Cleveland Cavaliers head coach JB Bickerstaff reflected on forward Cedi Osman’s performance in a 120-104 win against the Charlotte Hornets, wrote Cleveland.com Cavs reporter Chris Fedor in a Wednesday article.
“It was great to see that tonight,” JB Bickerstaff said. “We know what (Cedi Osman) is capable of. He is a guy that can ignite both sides of the floor. He can make shots in a hurry, but also does a great job defensively of getting deflections, chasing guys, getting through screens. All that stuff brings energy and we’re going to need that.
“I think he just played free, and that’s when (Cedi Osman) ‘s at his best, when he just goes out there and tries to be the best version of himself. We’ve got to give him opportunities to do that as well. But I thought his teammates did a great job of finding him. Every time he was open, it seemed like the ball was in his hands and he had his confidence rolling and his teammates kept pushing him.”
Cedi Osman won the Junkyard Dog chain and scored his second-highest point total of the season at 24 when the Cavs took on the Hornets without guard Donovan Mitchell. He scored six of his ten 3-point attempts against a shorthanded Charlotte squad, firing up quick pull-up shots from the wings before bolting passed Hornets forward Kelly Oubre Jr. for an uncontested layup.
It would be Cedi Osman’s sixth game this season with 20 points or more. He earned his season-high of 29 points in a bout with the Los Angeles Clippers in late January, where he hit all seven of his shots from long range and 11 of his 13 overall attempts. Osman shot below a 50% clip from the 3-point arc in just one of his 20-point performances, a 26-point win over the Miami Heat in November that saw the 27-year-old forward grab 12 boards to compliment his bench scoring.