NBA
Cleveland expects to have SF Isaac Okoro back tomorrow for Game 1 vs the New York Knicks
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated14 Apr 2023
The 2022-23 Cleveland Cavaliers has a strong season and finished with the fourth-best record in the East at 51-31. That locked them into the #4 seed and a first-round matchup with a scrappy New York Knicks squad. Cleveland struggled in the regular season vs the Knicks, going 1-3 in their four games played. Luckily for the Cavs, they are expecting to get back who many consider to be their best perimeter defender. Barring any setbacks, SF Isaac Okoro expects to make his return after dealing with a sore left knee.
Okoro had missed Cleveland’s final six games of the regular season and finally participated in some contact potions of their practice yesterday. It finally appears he will be ready for Game 1 tomorrow vs the New York Knicks. On top of this, he did some extra shooting practice yesterday and did some lighter workouts earlier in the week.
Cleveland knows that even though Okoro might not be the flashiest name on their roster, Okoro is pivotal to the team’s efficiency on the defensive end. Ohio Sports Betting sites have the Cavaliers at (-225) to win Game 1 tomorrow night vs the Knicks.
#Cavs Isaac Okoro likely to return for Game 1 vs NYK Saturday, per ESPN. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/jH5y56ybM5
— MoreForYouCleveland (@MoreForYou_CLE) April 13, 2023
Isaac Okoro is expected to return tomorrow for the Cavs
The 22-year-old played in a career-high 76 of the Cavs’ 82 games this season and made 46 starts. He last played on March 26 in Cleveland’s win vs the Houston Rockets when they clinched their first postseason berth since 2018. Cleveland has somewhat downplayed Okoro’s injury and he clearly needed this extra rest to be ready for what they hope is a lengthy postseason run.
Okoro will be leaned on on the defensive end by slowing down Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. The Knicks love to run isolation offense and Okoro is their best perimeter defender. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff commented on what the young SF brings to the team on the defensive end.
“There’s an energy that he supplies the group when he’s doing Isaac things, and you go back and just watch film and you marvel at the way he can just keep himself in position and is always in the play,” – J.B. Bickerstaff
Tomorrow, the New York Knicks will be on the road to start Game 1 of their opening-round series vs the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tip-off is at 6:00 pm EST and the game will wait nationally on ESPN.
