Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Cavs forward Isaac Okoro was able to participate in some parts of practice, according to a Wednesday tweet from the Athletic Cavs beat writer Kelsey Russo.
He is still considered day-to-day.
Isaac Okoro, a former first-round draft pick out of Auburn in the 2020 NBA Draft, has yet to play since a late-March matchup with the Houston Rockets. He exited the game with left knee soreness and would remain out for the rest of the game, according to Cavs Insider Tommy Wild.
The 22-year-old forward would finish the night with just under nine minutes played in the 17-point win over Houston, scoring four points, grabbing one rebound and hitting one shot along with a pair of free throws at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Isaac Okoro has played 76 games and started 46 for a playoff-bound Cavs team. He has so far earned 6.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 21.7 minutes played per contest during the 2022-23 season.
Bickerstaff did not downplay the difference forward Isaac Okoro could make during the Cavs’ upcoming playoff series on Sunday.
“It’d be huge for us,” Bickerstaff said Sunday when asked about the possibility of Isaac Okoro returning for the playoffs, via Akron Beacon Journal sports writer Nate Ulrich. “especially you watch his matchups defensively and what he’s able to do and how he can contain the ball and defeat screens and pick and roll, which you’re going to see a bunch of.
“Obviously, we’ve missed him, and he’d be a big boost to us ’cause there’s just so many small things that he does for our team so that other guys just don’t have to do it, and he’s just willing to do those things over and over again, even though they are so difficult.”
The Cavs’ first playoff game against the New York Knicks will take place at 6 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 15, in Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN.
