Areas that Isaac Okoro must improve upon for Cavs next season

This season, Isaac Okoro was the main player to put on guards on the perimeter for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Okoro was drafted 5th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft by Cleveland, who at the time did not have a small forward that seemed to be a player they could build around. Okoro was drafted out of Auburn, and was considered to be arguably the best perimeter defender in the draft, and was one of the best wing players in the draft as well.

However, Okoro has not lived up to the expectations of being the 5th overall pick, and he has some areas he needs to improve upon if he wants to be a better player next season.

Defense

Defense? Isn’t that what Okoro is best at? Well, yes, but he’s a bit overrated at defense in my opinion. Let’s look at the statistics. The Cavaliers were 0.4 points better when Okoro was not on the floor on defense, and according to NBA.com’s defensive tracking data, opponents shot 43.7% from the field against Okoro in primary coverage. Players like Reggie Jackson and Devin Booker were ahead of him in that statistic.

Also, in the last full month of the season for Cleveland, Okoro had a defensive rating of 118.4, which was not a good statistic for a defensive ace in Okoro. Now, Okoro was better offensively then, with an offensive rating of 117.3, on the plus side, and during most of March and until Cleveland’s second play-in loss, Jarrett Allen was not in action. That didn’t help defensively.

Either way, how can Okoro be a better defender game-to-game?

In my opinion, he could improve against guards by being anticipating a bit more, which could make getting around screens easier, and against shooters, could close out more under control. He showed noticeable growth in his second year, but there are still some inconsistencies, and improving his quickness some would help, too.

Shooting

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Okoro is no Stephen Curry. According to NBA.com’s shooting data, Okoro shot in the bottom half for the Cavs from shooting from almost everywhere on the floor between players. Okoro is also known as a finisher around the rim, but he shot even worse in the restricted area than Rajon Rondo, albeit with much higher volume. Also, though, his mid-range field goal percentage was 27.3%, one of the worst on the team; that was on barely any volume, in fairness.

Overall, the Cavaliers were 1.4 points better on the offensive end when Okoro was on the floor, and their field goal percentage was 1.1 percent better. The 3-point percentage is pretty much the same when Okoro is on compared to off the floor, not based on his shooting/spacing provided, though.

He connected on 35.0 percent from three this year thanks to a strong finish, but the lack of volume from deep from Okoro and him being a ways away from being a spacer in that regard didn’t make that all that impactful. However, he has made improvements from his rookie season, when he hit 29.0 percent from three, so there is hope for him next season.

Positives

Let’s look at the positives for Okoro. His transition scoring ranked in the 77th percentile in the league, according to Synergy Sports. His plus-minus was a plus-99 this season, miles better than his minus-407 in his rookie season, one of the worst rookie plus-minuses in NBA history. Considering Okoro’s improvement, chances are, he’ll improve more next season.

Also, according to NBA.com’s shot tracking data, Okoro shot 36.8% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers this season, and shot 44.6% from those from Feb. 1 to the end of the season, albeit on 1.8 attempts per game. But, his corner 3-pointers were hit at a 44.0% clip from Feb. 1, and he shot 47.4% from the right corner 3. In Mach, Okoro hit 45.2% of his 3-pointers and shot 45.0% in February. Okoro’s shot had been falling more than usual; again, though, the attempts were not many.

In conclusion, Isaac Okoro has had his ups and downs this season, but he really got hot near the end of the season as a catch-and-shoot player, so maybe if there’s more volume after a meaningful offseason, that can be impactful next season.

I expect Okoro to play better on offense and defense next season, and should definitely be in the running for the starting shooting guard or small forward come next season. What Okoro’s career will look like remains to be seen, but this next year will be a big factor as to how it goes.