Waiting on Waiters

While the Miami Heat load up to finish another strong playoff run on to its third championship, LeBron James is leading the charge – go figure.
Meanwhile back in the hall of mediocrity, the Cleveland Cavaliers – still licking their James inflicted wounds – have a prince to replace the king. But this isn’t about Uncle Drew, or rather Kyrie Irving, this is about buckets, and Dion Waiters flat out got buckets in his rookie year. The fact that he plays in Cleveland kept his game as quiet as the Quicken Loans Arena. Not many were able to see him ball on a regular basis. When combined with the fact that he only played in 61 games, Waiters’ season was solid but improvable.

Scoring– Waiters finished second in points per game at 14.7, second only to the last year’s Rookie of the Year, Damian Lillard. The Cavaliers’ shooting guard connected on 31 percent of his shots behind the arc. He finished at about 41 percent from the field, which netted him 894 points. In a full season, he would have landed just north of 1,200 points. Waiters can knock down an open three, though he needs to become more consistent. He can slash to the basket and finish at the rim. Scoring is his best attribute.

Rebounding– As a guard, rebounding isn’t the biggest concern for Waiters. He averaged 2.4 rebounds per game. Bradley Beal snatched just below four off the glass for the Washington Wizards. Waiters is only 215 lbs. With a full offseason, he’ll get bigger, stronger and work on his footwork in the paint. Although, when Anderson Varejao returns from injury, he’ll set up camp down low and Waiters can get out and run with Irving. Tristan Thompson, who grabbed 9.4 rebounds per game last year, will also play a part in that.

Defense– Defensively, Waiters can separate himself from the other standout players going into their sophomore seasons. Waiters came up with the steal 1.2 times a game last year. But his defensive rating (estimated points allowed per 100 possessions) was 111. Beal’s rating was 105. Again, when Varejao returns, Waiters will have some help behind him. So if Waiters does get beat, there will be a wall of hair waiting for the ball. Let’s not forget that Cleveland’s new head coach is Mike Brown, defensive extraordinaire. Brown will take his young guard to school on locking down the ball handler and defending off the ball.

Outlook– Overall, Waiters did well last year, but he can drastically improve next season. He’ll be 22 in December. He still has a lot of time to grow, but if Cleveland wants to contend next season, Waiters will be instrumental. If he and Irving can stay healthy, expect them to challenge Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for the title of “Best Scoring Backcourt” in the league. It should not be overlooked that a potential All-Star Game appearance is a possibility – if other guards suffer injuries of course. But listen for Waiters’ name while watching the Cavaliers highlights in the morning. It will most likely be repeated often.

2013-14 Projections– 18.4 PPG 2.5 RPG 4.1 APG 1.2 SPG 34.3% 3pt% 44.4 % Field Goal % and 77.3 % Free Throw %.

Below is a link to an infographic breaking down Waiters’ rookie year and comparing it to the rookie years of the NBA’s top shooting guards.
http://infogr.am/Waiting-on-Waiters

By Robert Judin
Follow @RobertJudin