The Cavaliers came into the season expecting Jaylon Tyson to take a real step forward. With Dean Wade and Max Strus out of the picture, he was supposed to help fill a bigger role, even after Mario Hezonja and Peyton Watson arrived.
Instead, Tyson has been stuck on the outside of the starting group. Sam Merrill has taken that spot for Kenny Atkinson, and Tyson still isn’t producing like the kind of Sixth Man of the Year candidate the Cavs could have used. Through five games, the third-year guard/forward has simply not found a groove.
The minutes are part of the problem. Tyson is getting about 20.8 per night, and that kind of workload has not been enough to get him going. He’s the sort of player who needs repeated touches to settle in, which is why Cleveland should at least think about giving him starter minutes - if not putting him directly into the lineup.
His numbers tell the story. Tyson is averaging 7.8 points a game on 41.0 percent shooting and just 22.7 percent from three. He’s also putting up 2.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds per contest.
There’s no mystery about what he brings when things are clicking. Tyson can battle on both ends, make plays for teammates, create turnovers and score at all three levels. But in a reduced role, he has not looked nearly as comfortable, and the Cavs have seen that before.
Merrill has given them something useful. He’s a solid role player, and Cleveland has found some chemistry with him in the starting group.
He’s also a better shooter than Tyson and has made some progress defensively. Even so, he isn’t a better all-around player, and he doesn’t offer much beyond spacing.
That’s where the tension comes in. The Cavs may not want to mess with a starting five that’s working and a team that already has a winning record. But the idea of Tyson providing a punch off the bench hasn’t paid off, and the second unit has had trouble protecting leads.
One possible answer is to rearrange the bench rotation. Merrill could move back with the reserves, while Mario Hezonja handles more of the offense when the starters sit. That would give Cleveland another smart, versatile player who can put the ball on the floor and contribute in multiple ways, while Tyson gets his chance alongside the starters.
Or the Cavs could simply keep trusting Tyson to shoot through this stretch and earn back his minutes the hard way. Either way, Kenny Atkinson needs to get in the film room with him and sort out what’s gone wrong.
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Cavs Collapse Should Put Kenny Atkinson Under Fresh Scrutiny
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What stood out most was the second-half defensive drop-off, along with the coaching choices that came under the microscope as the Hawks kept pressing. The loss leaves Kenny Atkinson facing a fresh round of scrutiny, especially with the Cavaliers unable to protect a strong start or steady things when the game tightened late. [Read more 🡒]