To start December, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a statement against the defending Eastern Conference champions.
On Monday, Dec. 1, the Cavaliers travelled to Indiana to take on the Pacers, beating them in convincing fashion, 135-119. Leading the charge for the Cavaliers was the duo of veteran, superstar guard Donovan Mitchell and second-year pro Jaylon Tyson. The two were directly responsible for the Cavaliers’ win as they combined for 70 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists.
Mitchell’s performance is no surprise, though, as he’s been incredible to start the season.
His 43-point performance moved him to an average of 30.6 points per game, 50.8% from the field mark and 81 total three pointers on the season, making him just the second player in NBA history to record those numbers in the first 20 games of a season.
But, while Mitchell dominates the headlines, Tyson’s quietly putting together an incredible season.
His marks of 27 points, 11 rebounds and four assists last night on an efficient 76.9% field goal mark and 80% from deep was by far his best performance in the NBA.
Just the night before, Tyson called for his teammates to wake up and start to push the needle back in the positive direction. On Sunday, the team fell in its third-consecutive outing, 117-115.
“We could sit here and say we’re frustrated. We’re all professionals here. We just gotta do our job,” Tyson said following Sunday’s loss. ”Everybody’s gotta do their job, right? We see it, we talk about it over and over again. We’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do that, and we just don’t execute. So that’s on us, and we gotta find a way to win these games.”
To say that, then bounce back with a career-best peformance the next day is impressive.
Tyson’s in just his second season in the league. In his first campaign in the league, he played a minimal mark of 9.6 minutes a night. He averaged 3.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists a night on shooting splits of 43% from the field and 34.5% from beyond the arc.
Just a year removed, he’s eclipsing those numbers by a major rate.
Through 17 games and 12 starts, he’s played in nearly 27 minutes a night, currently putting up numbers of 12.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He’s also been reliable when shooting with 51% from the field and 48.1% from three-point range.
He’s been a force of nature on the glass and a brute on the defensive side of the ball.
For the Cavaliers to get a breakout season from Tyson is important, especially when many others on the roster are either banged up or struggling.
With All-Star guard Darius Garland attempting to recover from offseason surgery and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley having ups and downs, the sophomore winger is looking like the No. 2 or 3 option at the moment.
Tyson will have another chance to keep this momentum going with a battle against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The game will tip off from Rocket Arena at 7:00 p.m.