Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James received all the glory on Wednesday night as it was his ridiculous stat line and buzzer-beater that propelled the Cavs over the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime, 140-138.
However, while James was receiving all the praise, it was rookie Cedi Osman’s energy and effort on both ends of the floor that may have ignited the team. Osman played 21 minutes on Wednesday night and was seen hounding Timberwolves superstar Jimmy Butler on several possessions, one of which set up an epic James block in crunch time.
Osman finished the night with nine points, four rebounds and the highest plus-minus rating on the team with plus-7.
“Coach has been talking all the time to me, and I’m always ready,” Osman said. “Seriously, today when I get in the game, I was so thirsty, I was just going out and bringing energy to the team. I’m so happy I was a part of the win tonight.”
What was most telling was Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue’s comments after the game in which he indicated that the rookie will likely be receiving more minutes moving forward.
“I got to keep playing him,” Lue said. “I mean, he brings a lot. He can guard 1s, 2s and 3s. He knows the coverages, he’s in the right spot defensively all the time and offensively he can make plays. He can run the floor and can catch and go. For a rookie, he really understands how to play the game, and we have to find minutes for him.”
As the oldest team in the NBA, giving a player that can give you all-out energy and effort on both ends of the floor more minutes may be exactly what the Cavs need to continue winning games moving forward.
After the game James spoke about him, Osman, and Jeff Green closing the game for the Cavs.
“Energy. That’s what we need,” James said. “We’re a team that has to have a lot of energy on the floor. Myself and Jeff and Cedi, we do that. We bring a lot of energy to the game. He doesn’t know. He’s out there just playing for the love of the game. He’s going to make mistakes, which is OK, but his purity of the game is infectious to our team.
“He hasn’t been in many situations, so he’s not even going to trip about what’s going on. He’s going to play his game. And he’s been in professional basketball since he was 14 years old, so he plays the game the right way. It’s great to have him.”
In 41 games this season, Osman is averaging just 7.5 minutes per game.
