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Turkey lost to Russia 76-73 Friday afternoon in its EuroBasket game, but it didn’t lose because of Cedi Osman.
Osman, a soon-to-be Cavs rookie, scored 28 points on 6-14 shooting to along with seven rebounds, seven steals and four assists. He also finished 13-15 from the free throw line. He led Turkey in each of those categories. Osman played 35:53 of a possible 40 minutes.
Ex-NBA guard Alexey Shved lead Russia with 22 points — including a game-winning three-pointer — and ex-Cavalier Timofey Mozgov added 20 points.
Osman actually scored the first bucket of the game when he caught the opening tip and scored:
Turkey, who was essentially playing a home game in Istanbul, struggled early as Russia played at a slower, measured pace. But as the game went on, Turkey was able to get the game to a more frenetic pace and Osman shined. On defense, he was all over the floor, using his length to clog passing lanes and create turnovers:
In the second half, Osman was everywhere and helped Turkey keep the game close. Late in the third, he hit one of three threes and looked incredibly confident doing so:
Russia, though, executed better in the fourth to pull away. Late, with Turkey needing two possessions to stay in the game, Osman drew a foul on a three-point attempt. However, he missed the first free throw and Turkey’s chances of a comeback ended.
Overall, this was an encouraging performance from Osman. He played almost the entire game and flew around the court the entire time he was on it. Osman didn’t do too much, but picked his spots and took advantage of opportunities as they popped up. He may not get the same type of opportunities playing alongside LeBron James in the fall, but the energy and effort he plays with is something the Cavs were missing last season.
His shot selection was a little off — particularly when shooting off the dribble — but he did everything else well. A performance like today is the kind that could give Osman a shot at getting some minutes as a rookie.