Cavaliers Unsung Hero Dazzles Again In Win Over Raptors

Following a career-high performance with 29 points on Wednesday, Ty Jerome dropped 26 points in Sunday's win to help lift the Cavs to 17-1

Nov 24, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) shoots over the defense of Toronto Raptors guard Ochai Agbaji (30) during the first half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Forget the core four. The Cleveland Cavaliers may actually have a core five.

At least, that's whay Georges Niang suggested on Wednesday night this past week, after guard Ty Jerome erupted for a career-high 29 points in a 128-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Four days later, the 27-year-old delivered an encore performance in the form of another career night off the bench for the Cavaliers.

Funny postgame moments include how the #Cavs will spend their much-earned days off and Georges Niang roasting me to no end for slightly miswording my question 🤣 pic.twitter.com/N5xh6ARXzO

— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) November 21, 2024

Jerome finished tied with Donovan Mitchell for a team-high 26 points in the team's 122-108 win over the Toronto Raptors. That mark goes down as the second highest scoring margin of his career, as he continues to be a lightening rod off the bench.

"Since the moment he stepped in our gym – what was that, beginning of September – he's been phenomenal," Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said afterward. "Like everyday. I mean Koby [Altman] always jokes about it – MVP of August, September, October – I mean, he's in the zone. And it's phenomenal."

Phenomenal just about sums up Jerome's performance on Sunday night. From the moment he made his first appearance in the game with 6:37 to remaining in the first, he was ready to make an impact on the game. After two minutes on the floor he had already scored five points. By the time the first quarter came to a close he was up to 10 points, had snared two steals and assisted on one bucket as well. Only star center Jarrett Allen had scored more points at that juncture, with 12. By halftime Jerome had ballooned his scoring total to 17 and by the end the game he reached that aforementioned 26.

"We're all [wondering] 'when is it gonna start dipping?" asked Atkinson. "Like okay, it's open gym, okay it's training camp, okay, first five games. Now it's like, he just keeps going. It's a real, real credit to him. He's just state of grace right now, it's beautiful to watch.

Sunday marked the fourth time this season Jerome scored 20-plus points in a game. Prior to this season, he had done that only six times in his career, and only three times in any single season.

His impact every night goes beyond his scoring though. If you get caught checking your texts or scrolling social media after a Cavs bucket, you'll may just miss Jerome swiping the ball out of a ball-handlers grasp in transition, sparking a quick and easy bucket for Cleveland going the other direction.

Jerome is boasting a plus/minus of 14.8 per 100 possessions for the season. He's been the definition of relentless.

"During the summer he showed that he could do it," Allen said after the game. "And now he's holding onto that same level of, just hooping, basically. He's doing everything. Downtown shots, passing the ball. It's been incredible."

Even more incredible is how far Jerome has come from a lost 2023-24 season. After playing in just two games last year for Cleveland, and accumulating less than 15 minutes of playing time, Jerome suffered an ankle injury that cost him the rest of the campaign. The former Warriors two-way guard, had surgery on the ailment in January and began a long road back to the floor.

Fully healthy, Jerome is thriving in Atkinson's system. He's blossomed into much more than a role player for this Cavaliers squad.

"[People act] like he died and came back to life," star guard Donovan Mitchell joked. "I think for him it's a mental fortitude. When you go through that, and you play, what – two minutes, three minutes, one game two games throughout the season – to come back, not really know where you might fit in the group cause we bring everybody back and then to come in there and just assert himself and be the guy who we all thought he could be. That takes a level of mental fortitude and a certain level of hard work and preparation and dedication to the game."

Sunday's win pushed the Cavaliers to and incredible 17-1 record to open up the season. It's taken contributions from just about everybody on the roster to get there. That depth is one of their greatest strengths, and to this point Atkinson has pulled all the right strings.

Jerome is the unsung hero of the group though. Or maybe, as Niang suggested, he really is the missing member of the core five.