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Ty Jerome

Ty Jerome is making a strong case to become Cavs’ first Sixth Man of the Year

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The NBA introduced the Sixth Man of the Year during the 1982-1983 season, honoring the 76ers’ Bobby Jones with the inaugural award.

Jones – a 2019 Hall of Fame inductee who epitomized the selfless, team-first mentality of a sixth man – was an obvious choice. However, no player from the Cleveland Cavaliers has ever been honored. (Former Cav Kevin Love finished second in the Sixth Man voting in 2021-2022.)

If Ty Jerome keeps dazzling off the Cavs’ bench, that could very well change this year.

Jerome has been solid from the get-go this season. On opening night in Toronto, the Virginia alum had 14 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), six assists and two steals in 18 minutes of action. The following game, he scored 13 points in 15 minutes against Detroit.

Over the past few games, Jerome has found a higher gear.

In a spot start against New Orleans on Nov. 20, Jerome went off for a career-high 29 points in just 23 minutes, going 7-for-12 from 3-point range. He followed that up with a 26-point, six-assist performance off the bench against Toronto.

After the game, Jerome’s teammates couldn’t wait to talk him up.

“He does offer a calming presence,” Georges Niang said of Jerome. “When that guy comes in the game and can shoot transition threes, get to the rim, stop runs by the other team, and then his underrated ability to have timely stops … for Kenny to have another weapon off the bench that can come in and do that … it’s been huge for us throughout the year.”

If you’re a Cavs fan, there’s no shame in admitting that you didn’t know what to expect from Jerome this season. I know I didn’t.

Before coming to Cleveland, Jerome had a grand total of seven career starts under his belt in four NBA seasons, during which he had bounced around from Phoenix to Oklahoma City to Golden State. Prior to this year, his most productive season was the 2020-2021 campaign with OKC, when he averaged 10.7 points and 3.6 assists in 33 games.

The Cavaliers signed Jerome to a two-year, $4.6 million contract in July 2023, snatching the restricted free agent from Golden State. He never got a chance to prove himself last year, hurting his ankle during the Cavs’ 2023-2024 home opener. The injury eventually required surgery.

This year has been a different story.

After the Cavs’ 122-108 win over Toronto – which improved their record to 17-1 – Jarrett Allen talked about the resilience that Jerome has displayed in battling back from a season-ending injury.

“To go through a whole year and not even touch the court three times, and then to be ready when the next season comes and play at a high level like he is – that’s tough to do,” Allen told reporters. “You have to lock in when you’re hurt; you have to see everybody succeed without you. But now he’s here and he hasn’t missed a beat.”

Allen described Jerome’s play with one word: “Incredible.”

“But during the summer he showed that he could do it. And now he’s [maintaining that same level of] hooping. Basically he’s doing everything: downtown shots, passing the ball, he’s doing it all. It’s incredible.”

Allen’s favorite thing about Jerome is “him as a person.”

“Good dude. Always about the right things. Always about making sure that his teammates are in a good space mentally. Just a good dude overall.”

As of Nov. 26, Jerome is averaging 12.6 points, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game – all career highs – in 19 minutes of game action. He’s leading the NBA in 3-point percentage, shooting at a torrid 54.4% clip from beyond the arc.

Jerome also is leading the NBA in true shooting percentage, a measure of a player’s overall scoring efficiency that takes into account field goals, 3-point shots and free throws.

Jerome has been so good lately that Tristan Thompson called him “our version of Luka Dončić.”

Just bear with him, OK?

“He’s a big guard, he plays at his own pace – you cannot speed him up – and when he gets to the rim it’s either a bucket or he’s gonna find someone,” Thompson said after the Toronto game. “His offensive rating is off the charts.”

Niang added: “Ty, I love you, you’re not Luka, but you’re really freaking good.”

Georges Niang

Are these the last days of Georges Niang as a Cavalier?

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I started writing this blog post while watching the Celtics take the Cavs to the woodshed in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The Cavaliers played hard, but it was clear from the outset that they had zero chance of winning the game. As the second half unfolded, it took on the feel of a Harlem Globetrotters game – with the Cavs on the wrong end of that equation.

Things went so far off the rails for the Cavaliers that Georges Niang graced the parquet floor for the final three minutes of the fourth quarter.

There was a time, not so long ago, that Georges (don’t be fooled by the spelling – he’s just one man) was one of the first subs in the queue for J.B. Bickerstaff. He was a key rotation piece, as they say – and a guy who looks like he’s no stranger to subs.

