The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Atlanta Hawks inside Philips Arena on Thursday night, 121-114. While the box score won’t show much from forward Cedi Osman, the 22-year-old rookie made the most of his time on the floor.
With several rotational players still out of the lineup (Isaiah Thomas, Iman Shumpert, Derrick Rose, and Tristan Thompson), Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue called on Osman’s number down the stretch. Lue’s decision, albeit a bit forced, paid off as Osman’s defensive pressure and gritty rebounding seemed to catch the Hawks by surprise.
In his 11 minutes of playing time (his second-highest usage rate as member of the Cavs thus far), Cedi Osman turned in five points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field and 1-for-1 from beyond the arc, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
After Thursday night’s game, Tyronn Lue spoke to reporters with regards to Osman’s performance. The third-year coach says Osman is not afraid of competing.
“The biggest thing about Cedi is he’s not scared and I like that about him,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. “He’s going to make some mistakes, but that’s part of being young and being a rookie. But he’s going to compete and he’s not scared.”
The Cavs, now winners of ten consecutive games, signed Osman to a three-year, $8.3 million deal over the summer. Prior to his days in the NBA, Osman was a star in the Turkish Super League, where he played for Anadolu Efes. Now, as a member of the Cavs family, the 6-foot-8 swingman says his dreams of playing in the NBA are coming true.
“In Turkey, the first couple months was really hard for me, maybe because I was younger,” Osman said in a post-win locker room on Thursday night. “Now I’m older. I didn’t feel any stress being here. I wasn’t scared. That’s what I was working for. My dream was to be an NBA player. I didn’t have any reason to be scared.”
In a later interview with Fox Sports Ohio’s Fred McLeod, Osman told noted that he has always been “cold-blooded.“
“I felt really good,” Osman said. “It was really good playing with those guys. It’s a big opportunity for me. I have a lot of things to learn from them. I felt very good, and I’m very happy that we won the game. It’s our tenth in a row, so we have to keep playing like this. If I help the team, I’m the happiest guy.
“I was always cold-blooded,” Osman continued. “I don’t have a reason to be scared. I just have to be patient, be a smart player. The only thing I can do is work harder and harder, and of course, learn.”
Cedi Osman and the Cavs will be back in action on Saturday night when they host the Memphis Grizzlies inside Quicken Loans Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST with Fox Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Southeast having live broadcast coverage.