It seems like we feel the need to write something like this every year. In examining the performance of professional athletes, consistency is the key. Great players perform great on most nights, good players give their teams a solid effort on most nights.
Fans love the players who have the occasional great game, and that’s understandable. However, these athletes have reached the highest level of their sport, so they are certainly capable of having a great game now and then.
We remember taking our sons to an Indians game about 20 years ago when John McDonald went 4 for 4 at the plate, and being asked why we didn’t think the Tribe shortstop couldn’t hit.
The reason we bring this up again is because the Cleveland Cavaliers remind us of it many nights.
The Cavs bench seems to be made up of a lot of players for whom consistency is very elusive, and we are afraid that will become a problem as the season goes on.
We saw a comment on social media about Cedi Osman, saying if he were more consistent, he could be a starter. No kidding! Starters are usually starters because of their ability to perform the same on most nights.
Osman started the year on fire, averaging 15.5 points per night in the first four games, hitting 9 of 19 three-point shots, a pace that wasn’t sustainable based on past performance. He followed those four games with an 11 game stretch in which he scored 58 points (5.3 per game), making one third of his 30 attempts from beyond the arc.
He’s currently on a seven-game stretch averaging 11.6 points per game.
He’s no longer a young player, he’s 27-years-old and this is his sixth year in the league. It makes it difficult for J.B. Bickerstaff and his staff because they don’t know what they are going to get out of Osman when he takes the floor.
And Cedi Osman isn’t the only one with this problem.
Dean Wade got a chance to start three games when Darius Garland was hurt and poured in a career high 22 points against the Knicks, hitting 6 of 8 three-pointers. Since that game, Wade has played 10 games (he missed a half dozed with a knee injury) and scored 45 points (4.5 PPG), making 8 of 31 from distance.
Wade is a solid defender, so he contributes in other ways, but it would be great if there were not such wild swings in his game.
We get asked every so often why we like Lamar Stevens so much, and it’s because right now, you know what you can expect out of him.
He moved into the starting lineup on November 13th and started six games before missing the recent trip with an undisclosed illness. In those games, he scored at least 8 points and no more than 15 in five of the games.
Rebound totals were between three and six in five of the games. And he is a very good defensive player.
From a coaching standpoint, the consistent player is always the better option because the staff and the teammates usually get what they expect. That seems logical.
As for the Cavs, Bickerstaff knows what he’s going to get out of Kevin Love and probably Caris LeVert. Players like Wade and Osman have to rise to that level for the wine and gold to finish the season in the top four of the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 