The Cavaliers signed Niang to a three-year, $26 million contract in the offseason. Reportedly, Koby Altman had been coveting the colorful 3-and-D forward for some time. It made sense on paper: When the Cavs signed Niang, he was coming off his fifth consecutive season shooting 40% or better from 3-point range. And he brought some much-needed attitude to a team that’s been branded as “too soft” on more than one occasion.

Niang’s orneriness was as advertised: The guy never stops talking, and doesn’t hesitate to get all up in your grill. But he had a hard time backing up all that tough talk. Niang shot 37.6% from 3-point range in the regular season – a couple points below his career average – and seemed to go cold when the Cavaliers needed him most.

In the Game 1 playoff win over Orlando, Niang chipped in five points in 24 minutes of action, although he was 0-for-4 from 3-point range. In Game 2, he went scoreless in 13 minutes, going 0-for-4 from deep.

After the series shifted south (and went south for the Cavs), Niang had tumbled out of Bickerstaff’s rotation. Niang was a healthy scratch in Game 5, and saw just three minutes of playing time in the decisive Game 7 in Cleveland. He was scoreless in that game.

In Tuesday night’s 120-95 bloodletting in Boston, Niang was relegated to garbage time.

The way things are going, I can’t imagine the Cavaliers keeping Niang around next season.

In the aftermath of the Cavaliers’ first-round loss to the Knicks last season, Altman made a concerted effort to shore up the 3-point shooting – and add some grit and toughness – with the signings of Niang and Max Strus. Niang, in particular, was supposed to be the kind of tough, scrappy, clutch-shooting role player who can make a real difference for a team with aspirations of a deep playoff run.

The fact that Niang has slid down the depth chart – at a time when the Cavs need him most – speaks volumes about his future in Cleveland.

G Wagon

G-Wagon Finds Another Gear, Cavs Rout Giannis-Less Bucks

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At full strength, the Milwaukee Bucks should’ve been the ultimate heat check for the Cavaliers.

The Cavs were riding a five-game winning streak. Sans Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, the Cavs were 10-3 since Dec. 16, showcasing a new identity – predicated on passing, defense and a nightly barrage of 3-pointers – in the face of two devastating injuries.

But alas, the Cavs didn’t play the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo nursing a banged-up shoulder ­– and sporting a business-casual look on the bench – the Bucks who visited Rocket Mortgage Field House on Jan. 17 were a sad shell of the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Without their superstar, the Bucks, um, looked like deer in the headlights. (Sorry – needed to get that out of my system.)

The Cavs pounced, racing to a 22-2 lead midway through the first quarter. And when the Bucks started showing some signs of life toward the end of the first frame, Georges Niang took a souped-up “G-Wagon” out of the garage.

Niang came into the Bucks game averaging 9 points a game off the Cavs’ bench. While Niang is a streaky 3-and-D guy – when he misses, he really misses – he brings a much-needed burst of tenacity and attitude to an otherwise mild-mannered Cavs bunch.

Against the emasculated Bucks, G-Wagon was hitting on all cylinders.

Niang finished with a career-high 33 points on a ridiculous 13-of-14 from the field. He made five of his six 3-point attempts.

With Niang – who looks more like a stationwagon than a souped-up hot rod – there’s more to his game than meets the eye. Yes, the 6-foot-7 Niang is a career 39.8% 3-point shooter, according to ESPN. But he is deceptively crafty in the paint, with the ability to periodically create his own shot and score in a variety of ways.

His entire portfolio was on display Wednesday night, and it was  a lot of fun to watch.

With G-Wagon behind the wheel, the Cavs cruised to a 40-point win over the G-League version of the Bucks. A win is a win, and the Cavs will take it.

Big picture: The Cavs won their sixth straight, and, as of Jan. 20, are the No. 4 seed in a hypercompetitive Eastern Conference. The Knicks, the Heat and the Pacers are breathing down their necks, and I don’t see any of those teams going away anytime soon.

So, whether they’re playing the woebegone Wizards, the sadsack Spurs or the G-League version of the Bucks, the Cavs need to keep stacking up wins in these winnable games.

Because there’s a real heat check on the horizon.

After traveling to Orlando on Jan. 22, the Cavs will be in Milwaukee for two games on Jan. 24 and Jan. 26. And assuming Giannis is back in the lineup, you can be sure the Bucks will be loaded for bear.

Fro-mentum

While G-Wagon gets the headline in the Jan. 17 win over Milwaukee, it shouldn’t diminish the importance of stellar performances from Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen.

Mitchell chipped in 31 points and continues to make a strong case for an all-star bid. Same goes for Jarrett Allen, who notched his 10th consecutive double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

As Lou Brown would say, “There could be two or three potential all-stars on this team.”

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