The Cleveland Cavaliers were on the verge of a comeback last night against the Chicago Bulls, when it became clear that the double-big lineup of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley was moving too slowly to keep up with Chicago’s pace.
This left Kenny Atkinson with a decision: Roll with one of his veterans in Dean Wade, a mobile forward who has closed games for Allen in the past, or play the sophomore Jaylon Tyson.
Atkinson went with Tyson, and it immediately paid off.
Tyson entered the game for Allen with
5:44 to play in the fourth quarter. Moments later, Evan Mobley passed to Tyson for a three-pointer from the wing.
After gobbling up a defensive rebound on the following possession — Tyson again walked down the court and received a pass, this time from De’Andre Hunter, for another three-pointer. Two plays later, Tyson converted a strong, confident drive to add two more points and keep the Cavaliers surging.
“I’ve seen scenarios where you just don’t trust the young guy,” said Atkinson after the game. “But our guys just kept throwing it to him, and he made huge shots.”
Even in the final minute, with the Cavs trailing by one point, Donovan Mitchell tossed the ball to Tyson and trusted him to make the right play. Tyson held his composure and delivered a backdoor pass to Mitchell, who scored the go-ahead bucket.
The Cavs then completed the comeback with Tyson contesting the potential game-winning shot from Tre Jones, perfectly encapsulating his all-around impact.
“He’s really turned into the perfect role player,” Atkinson said. “Tre Jones was killing us, so we said Jalen, get off Giddy and guard Tre, and that’s the kind of Swiss Army Knife he is for us right now.”
Tyson is averaging 15.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.3 stocks (steals and blocks) across his last six games while shooting 54% from the floor and 50% from deep.
“You’re seeing a real-life progression in just 10 games,” said Donovan Mitchell. “It’s unheard of, typically for a young player on a contending team… it’s not just the threes… It’s playing in the halfcourt, that little play we did at the end of the game is the same thing we do in warm-ups.”
It’s hard for a sophomore to be an impactful player on a championship contender. But early injuries to the Cavs have opened a path for Tyson to prove himself. He’s taken full advantage of that by being a two-way presence that’s becoming hard to ignore.
“Veterans see everything,” said Atkinson. “They see who’s working and who’s not, who’s listening and who’s not, and he’s doing the work. He’s listening to the vets.”
Tyson has shown he has skill. The key now is replicating this across a full season. There will be speed bumps that inevitably arise during this process. But the Cavs have seen the work he puts in, and signaled they are ready to ride with him throughout the journey.
“Once they have that trust in me, I have to do my job and deliver,” said Tyson. “Our core players are gonna do what they do, and we’re gonna play off them. If we can make their job easier… then that’s what we’re gonna do.”
