There’s more to Isaac Okoro’s game

Kenny Atkinson believes the Cavs can ‘diversify’ Okoro’s offense.

Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sharife Cooper has known Isaac Okoro since grade school. They came up playing AAU and high school basketball together. Cooper had been impressed with his growth since his rookie season but said, “I feel like he could play a lot better than he does,” when asked about Okoro’s progression last February.

That’s a reasonable belief by anyone who’s watched Okoro play. The 23-year-old has the speed, strength, and lateral quickness to be an explosive player. That is on top of being a steadily improving three-point shooter and an adept finisher at the rim. However, those traits have looked better on paper than on the court.

Head coach Kenny Atkinson appears to recognize this as well.

“I do think we need to diversify his game,” Atkinson said after practice on Wednesday. “I think we can use him as a cutter more, slasher, and in offensive rebounding. I think those are areas we can raise his game.”

Increasing cuts to the basket has been a point of emphasis for a few years. Okoro was a successful slasher last season as Cleveland scored on 71.4% of possessions that ended with an Okoro cut (77th percentile). The issue was only 0.5 possessions per game concluded that way.

It’s easy to say he should cut more. Okoro does need to do a better job of recognizing these opportunities when they arise. At the same time, it’s also a symptom of the offense he plays within.

These clips all show how well Okoro can finish at the rim even through late-arriving help. These plays also all occurred when there were no bigs in the paint when he started to cut. That’s a luxury Okoro hasn’t been afforded much during his time in Cleveland. It’s one of the many reasons why getting Evan Mobley more involved as a ball-handler is so important for the health of the overall offense.

Atkinson’s idea of using him as an offensive rebounder is a new one. The Cavs have previously preferred to have him back on defense before the rebound is secured to limit their opponents in transition. This is why Okoro hasn’t grabbed a lot of offensive boards. That said, it would be a way to take advantage of his defender when they leave to help. This is a part of a greater team emphasis on offensive rebounding.

There’s also one additional way Atkinson wants to expand Okoro’s game.

“We could use him in the pick-and-roll as the roll guy a little bit,” Atkinson said. “He gets in the pocket. [He has] great size downhill. Can make plays. So I’m excited about that.”

Jarrett Allen and Mobley have both mentioned during the first two days of camp that Mobley has been used more as a ball-handler in pick-and-rolls. Okoro may be one of the guys Atkinson would like to use as a screener in these situations.

Okoro has been at his best as a playmaker and finisher when going toward the basket. We just haven’t seen him in those positions often due to his limited on-ball game and the lineups he’s been previously used in. Additionally, this would put him above the break more often which would allow him to attempt more non-corner threes which he hit at a higher percentage (40%) than ones from the corner (39%).

It’s worth noting that the Cavs have tried to use Okoro as an on-ball screener briefly at the end of the 2022-23 season. This wasn’t effective as he was screening for guards with two centers on the court. This made it easy for teams to trap the ball handler and cover Okoro and the bigs with two of the three remaining defenders.

Okoro has continually flashed skills during his time in the league. The issue has been figuring out how to use those within his limitations on the ball and the team’s construction. Maybe both or either of those things will keep Okoro from hitting his ceiling as a Cavalier. But there’s still reason to believe there’s more there considering his physical tools. The Cavs are hoping he can be one of the biggest beneficiaries of a revamped offense.

“He’s talented enough,” Atkinson said. “I think we got to put him in the right positions to raise his game.”