Published: Nov. 25, 2024 At one point in the second half Sunday night, as the Cavs were headed for their 17th win, a solitary voice from the arena’s middle section howled. M-V-P! Must’ve been five-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell stepping to the free-throw line, right? Nope. Not this time. It was...
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — At one point in the second half Sunday night, as the Cavs were headed for their 17th win, a solitary voice from the arena’s middle section howled.
M-V-P!
Must’ve been five-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell stepping to the free-throw line, right?
Nope. Not this time. It was reserve guard Ty Jerome. And the chant wasn’t initiated by Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman — the guy who dubbed Jerome the “September MVP.” It came from the same overzealous diehard who used to exult former Cavalier Cedi Osman. That familiar war cry, typically reserved for the team’s best player, is now being thrust upon Jerome, Cleveland’s early-season revelation.
“Oh wow,” Jerome said when asked if he heard the late-game chant. “Did you get it on video?”
Maybe next time. If Jerome keeps playing this way, there will be more opportunities, with an expanded section of Jerome enthusiasts.
Count Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson as one.
“Since the moment he stepped in our gym,” Atkinson responded when asked about his belief in Jerome becoming an every-night contributor. “He’s been phenomenal every day. I mean, Koby jokes about MVP of August, September, October. Listen, we’re all expecting, not expecting, but when is it going to start dipping? OK, it’s open gym. OK, it’s training camp. OK, first five games.
“He’s just in a state of grace right now. It’s beautiful to watch.”
Atkinson was with Jerome in Golden State during the 2022-23 season. Atkinson saw firsthand a cerebral floor general who could play multiple positions, fit any system, shoot effortlessly from the outside, stabilize a second unit and provide pesky defense — the same things he’s done for the Cavs, the same promise that spurred Cleveland to pry him away from the Warriors following that season, the same clues that teammates uncovered months ago.
“I didn’t know how good it would be, but I definitely knew he would have this type of impact for our team,” starting power forward Evan Mobley said. “He’s just a great basketball player. He always makes the right play. Reads the game very quickly and from there he just makes the right read. Whatever the defense gives him, he takes it.”
Still, nobody saw this coming. Not even Mitchell, who played with Jerome on the Riverside Hawks — an AAU team out of New York once coached by Jerome’s father.
“His dad used to cuss us out at 8 years old,” Mitchell recalled. “I tell people all the time that I don’t like positive reinforcement. I think it’s just PTSD from my AAU days with his pops. Getting chewed out at 9 a.m., 10 is something you don’t forget.”
That coaching method worked. As kids, Mitchell and Jerome won multiple national championships. Jerome added another title during his college days at Virginia. Now these two native New Yorkers and longtime friends have their sights set on the Larry O’Brien Trophy, with Jerome playing a leading role in Cleveland’s unexpected and historic start.
On Wednesday, Jerome’s career night — 29 points on 10 of 19 shooting and 7 of 12 from 3-point range — helped the Cavs bounce back from their first loss of the season about 24 hours earlier in Boston. On Sunday, he followed it up with a 26-point outburst, the first time ever hitting the 20-point threshold in back-to-back games.
“I try to always be in that zone,” Jerome said humbly. “It’s just basketball. Basketball is a game of reads, and we’re sharing the ball really well. It makes my job easy. If you’re open, shoot. If someone else is open, pass. If you get run off the line, drive it. The focus is always the same. It’s just some nights you might get more shots than others.”
Jerome has been a fixture of Cleveland’s rotation since training camp, when he repeatedly earned praise from Atkinson and teammates. But a recent uptick in minutes has come, in part, because of Cleveland’s lengthy injury list.
Max Strus, who suffered an ankle sprain days before the opener, is still weeks away from a return. Dean Wade missed his third straight game Sunday night and may not be back until the weekend. Sixth man Caris LeVert continues to deal with a sore knee. That’s provided the 27-year-old Jerome, who played in just two games last season because of a severe ankle injury that eventually required surgery after various other recovery methods failed, a bigger canvas. He’s painted a pair of masterpieces.
“Y’all be saying that like he died and came back to life,” Mitchell said when asked about Jerome rebounding from an injury-wrecked season. “For him to come back, not only be a solid player, but be dominant, be a special player for us, it kind of gives us life. He’s just done so much for us on a nightly basis, and I have no doubt he’ll continue to keep this up.”
Through the first 18 games, Jerome is averaging career-bests in points (12.6), field goal percentage (59.7), 3-point percentage (54.4), assists (3.8) and steals (1.3). He boasts the team’s third-best net rating, outscoring opponents by 14.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor — a number that drops nearly five points per 100 with him off. He is the league leader in true shooting percentage (73.6) among players with a minimum of 100 field goal attempts. He already has four 20-point performances. Before this year, in 159 combined regular-season games, Jerome reached the 20-point mark six times — total. He’s earned a new nickname — The Microwave — bestowed upon him by veteran Tristan Thompson who coined the moniker in tribute to Jerome’s ability to energize the team. When the offense stagnates, Jerome can step in and provide a jolt with his crips passes, deft shooting stroke and slow-step, throttled-down floater. When the defense is too generous at the point of attack, Atkinson often calls on Jerome to become a full-court irritant and sneaky thief.
“It’s hard to take him out of the game,” Atkinson admitted. “He’s in every conversation at all times. ‘Do we need Ty in there?’ He’s playing phenomenally.”
At one point Sunday night, as a Jerome 3-pointer bounced off the rim, he stared incredulously at the basket. It’s the same look that even his most devoted believers have had during this extended heater.
“No disrespect to Ty, that’s my dog,” Mitchell said recently. “I know he is a really good player; I know what he is capable of. We saw it in camp. He was the best player in camp. So, we knew he was capable of this, but we didn’t necessarily know he was going to come in and start doing this every night. He’s done it in college. Done it when we were eight.
“Great to see him continuing to be that guy.”
