Ty Jerome Continues Breakout Season With Strong Game 1

In his playoff debut, Ty Jerome had 28 points to help lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 121-100 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their first-round series.

Jerome, a finalist for NBA Sixth Man of the Year, scored 16 points in the fourth quarter while shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 5-of-8 from three-point range overall. His playoff debut production fell just two points shy of Kyrie Irving’s 30-point playoff debut with Cleveland in 2015.

The 26-year-old’s performance came as less of a surprise to his teammates, who witnessed his transformation during preseason pickup games after he missed all but two games last season with an ankle injury that required surgery.

Donovan Mitchell, who has known Jerome since they played AAU basketball together as 8-year-olds, scored 30 points in the win, extending his streak of 30+ point performances in Game 1 of playoff series to seven, tying Michael Jordan for the longest such streak.

Darius Garland added 27 points on five three-pointers with five assists, giving Cleveland’s backcourt a combined 85 points in the victory.

Jerome’s emergence this season has been remarkable after an inconsistent first five years in the NBA. Selected 24th overall in the 2019 draft, he had never averaged more than 10.7 points per game prior to this season.

During his injury recovery last year, Jerome made a conscious decision to reconnect with his more confident side as he entered the final year of his contract. That determination has paid dividends, as he’s averaging 12.5 points while shooting better than 50 percent from the field and nearly 44 percent from three-point range this season.

Throughout the game, Jerome displayed the same brash confidence that initially surprised his teammates, making “too small” gestures toward Heat defenders and pointing at players on the opposing bench after made baskets.

Kenny Atkinson noted that Jerome’s teammates initially questioned his swagger when he first joined the team, but his production has since earned their respect and made him a vital piece of Cleveland’s playoff rotation.

“They laugh(ed) at him because he was at first kind of like a bit player,” Atkinson said about Jerome’s teammates. “He was still doing the swag stuff… and they were like, ‘Who does this guy think he is?'”

“He was talking his sh– and he was backing it up, so you can’t really say nothin’ to him,” Garland said when asked about his initial reaction to Jerome’s confidence.

“You get time to reflect on where you need to take the next step,” Jerome explained regarding his injury recovery period. “Going into the offseason, your back’s kind of against the wall. You don’t play any games. I don’t really have a huge body of work in the NBA. And you kind of have one last shot, in a way, to make it right.”

“He’s made for these moments,” said Max Strus. “He’s made for the spotlight.”