By james art The Cleveland Cavaliers won their first championship in 2016 and are hoping for a much shorter wait until their next title. If the team wants to avoid another extended drought until their next holiday parade, they will need one of their young players to step up and have a breakout season.
Emoni Bates is entering his second pro season and will miss the start after surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Bates should be back by the All-Star break, though, and could even be back by the New Year if all goes according to plan. Bates hasn’t been talked about enough, in part because of his injury. That’s why Bates could come out of nowhere and shock the world this season.
Emoni Bates will have a breakout season
Bates is one of the youngest players on the Cavaliers roster, but he shines from the top. He brings an in-demand skill set to the table and just needs to gain more experience and maturity to put it all together. In limited playing time, Bates has shown flashes of his potential and demonstrated why scouts were so excited about him when he was just a young player in high school.
The Cavs need another young star
The Cavaliers’ roster currently features two stars in Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. Garland is a homegrown talent who is incredibly explosive and quickly developing as a shooter. He’s made strides and is now solidly above average as an outside threat while proving his patience and judgment as a passer.
Garland came into the league with a lot of promise, but really put in the work to excel in all areas of the game. He knows when to call his own number as well as when and how to get his teammates involved. He knows when to get aggressive and press the issue to stress the defense, and when to play it safe and focus on not turning the ball over.
Garland became an excellent shooter as his career progressed. Coming out of college, Garland was known throughout the preseason as a player with an incredibly beautiful jump shot, but someone who needed to continue to work on long-range shots against NBA competition in high-pressure situations.
His work in that area has been a remarkable success, and Garland now commands the respect of opposing defenses every time he carries the ball on the perimeter. He also has a lethal combination of ball-handling ability and athleticism that he uses to break through defenses and get into the lane, where he has a crafty and versatile layup package as well as an elite floater.
Garland’s float is a powerful weapon because he has such a graceful touch with it. This move is nearly unblockable, and the only way to stop it is to prevent Garland from entering the lane in the first place. That means defenders have to watch out for his speed and give him extra room on the perimeter. That, in turn, makes it easier for Garland to create space for pull-up jumpers from beyond the arc.
The Cavs acquired Donovan Mitchell in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz and he has been impressive during his time in Cleveland. Mitchell is an incredibly gifted scorer, but struggles defensively and can sometimes struggle with the efficiency of his jumper due to his lack of size at the point guard position.
Who is Emoni Bates?
Emoni Bates is a 6-foot-9 small forward who is only 20 years old. At one time, Bates was considered arguably the best high school player in the country in his class and a surefire No. 1 pick going forward. Unfortunately for Bates, his college career did not go as planned. He struggled mightily at Auburn and transferred to Eastern Michigan.
Related Cleveland Cavaliers newsThe article continues below
While at Eastern Michigan, Bates resurrected his career on the court, but also battled legal issues off the court, most notably a weapons charge. Bates’ combination of legal issues and unproven ability against high-level competition caused him to fall to the second round of the NBA draft, where the Cavaliers selected the young wing and signed him to a two-way contract.
Bates spent significant time in the G-League building his game and had moments at the NBA level where he showed why the Cavaliers were willing to attack him and be patient through the growing pains.
Bates’ greatest strength is a gift that cannot be taught
Standing at 6-foot-9 and raising the high release point of his jump shot, Bates’ biggest strength isn’t really his shot. That’s certainly important, but what really makes him unique is his ability to get a clear look at the rim against almost any defender. That’s because he releases the ball at a time when very few defenders have a credible chance to block or block his shot.
He also has good looking mechanics and is able to convert those looks at high speed. That’s certainly a lofty mark and an almost impossible bar to reach, but there’s a world where Bates is turning into a lightweight version of Kevin Durant. That kind of progression would certainly qualify as a breakout season.