In a star-driven league, the Cleveland Cavaliers have epitomized what it means to be a great team this season. Guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland along with big men Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley make up the team’s core, but players up and down the roster have been giving Cleveland incredibly valuable minutes.
One important depth piece for the Cavaliers has been guard Ty Jerome. After he dropped 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range in a win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, he lauded the selflessness that exists within the team and said the Cavaliers have a “special” group.
“We have a really special group,” Jerome said. “This is my fourth team and you don’t find this often in the NBA. Everyone is selfless. We all have individual goals, but winning is at the forefront of all of our minds. We all want to see each other succeed. We are all genuinely happy for each other.”
Jerome wasn’t the only player off the pine who had a standout performance for Cleveland on Tuesday. The Cavaliers acquired forward De’Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks leading up to the Feb. 6 trade deadline, and he totaled 17 points and four made 3s in the latest win.
Overall, 14 different players found the scoring column for the Cavs against Orlando. There are a whopping 10 players on the current roster who are averaging 19-plus minutes of playing time per contest with Cleveland so far this season.
Cleveland’s phenomenal depth could be what puts the team over the top against some of the other major threats in the Eastern Conference in the playoffs.
The amount of talent the Cavaliers have on their roster has also helped the team keep its stars’ legs fresh throughout the long season. No player for Cleveland is averaging more than 31.1 minutes per game. Mitchell is leading the way in that regard.
Cavaliers fans are hoping that the team will be able to carry over all its success from the 2024-25 regular season into the playoffs and be the last team standing later this year. But whether or not Cleveland will live up to those expectations still has yet to be determined.
For now, the team will turn its attention to a big matchup against the Boston Celtics on Friday.
