An Aspect About The Cavs That Emoni Bates Hasn’t Experienced Since Middle School

Emoni Bates is thriving with the Cleveland Cavaliers by utilizing the gifted scoring ability and talent he's had all along.

There’s something to be said about the professional level of basketball and how it feels for new players coming in. In general, the floor is wider, there’s more room to work and the pace is healthy, not frantic. 

Plus, with so much experience and talent on a team, rookies aren’t expected to have the weight of the world on their shoulders alone night-in and night-out.

Emoni Bates is a gifted and natural scorer who can go as far as he wants to go in the NBA.

But admittedly, before making the jump to the pros, he had to create his own looks without a table-setter. Having to be the guy with the ball in your hands and putting points on the board, that’s no easy task.

CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 16: Emoni Bates #21 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots during the second half of a preseason exhibition game Maccabi Ra'anana at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on October 16, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated Maccabi Ra'anana 120-89 :: Jason Miller/Getty Images

Bates made it clear on Tuesday that the shots he’s getting with the Cleveland Cavaliers are the “most open” looks he’s ever had in his hoop career, which allows him to shine in his true element.

“[It’s been] since probably like eighth grade, when I had a real point guard," Bates said following practice. "But after that, I didn't really have point guards. I had scoring point guards, so it was like we would score together, if anything.

“I feel like it's easier for me. If you want me to be honest, I don't have to do as much. I just catch and shoot and then I can play in transition, get out. So it's like when I'm ahead, push the break. And off of rebounds. If I get a rebound, I can push it. So it's cool."

With willing passers like Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, in addition to Caris LeVert and Ty Jerome, the looks are going to be there more often than not. And right now, Bates is cashing in on the chances — particularly beyond the arc.

"I think with the spacing that we play with, he's kind of taking what's there and what's given to him," Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Monday night. "Emoni is a shot-creator from all levels. But with the way our offense is right now and with the way the ball is moving, he's in the right spot. And the spot is behind the [three-point line] and his teammates are finding him. 

"As he grows, you'll see he has the ability to make shots from all over the floor."

Along the way, some teams end up miscasting certain players in a role that doesn’t put them in a position to succeed. That can happen when other players go down with injury, or it can simply be a faulty judgment.

But thus far through three double-digit efforts with Cleveland, the fast-scoring and quick-shooting Bates is showing the world that he’s been elite in those facets all along.

"I think when you've been the best player in every situation you've gone to, coming into a new situation with elite All-Star level talent and NBA veteran players, you just have to get adjusted to what it's like to play with people like that," Bickerstaff said.

"In high school and college, you don't just find this level of talent and depth that we have here. So you have to figure out how to play off these other guys who are talented as well. I think we've continued to see him grow there and also defensively."