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Isaac Okoro is Here

 

If you've followed me relatively closely at all on Twitter in the past *checks notes* over 250 days since the Cavs last played basketball, then you probably know I am insanely high on Isaac Okoro. So high to the point of ranking him number 1 on my Big Board. If you’re not already a fan, and this article doesn’t change that, watching him play for the Cavaliers soon will.

When the Cavaliers landed at number 5 on the night of the NBA lottery, I can't say I was too disappointed. Would Cleveland have taken "Ice" if they ended up any higher than 5? Maybe at 4. Almost certainly not in the top 3. I like LaMelo Ball, but I've been low on Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman for a while. Finally, we don't have to deal with hypotheticals anymore. The Cavs have their guy. Isaac Okoro is coming to Cleveland. Isaac Okoro is here. A new Cavaliers era is here. What he brings to the Cavs can be broken down into 3 main categories...

Defense

His bread and butter. It's how he made a name for himself. It's how he got heavy playing time on a senior-laden team at Auburn. Okoro is the literal definition of clamps. He brings fire and intensity. The guy makes things happen. Or more accurately, prevents things from happening for the other team.

The 6'6" 225 lb wing may very well be the best defender from the class. Isaac's rare combination of lower-body strength, lateral quickness, and IQ give him the potential to be one of the best in the league one day. The biggest thing is, he loves playing defense. He embraces his role and is energized by thriving on the less flashy end of the floor.

Okoro very often defended the best player on the other team for Auburn, regardless of position. He has quick feet on the perimeter to stick with quicker, smaller guards. His ability to then defend bigs in the post is obscene. Isaac just doesn't get moved. I believe Okoro will primarily guard 2-4 in the NBA, but he is fully capable of switching onto 1s and 5s in a pinch. Just ask Bruce Pearl, Auburn's Head Coach.

We all know Okoro is a tremendous athlete, though. His smarts round out the incredible skill set that is his defense. For someone who gave as much effort defensively and played as physically as "Ice" did, the fact that he only averaged 3.5 fouls per 40 minutes is tremendous. He knows how to contest shots without fouling.

His modest numbers of 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per game don't incite much excitement, but that again points back to his IQ. Okoro is a very capable defensive playmaker when he wants to be, but he prefers to not take risks. He would rather make things difficult by staying in front of his man and not giving up any easy looks. Which is awesome, because he's good as heck at doing just that.

Simply watching Isaac Okoro be an absolute pest defensively when I was watching film on him, was one of the most enjoyable parts of quarantine. The last two seasons, Cleveland has been one of the two worst defensive teams in the league. Can you win like that? No. We've seen teams like Portland and Denver take leaps recently. Was it because their offense got better? Maybe marginally, but their improved defense was the main reason.

Normally rookies don't have a tremendous positive impact their rookie season. Okoro could be the exception. He's probably the team's best defender right out of the gates. It's not hard at all to tell that he's a guy with a strong influence on winning. There's a reason why he's 112-10 in his last 122 games. That involves more than one side of he floor, though. It's not just defense that Isaac excels at...

Offense

This is where you can separate the people who truly know Ice's game from those you don't. The rookie gets a bad rep for his offensive game due to just a small sliver in which he was subpar in. He shot 28.6% from 3 and 67.2% from the line. Okoro didn't completely shy away from taking triples. He took 2.5 per game. It's an area of his game that he's worked tirelessly on. This isn't a Michael Kidd-Gilchrist situation where the jumper is completely busted.

Aside from the jump shot issues though, Okoro is a very well-rounded offensive player. He's an NBA-level slasher already. He's not gonna pull off anything flashy. His handle is a work in progress. Okoro primarily uses his brute strength along with his surprisingly quick first step to get his opponents off-balance and draw contact. It's LeBron-esque to a certain extent, obviously not at the same level as the King. College and the NBA are different animals, but it's worth noting that Okoro posted an excellent Free Throw Rate of .551 at Auburn last year, better than LeBron's NBA career average of .407 and his career-high of .506.

The thing that separates LeBron from the crowd is his vision. Okoro is nowhere near LeBron's level in this regard, but he can effectively drive-and-kick or find the open man. We all love Collin Sexton, but I don't think it's far fetched to say that Isaac's combination of vision, IQ, and unselfishness will make him a better passer than Young Bull from day 1. The guy made some NBA PG-level reads from time-to-time that I frankly don't think Sexton would have noticed.

Unfortunately, Okoro rarely had the opportunity to showcase his slashing/passing abilities under Bruce Pearl last season. Out of Auburn's 6 top minute-getters, he was the only player who wasn't a senior. Those 5 upperclassmen dominated the offensive possessions for the team, forcing Isaac into much more of an off-ball role. Teams didn't respect his shot, typically sagging off of him, yet Okoro still managed to perfect his role and provide a positive impact to his team.

I highlighted Isaac's IQ before, but this is where it stands out. Okoro is one of those guys who just always knows where to be. He thrived off of making timely cuts, crashing the offensive glass, and taking advantage of mismatches when presented to him. The ball never stuck in his hands (this will all be a very welcome sight for Cleveland's static offense). For a guy who got playing time because of his defense, Okoro wound up being the glue that held Auburn's offense together.

Mindset

Yeah we can gripe on Collin Sexton for his poor passing instincts, but the undeniable attribute attached to his name is his unsatiable desire to improve. He'll do whatever it takes to reach that next level, even if that means practically living in the gym. Isaac Okoro fits that mold. He's a gym rat. He puts in the work. He wants to help the team win.

Okoro and Sexton are both Atlanta kids. They know each other from their past. They recently arrived in Cleveland together. The Cavs are quietly building a culture that prioritizes hard work. It all starts with these two. Cavaliers teams in the past have been infamously lazy. It's time for that to change.

This is a main reason for why I think Okoro will get his jump shot to respectable at the minimum. It's why I KNOW Isaac will be a winning player. It's why I know he will fit flawlessly with this team or any team. We already saw him takes strides in conference play last season. When you play in a conference as tough as the SEC, this is when freshman would often run into the rookie wall. Not Okoro.

He upped his assist numbers and cut down his turnovers. He raised his 3P% and FT% to 31.8% and 70.4%, respectively. His Free Throw Rate spiked up to an insane 63.8%. Again, comparing college numbers to NBA numbers is like comparing apples to oranges, but that number would've ranked as the 5th best Free Throw Rate in the NBA this season. The will to improve is there, and the results prove it. Okoro doesn't back down from challenges, he steps up.

He's one of those exceptional type of prospects. He has the athleticism. He has the smarts. He has the motor. He has the winning mindset. He's special. He's Isaac Okoro. Isaac Okoro is here.

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