Cleveland Cavaliers’ Backcourt Gets Praise From Ex-NBA Player

Following the win, the backcourt duo of Mitchell and Jerome received applause from former NBA player Kendrick Perkins. He posted his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter).

“Mitchell set the tone all across the board for the Cavs… the scoring, his defense and the lil things like hitting the floor for 50/50 balls. That Ty Jerome been balling all season but he’s definitely showing us he’s ready for the bright lights,” Perkins posted on social media.

For Miami, All-Star guard Tyler Herro had difficulty making shots on the floor. Herro finished with 21 points but had to work hard for it. He shot 7-for-18 from the field and logged a -18 in the box plus/minus.

Mitchell gave credit to the backup guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers

A big part of why the Cleveland Cavaliers won Game 1 was because of the effort that Jerome displayed. With his limited time as a backup point guard, the 6-foot-5 guard makes the most of the chances he’s given. After the game, Mitchell credited the work the former Golden State Warriors guard has put in for their team, as he’s always a reliable player for the Cavs.

“That’s who Ty is, the ultimate confidence guy. That’s what makes us special. It can be anybody any night,” Mitchell said.

His scoring outburst led him to make history and join a list. Jerome became the fourth player to score that many points off the bench since 1971. He joins Malik Monk, Ben Gordon and Bill Ray Bates as the only players to do so.

Jerome is having one of the best years of his career. Before the start of Game 1, the league announced the finalists for the Sixth Man of the Year and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ backup guard is among the finalists.