Kenny Atkinson Reacts To Cavs’ Win Over Pelicans

When discussing the Cleveland Cavaliers, most people will be quick to mention Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley.

That makes sense because they’re clearly the best players on the team.

Nevertheless, this year’s Cavaliers are much more than a three-headed monster.

You don’t win 16 of your first 17 games by just riding with your three best players, and many guys have stepped in and had big games to keep this team afloat.

That was even the case with rookie SG/SF Jaylon Tyson.

The California product, who had made six appearances and logged grand totals of seven points, four rebounds, and two assists, was inserted into the starting lineup vs. the New Orleans Pelicans.

He responded by logging 16 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists on 7-of-12 from the field.

When asked about his performance, coach Kenny Atkinson admitted that he was reluctant to the idea of starting him (via Dylan W. Design):

“I give our assistant coaches credit,” Atkinson admitted. “They really pushed to put him [Jaylon Tyson] into the starting lineup. I was fighting it. Wait, he hasn’t really played at all. I was pretty unsure and they pushed and pushed. I was in the elevator with DeMarre Carroll and he’s like, we got to start Jaylon. It’s important for a young guy to be around vets to start. I thought that was great. That’s why you have the staff. It was a great suggestion that helped him get off to a good start.”

Kenny Atkinson Postgame After Win vs Pelicans:

“I give our assistant coaches credit. They really pushed to put him [Jaylon Tyson] into the starting lineup. I was fighting it. Wait, he hasn’t really played at all. I was pretty unsure and they pushed and pushed. I was in the… pic.twitter.com/lLoXcAaka4

— Dylan🔮🪼🎃 (@DylanWDesign_) November 21, 2024

Fortunately, Carroll was able to convince Atkinson to make this adjustment.

The Cavaliers were without Darius Garland for this game.

Ty Jerome stepped up with 29 points, but Tyson stole all the headlines by emerging out of the left field with such a big performance.

He became the first Cavs rookie to log at least 16 points, 11 boards, and seven dimes in a game since Brad Daugherty did so on April 7, 1987.

Tyson won’t get that many minutes in every game, but with this kind of effort in his first start, he might have cracked Coach Atkinson’s rotation.