Monday night against the Raptors, the Cavaliers gave Chris Livingston an opportunity he never had in Milwaukee. Covering for absent teammates, he played well in his first NBA action this season after joining Cleveland on a two-way contract several weeks ago. Early-season rotation minutes were never available during his time with the Bucks. Good on Livingston for capitalizing on his chance.
Chris Livingston made most of unfamiliar opportunity
In 14 minutes off the bench, Livingston provided seven points, three rebounds, and an assist on 3-of-5 shooting. His first Cavaliers bucket came on a tough and-one finish at the rim. Showcasing his strength and physicality, Livingston got into the paint two other times for another lay-in and a floater. His positive-12 plus-minus was a team-high in Cleveland's 110-99 loss.
These weren't just garbage-time minutes, either. The Cavaliers were very much in the game during the fourth-quarter run in which Livingston took part, shaving eight points off Toronto's lead during his time on the floor.
Livingston would not have gotten an opportunity without the Cavaliers' litany of injuries. All in all, they were down seven players. Still, during two seasons in Milwaukee, Livingston rarely cracked double-digit minutes for any reason. In 42 games overall, he did so only four times. The Bucks have dealt with a slew of their own injury issues in recent years, but they never used the young forward as more than a last-ditch resort.
Indeed the highlight of his career was a start at center last February against the Thunder, when the Bucks were missing just about every regular rotation member. Predictably, that game was never close. Livingston's other chunk of playing time came in the meaningless regular season finale with playoff seeding already finalized.
For the Milwaukee Bucks, Livingston never found his niche. Not long after he signed a new guaranteed contract in the summer, the team waived him for a second time in three-and-a-half months during the preseason's final roster cuts.
Ahead of the game in Toronto, Livingston was coming off a strong pair of G-League performances for the Cleveland Charge in which he averaged 20 points and 7.5 rebounds. Maybe his solid NBA outing will earn him another chance, but in any case it should keep him on the Cavs' radar. They already showed themselves willing to trust Livingston with actual minutes in a real game, against a real opponent. And that's something the Milwaukee Bucks simply never did.