It started out as a disappointing night for Cavs fans who had heard that both Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Jr. would not be playing tonight in the first Summer League game. But, the one draft pick that did play, Dylan Windler, shined brightly for the squad.
We knew Windler could shoot the ball from his time at Belmont, but it’s always different to see it at the next level. In the first half, he immediately showed off his shooting prowess, making the first three point attempt he took.
One problem that we saw from Windler was that he was still getting used to the length of the defenders he was going up against. He only finished with 1 turnover this game, but many of his passes were getting deflected because he wasn’t putting enough loft or zip on it to get it to his teammate.
Along with the shooting, Windler was a constant contributor on the boards. He finished with 6 rebounds in the 29 minutes he played. His length will always allow for him to get rebounds, but it’s his IQ that also allows for that. Sometimes, he’ll be seen leaving his man to go grab a rebound, but we think he did a solid job of making sure the guy he was guarding wasn’t falling in for the rebound first.
We were constantly impressed by Windler’s passing in college and that translated very well today. 3 assists is nothing to get too excited about, but some of the passes he did make were on the mark (outside of the ones deflected as mentioned).
Sure, that was absolutely horrendous transition D from the Spurs, but it’s the fact that Dylan Windler had his head up looking for the immediate outlet pass.
Finally, we have to bring up the shooting because Windler made an incredible, deep 3 in the second half that was the best play of the game. It was one of those plays that made you say to yourself, “Okay, yep this kid is ready”.
Dylan Windler finished with 19 points on 8/14 shooting from the field and 3/8 from beyond the arc. This is a player that everyone should continue to keep an eye on not only in Summer League, but going into next year with the Cavaliers as well.
