This could be a big season for Cavs' Cedi Osman

INDEPENDENCE — With Cedi Osman, his play was always predicated on whether his jump shots were falling. The Cavaliers coaches believe he has so much to offer in his sixth season in the NBA. One could make a case that he's been their second-best player in the early going of the 2022-23 season. The Cavs have gotten off to a 3-1 start heading into the Boston (3-1) game at 7:30 tonight at TD Garden. The 6-foot-7, 230-pounder is averaging 15.5 points, second on the team behind guard Donovan Mitchell's 28.5 points, along with 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Osman is shooting 52.4 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from the 3-point line and 81.8 percent from the 3-point line. "Us as a coaching staff continue to instill the belief in him that we don't care about makes and misses with Cedi," Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said recently. "There's so much more that he does to help our team. Obviously, if you're making shots, we love it. But you will not come out of the game for missing a shot, so provide that spark in other ways." Osman had one of his best overall games of the season in the Cavs' 103-92 victory over Orlando on Wednesday. The swingman had 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Even though he's primarily an offensive player, he knows his defense is what will keep him on the court. Bickerstaff has made a huge emphasis on defense this season. "I'm really concentrating on my defense this year," Osman said. "I know I'm going to be able to stay on the court longer if I improve my defense." Of course, if Osman continues to shoot with extreme confidence, the Cavs are going to be difficult to beat. He's scored in double figures in each game this season. "He's a threat," Bickerstaff said. "With the ball in his hands, eyes are on him. When he's on the floor, people don't want to give him open looks. They gravitate to him, which creates separation and spacing for everybody else. He does such a great job of moving without the ball instead of staying in one spot. Now, the defense is watching a moving target." Osman is best suited at running the floor and operating in the fastbreak. "He has the ability to be fast and be under control," Bickerstaff said. "When he's running full speed, he can change directions, which leaves the defenses guessing. "He does a great job of getting to the basket. He moves at a pace and tempo that defenses have a hard time keeping up with. He's a good facilitator when he's moving and makes his teammates better. He gets deflections on the defensive end and gets us out in transition. We just have to keep focusing on that. The scoring is a bonus if we continue to emphasize those other things." The Cavs' second unit has a chance to be stellar with Osman, Kevin Love, Caris LeVert or Dean Wade (whichever one goes to the bench when guard Darius Garland returns) and possibly Isaac Okoro and Robin Lopez. Okoro, though, has fallen off the pace, offensively, and has contributed nothing on that end. Lopez has also played sparingly. Osman is excited about playing with Mitchell, who has quickly become the Cavs' team leader. "I knew this was going to be a really special season for us," Osman said. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com.