The Cavs Game 2 loss was a brutal one, but it might’ve been more brutal for Ty Jerome. Despite shooting 1-14 on Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers, head coach Kenny Atkinson isn’t worried.
Following the game, Atkinson made a promise about Jerome going forward.
“It [was] a tough night, but we’re going to roll with Ty,” Atkinson said via Evan Dammarell of ClutchPoints on X (formerly Twitter). “He’s had a great year.”
The shooting guard had a career year and was one of the Cavs’ key contributors. He averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game.
Not to mention, Jerome shot over 43% from three, which was a staple of Atkinson’s offense. Still, every player is bound to have a bad shooting game.
Considering he shot 1-14 and the Cavs lost at the last second, shows how deep they are.
Still, this was Jerome’s first start in the playoffs. Being a sixth man and being a starter has a completely different feel to it. He’s initiating the offense either way, but there’s a different dynamic.
Jerome might be used to playing with specific players off the bench, so he’s not as familiar with the starting unit. It’s all of the little things like tendencies, shot profiles, etc.
Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson isn’t worried about Ty Jerome
The funny thing is that Jerome didn’t have a bad Game 1 from a numbers perspective. He scored 21 points. However, he was 8-20 from the field, which concerned some.
Still, he was filling in for Darius Garland’s scoring and did a nice job in doing so.
However, the team will need more from the former Virginia basketball guard. After all, Jarrett Allen said the Cavs need to be better as a whole.
It goes down the entire roster, from a guy like Donovan Mitchell to Jerome himself. With Cleveland down 2-0 to the Indiana Pacers, they are desperate.
With desperation comes a monumental time to rise to the occasion. Mitchell certainly did with his 48-point outburst on Tuesday. While the Cavs don’t need that from Jerome, they could seek an efficient performance.
That alone could be the deciding factor in Game 3 inside of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The chance to quiet the Indiana crowd could be another motivating factor for Cleveland.
At the end of the day, Atkinson knows that this won’t be a trend for Jerome. A couple of bad performances won’t define the player, and that’s how the head coach sees it.
Friday’s Game 3 will be a telling sign if Atkinson’s thoughts about Jerome come to fruition.
