The Point-Fourward: 80s Nostalgia and Cedi for Six

Not SI’s greatest prediction ever (“Indian uprising”? sheesh. We’ve come a long way)

Four points I’m thinking about the NBA…

1. Did you know that Brook Jacoby was a two time All-Star? Or that in 1986, the Tribe actually had a winning record with Julio Franco, Cory Snyder and Joe Carter leading the way? I was rather surprised too. In my four-year-old mind’s eye, Brook Jacoby was just a quintessentially solid third baseman, Cory Snyder hit bombs or struck out every time, and Joe Carter was simply a superhero. I didn’t truly remember Franco’s first stint in Cleveland, although now that I think about it, I do recall an old baseball card. Googling Julio Franco Jerry Curl Indians…

Ah, the internet.

The NBA Finals concluded a bit before 6 am Eurotime, so I wasn’t exactly my high functioning (adequately functioning) self at such an hour. Still, I find it interesting that my first instinct after turning off the game was to google Brook Jacoby and Cory Snyder.

What about watching the Cavaliers lose the 2017 NBA Finals precipitated a sleep deprived internet dive exploring late 80s mediocrity? Why did I continue the trip down memory lane the next morning when I saw the open browsers on my phone? Arguably the greatest team in basketball history had beaten arguably the greatest basketball player in history, and I was checking Felix Fermin’s 1988 on-base percentage.

Theory 1: It was a coping mechanism. A year after reading and watching every post-game interview possible, reliving the eruption at “The Q” via youtube, crying on the phone with my sister, and generally being confused about this weird new sensation that people had only previously described to me as “victory”, I needed to shut my computer and think about something else. I certainly couldn’t watch some insufferable interview with Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant’s waterworks of a mother could I? That just wouldn’t do. But the thing is, I wasn’t sad. And why friggin’ Brook Jacoby?

Theory 2: The 2016 Championship changed my fandom forever. I had a lifetime of suffering through awful sports teams or teams that were great yet somehow found a way to blow it. Every miserable season intensified the city’s loser identity and spurned a correlated comedic self-deprecation. We, as a fanbase, luxuriated in our ineptitude, creatively coining “The Factory of Sadness” and taking an obscene pride in being the most tortured city in sports.

2. It was clear that winning was going to be a drastically different and far more enjoyable sensation. What is surprising is that losing feels differently than losing felt before. When the Indians lost the 2016 World Series, I attributed my general ambivalence to my decreased interest in baseball and a general desire to “not get greedy” as a fan. It was actually okay that the Tribe blew a 3-1 lead. What?

After losing this Finals and feeling the same level of emotional detachment, I can only conclude that the 2016 win scratched a lifetime’s itch. We are now just normal fans. Ya know, you win some, you lose some, eh?! I don’t know if I Iike it, though it’s probably a healthier form of existence.

Brook Jacoby? Bernie Kosar, Kevin Mack and Mark Price were obviously childhood favorites. Their success made them more admired and beloved. People still frequently talk about their trials and tribulations and their contributions to Cleveland sports history.

However, if you grew up in Cleveland in the late 80s and early 90s, it was far more likely that you spent your time in Cleveland Municipal Stadium watching baseball rather than football. The Richfield Coliseum was far away leaving the Cavs to be more commonly experienced through Joe Tait’s mastery. Baseball was accessible. Then, Tribe tickets were so cheap that day camp kids had free reign over the stadium’s bleachers.

I have analyzed and critiqued the Cavaliers to the nth degree. I certainly do care. It’s just different now. I can only gather that Jacoby, Carter and Snyder popped into my head because they were the main players on the first team that I really loved. As my fandom evolves, they, the birth of my fandom, returned to my head as a reminder, or as a tombstone.

3. Regardless of my particular emotional reaction, we can all agree that winning would have been the desired outcome. The Cavaliers are certainly in for a more dynamic off-season as “failure” seems to motivate change far more profoundly than “success”.

I’ve avoided most of the countless articles speculating drastic changes for next season. The majority of them are written by people with limited basketball acumen or are simply click-bait. I do, however, make a point to search out articles about Iman Shumpert. Anyone familiar with this space knows that I am abjectly against playing Shumpert meaningful playoff minutes. Any advantage he gives you as a solid isolation defender is mitigated by his complete inability to execute a team defensive gameplan. He’s a miserable offensive player and an irresponsibly overrated defender. Giri Nathan of Deadspin did some digging.

Despite this (offensive) stagnation Shump has found a reasonably lucrative niche in the league not quite as a three-and-D guy, but merely as a ???-and-D guy, with even that latter rep a bit overstated. Synergy Sports places his last season in the 52nd percentile of all defenders in terms of points allowed per play. Taking the full view of his career, he peaked his rookie year in the 64th percentile, then sunk down to the 21st last season before returning to the middle of the pack this year. To his credit, over the years he has sporadically excelled at isolation defense, landing in the 90th percentile this past season, though those plays comprised only 7.4 percent of the plays he faced; he was average on the pick-and-rolls (44th) and handoffs (37th) that comprised the majority.

By all accounts, Shump is a good dude. He is close friends with J.R. Smith and maybe Kyrie Irving’s closest friend on the team. That is no small detail. I’d be surprised if Kyrie were not involved to some degree in the “do we keep Delly or Shump” debate. That’s all well and good, but the Cavs bled points with Shump on the floor in each of the last two Finals. If the Cavs are going to beat the Warriors, someone else needs to take those wing defender minutes.

4. There are countless trade rumors floating around, but the answer may already be under the Cavs’ control. Cedi Osman, the 2015 second rounder out of Turkey, is likely ready to make his jump to the NBA next season. Osman has often been mentioned in trade rumors, but it is likely the Cavs’ best course of action is to simply give the 6’8″ swingman a Wine and Gold jersey and call it a day.

Osman is a tenacious competitor in the mold of Mathew Dellavedova, but with the physical profile more similar to Sam Dekker. Cedi is an excellent defender, anticipating and fighting over screens on and off ball. He has fast hands and reads actions well. At his size, he can slide easily between three and sometimes four positions on both sides of the ball. Though his counting numbers are not outwardly outstanding in Euroleague play, the 22 year-old has shown significant development since he was drafted.

Osman seems poised to be a fantastic role player early in his career. LeBron James loves playing with guys with that kind of motor and confidence to knock down the open shot. Osman is a good enough three-point shooter to warrant a hard closeout leading to what I call the “Jamison special”. As the pass arrives, Osman anticipates the defensive closeout and starts his progress toward the hoop even before the catch. That anticipation and quickness added years of offensive productivity to Antawn Jamison’s career, even after he had lost a couple steps.

Osman is incredibly fast end to end. That ability to run in transition as a wide receiver would likely please Cavs QB, Kevin Love. The Cavaliers don’t need a total overhaul. They just need some intelligent wing help off the bench. Touchdown, Osman.