The Cavs acquired Marquese Chriss from the Houston Rockets in a three-team deal just before this season’s trade deadline. Playing for the Rockets, alongside James Harden, would seem like an ideal situation for most young players. Chriss, however, wanted a chance to showcase his talents in a larger role.
Chriss detailed his mindset in a recent interview with The Athletic:
“It’s not even that I wanted out of Houston,” Chriss recently told The Athletic. “Who wouldn’t want to be in that situation (playing with James Harden, in a playoff chase)? I wanted to be somewhere where I could be the best version of me.”
In just four appearances with the Cavs, Chriss has already established himself as a threat on both ends of the floor. At 6-10 and 240 pounds, he has good size. That doesn’t mean he’s slow, though. In fact, the 21-year-old can throw it down with the best of them, and he’s shown a smooth stroke from the perimeter.
Chriss logged 28 minutes in Wednesday night’s triple-overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets before fouling out, scoring 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field (3-of-6 from beyond the arc), seven rebounds, one assist and two steals.
Cavs head coach Larry Drew had high praise for Chriss’ skill-set following Wednesday’s game:
“I’ll tell you this: Marquese is a talent,” Drew told FOX Sports Ohio during his post-game media availability. “I really didn’t get a chance to see a whole lot of him prior to him coming here. A lot of people told me about the type of player that he is, and that he needs some playing time.
“It looks like he’s getting better and better with every game,” Drew said of Chriss. “It looks like he’s getting more comfortable with what we’re doing. He’s a terrific athlete, with a body that size. He plays above the rim, and he’s comfortable with stepping out and shooting the three. He’s got tremendous touch at the three-point line. He was big for us tonight.”
With Kevin Love still recovering from a big toe injury, Chriss could see a fair amount of playing time with the Cavs. It seems he’s ready to make the most of this new-found opportunity.
