Three Cavaliers To Keep An Eye On During Preseason

Emoni Bates, Max Strus, and Ty Jerome will be important Cleveland Cavaliers to watch during the preseason.

Basketball is back!

The Cleveland Cavaliers play their first preseason game on Tuesday evening against the Atlanta Hawks. They'll play three more exhibition games before the season starts on October 23 but there's still a lot to figure out. No, these games won't affect their official record, but there will be some interesting storylines that emerge from the outcome.

These are some players fans should have an extra eye throughout the preseason.

Emoni Bates

Cleveland was able to draft former five-star recruit, Emoni Bates, late in the second round of the 2023 Draft. Bates is only on a two-way contract but will likely get plenty of action in the preseason.

He averaged 17.2 points per game while shooting 43 percent from the floor during the Summer League leaving fans wanting more. Bates will be an interesting name to keep an eye on as the season progresses and that starts over the next two weeks..

Max Strus

The biggest name the Cavs brought in over the offseason was Max Strus who they pried away from the Miami Heat. Strus is mainly known for his three-point shooting ability, which is something Cleveland desperately needs.

It will be intriguing to see what kind of role J.B. Bickerstaff has in mind for Strus and the offense. He said earlier in training camp that he doesn't want Strus sitting in the corner waiting for the ball, but to be an important part of their offense.

What exactly will this look like? We're likely to get a sneak peak in Cleveland's four preseason games.

Oct 2, 2023; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and guard Ty Jerome (2) joke around during media day at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Ty Jerome

Bickerstaff has been very high on Ty Jerome all throughout training camp. He even said it's going to be difficult to keep him off the floor. Jerome is a solid shooter and has demonstrated the ability to be a reliable game-changer too making him a logical choice to play behind Darius Garland in the rotation.

Now it's time for him to mesh with some of Cleveland's other players such as Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.