking them down. Definitely going to need him to stay aggressive.”
Garland has been preaching the same message of aggressiveness to Okoro since the beginning of the season. The offense functions in a different way when Okoro is, at the very least, a threat.
“It opens everything up for us,” Garland said. “Drive in, get easy layups, easy lobs. When he’s shooting like that with confidence, it opens up everything for everyone.”
During Wednesday night’s 118-114 loss to the Sixers, Okoro scored 17 points on 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Two nights earlier, he had 20 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 1-of-1 from beyond the arc in an overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Attacking the rim, he worked his way into a career-best 13 free throw attempts.
In eight March games, Okoro is averaging 11.4 points, 50.9% shooting, 37.5% on 3s and 90% from the foul line. In terms of offensive production, it’s Okoro’s second-best stretch of his young career, only bested by his explosive May, when he hit double figures in eight of nine games. While there are still some duds -- four points against Charlotte on March 2 and one basket versus Toronto on March 6 -- those aren’t happening with nearly as much frequency following the All-Star break.
This isn’t a one-month aberration either. Not when it comes to his shooting percentages.
Since Dec. 30 -- coinciding with veteran Ricky Rubio tearing his ACL, which led to him being traded to Indiana for LeVert at the deadline -- Okoro is shooting 50% from the floor and 37.1% from deep, a big uptick from his career marks (44% overall and 30.6% from long range). During this turnaround stretch, Okoro boasts an effective field goal percentage of 56.3 -- a number that would rank in the top 30 in the NBA when extrapolated over the full season.
While defense has always been his niche, Okoro is starting to make a more consistent impact on the other end -- a critical development for an offense in desperate need of a boost.
“I think he’s figuring out ways to score the ball and the places where he can be most effective,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Okoro. “Obviously, when he’s making his corner 3s, it’s helpful. But you look at him driving and you look at him cutting, he’s putting a ton of pressure on the rim as well. He’s figuring it out.”
Later in the game Wednesday, one possession after Okoro made his third triple, the 76ers altered their approach against him. Either that, or Philadelphia made a strategic blunder.
Garland got blitzed again at the 3-point arc. Matisse Thybulle and Maxey forced Garland to pick up his dribble and then looked for an outlet. He whipped the ball to Markkanen just inside the foul line. Markkanen sent the ball to a wide-open Okoro, who is typically the guy defenders are comfortable leaving. As Maxey closed out hard, showing more respect than usual for Okoro’s outside shot, the second-year swingman drove by, forced the defense to collapse and dumped the ball underneath for an easy Evan Mobley dunk.
Remember when defenses used to sag off Okoro and crowd the paint, daring him to shoot from the outside? That play captures the potential Okoro, still just 21 years old, can add on offense -- simply by knocking down a few jumpers.
“We’re not asking anybody to be anybody else,” Bickerstaff said of Okoro. “We need you to be the best version of yourself. Isaac being aggressive is the best version of himself.”
That’s much easier when his shot is falling.
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