CLEVELAND — Mario Hezonja doesn’t lack confidence. He showed that in his first NBA game in six years when he waived off Donovan Mitchell and backed his opponent down from the three-point line for a much-needed basket at the end of the third quarter.
On the surface, a bench player waiving off the superstar for an isolation might seem outlandish, but that is exactly what Hezonja was brought to do in Cleveland.
“I told him [Mitchell] you’re not supposed to bring the ball up under pressure because we need
you in the last quarter,” Hezonja said on Saturday. “We need you in the playoffs. We need you in game 80, game 60. Having somebody like me that can help. As I said on the first day, I’m here to help you. … As much pressure that I can take off of him, and James [Harden], Evan [Mobley], and Jarrett [Allen], players we need a lot, is just going to be so beneficial for the group.”
There’s incredible value in having a veteran that can recognize what the situation needs, and isn’t afraid to call his own number if that’s what the defense is daring him to do.
“I waived JT (Jaylon Tyson) so he creates space for me to go one-on-one against my mismatch,” Hezonja said. “I spoke to James [Harden] and Donovan; there’s five of us on the court, and you need to read those mismatch situations.”
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Reading mismatches and exploiting them has been an issue at times for the Cavs. In high-leverage situations, teams have been able to get away with putting smaller defenders on bigs like Mobley and Allen. Sometimes the Cavs have exploited that — like Game 7 of last year’s first-round series against the Toronto Raptors — and sometimes they haven’t.
Hezonja is only one game into his return to the NBA after a six-year hiatus, but the early results have been encouraging. His game fits into exactly what you want to see from a supporting player. It’s why head coach Kenny Atkinson called Hezonja’s play “one of the positives” from Thursday’s loss.
Hezonja thought he’d be nervous for his first NBA game after spending the last six years in Europe. And maybe he would’ve, if it wasn’t for how welcoming his new team has been. They’re putting him in a position to be the best version of himself.
“It’s much easier than I thought, thanks to my teammates, to the staff, and pretty much everybody in the organization, from the top to the last person, really since day one, they embraced me with open arms,” Hezonja said when asked about his return.
“They know the basketball player that I am, but they also got to know the person that I am, so it’s definitely been super great, very welcoming. I hope that the comfort zone I’m feeling, people can see it’s thanks to them.”
