CLEVELAND — Robert Frost said, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”

There was a time when Cleveland Cavaliers fans weren’t eager to take Kyrie Irving in. His trade demands in the summer of 2017 derailed the franchise’s best era of basketball. But time heals all wounds. Irving will always have a home in Cleveland — that’s what delivering a championship ensures you.

“You know, 52 years is a long, long period of time waiting for a championship, and we did it,” Irving said after Dallas Mavericks127-117 loss to Cleveland on Saturday. “And I think that’s one of the hardest championships — I think. I’m not gonna say it is, I said I think personally it’s one of the hardest championships ever in NBA history that we got to accomplish.”

It’s also a championship the city is still celebrating. On Saturday, the Cavs recognized the 10th anniversary of the 2016 championship by bringing out former general manager David Griffin to pull out the sword at the start of the game. They also played a video tribute commemorating Irving’s championship-clinching shot in Game 7, which brought the crowd to its feet.

“This one felt a lot different than the other times,” Irving said of the reception. “This time I got to really settle in, really ground myself, and embrace the support that’s here for me.”

Irving’s time in Cleveland was far from straightforward — he detailed how when asked about it on Saturday.

His rookie season came during the lockout that lasted until December. This meant that he couldn’t communicate with anyone on the coaching staff or front office. “So my first entry into here was a little awkward.”

Things didn’t get easier after that. The criticism he received when the Cavs initially fell short of expectations is something he still carries.

“When they’re discussing my career,” Irving said, “everybody likes to gear towards my first three years in the league, and like to put, ‘He’s not a winner. He didn’t win anything. He didn’t do anything without Bron (LeBron James). He didn’t do anything without the players we ended up winning a championship with,’ which I think is all a good and fair criticism, but I think as I look at it, it was just me learning.”

The idea that a 21-year-old guard could single-handedly turn around a team that frankly wasn’t very talented was unreasonable at the time, and looks even more absurd in retrospect.

James’s return in 2014 didn’t lighten the burden. The expectations, externally and internally, only grew. Irving admitted that this led to tough conversations with his teammates. “You don’t go home happy all the time even when you’re winning, because you feel like you can still continue to get better.”

The championship season was a difficult one for Irving. He fractured his kneecap during Game 1 of the 2015 Finals, which kept him out until December of the following season. And when he did come back, he thought he wasn’t playing to his standards. “It felt like there was a lot of pressure on me to perform well.”

This was a theme for him and that team throughout a turbulent 2016 season that saw them switch coaches from David Blatt to Ty Lue halfway through.

“It’s all on me at times, or it’s all on Bron, or it’s all on somebody else, K Love,” Irving said. “It’s like the blame game got split between us three, but it usually came between Bron and me. It just prepared me. You gotta be an MFer in this league. You gotta have short-term memory.”

Those difficult times paid off in the championship. The 3-1 comeback was made possible by three of the best individual performances by him and James — culminating in Irving’s shot to decide Game 7.

“When I look at it now, I’m just grateful that I was playing against the best of the best, going against the best teams in the world, getting everybody’s best shot for about three straight years,” Irving said. “A lot of young players never get to experience that, being on the hunt for championships every single year. I take those little moments and try my best to connect it to the fans here, because we couldn’t have done it without them.”

It’s been a decade since the championship and nine years since Irving last wore a Cavs jersey, yet, the bond between the player and city may be stronger now than ever. Saturday’s reception, and what it meant to Irving, is proof of that.

“It’s been 10 years. It’s been a great reflection point for me to be able to come back and be able to receive that support in a different way,” Irving said. “I’m so grateful for all the Cavs fans, Cleveland in general, Ohio, wrapping their arms around me as well, and also sticking it through with me as I was a young person.”

There were only a handful of people waiting for Irving after he filed out of the Mavs media interview room an hour and a half after the game ended. One of them politely thanked Irving for 2016 and all that it meant to them.

Irving graciously looked down at them with a wide smile and said, “We’re champions forever.”

Championships are indeed forever.

The Utah Jazz have responded to the hype they got in the off season by winning one of their first 13 games. Injuries to their two best players have a lot to do with that, but they’ve been playing predictably and are struggling to make outside shots. Being small with four perimeter players and a big with no offensive bag has made it harder to bend opposing defenses, as a result, ensuring that they stay in a transition game more than they like. 

Still, it would be unwise to think they will roll over quickly. Flawed as they are, they can creep back in through the door if the San Antonio Spurs are playing with their food. Even if a team has a basement record, sometimes they show up stronger than the numbers because they are desperate to get back in the win column. 

The Spurs will head into Delta Center on an 11-game win streak, tied for their sixth-longest in franchise history. The streak is long enough that every team in the NBA is well aware, adding a higher level of intrigue to the game. This will be the third matchup between these teams this season. 

San Antonio Spurs (11-2) vs Utah Jazz (1-2)

Nov. 15, 2026: 4PM CT

Watch: DAZN: Listen WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: Tobias Harris — out (left calf strain); Jayden Quaintance — out (right knee surgery); Maliq Brown — out (G League); Ja’Kobi Gillespie — out (G League)

Jazz Injuries: Lauri Markkanen — out (right hand fracture); Jaren Jackson Jr. — out (right knee); Jaxson Hayes — out (left knee strain); Jusuf Nurkić — out (right foot); Trey Alexander — out (G League); Kobe Bufkin — out (G League); Harrison Ingram — out (G League).

What to watch for

• Darryn Peterson is a rookie, and he has the goods. He’s elusive on the dribble, mostly getting to work through screen rolls, with his preferred spots being the paint non-restricted area and at mid-range. He and Keyonte George should carry the bulk of the scoring load, so the Spurs will have to stay on their hips, and try to force them to attack going left, which is the off-hand of both players. 
• The Spurs starting lineup ties for the fifth-most used in the NBA, and it has been the most-efficient high-usage rotation, logging an impressive 84.6 defensive rating. It shouldn’t be a surprise if this lineup is the one creating the most separation on the scoreboard since it has the most down-hill attackers who can quickly turn a miss into transition. 
• Even if the Spurs’ transition numbers (55.2 percentile) aren’t the best, they get out in open court so much that it wears out the opponents. 
• Victor Wembanyama is averaging 24 points, 12.5 rebounds and five assists in two games versus the Jazz this season, while making 78.6 of his shots within 10 feet. He may be in for a 40-point night since he will have some energy saved up from not having to go hard guarding his man, which could be Mo Bamba and some smaller players.
• Julian Champagnie’s role has changed a bit as a reserve this season, but his impact has been greater, being a top-notch release valve logging career high in efficiency by a significant margin (66.0 EFG percentage). He is averaging 42.2 percent from 3-point range for the year, and 44.4 percent against the Jazz. Notably, Champagnie is a feature in the third-most used Spurs’ lineup, which is him with the starters in Devin Vassell’s place. Expect Jazz defenders to lock-and-trail well when he changes spots in the half-court, but the schemes will be programmed to take away the on-ball threats. Champagnie will have the chance to feast because of that. 
• Since the level of competition is lower level, perhaps this is a game in which Carter Bryant will shine. His career high was 17 points last year, and even with his struggles this season, that number is beatable since the Jazz can’t guard a parked car. 

“They played harder than us.”

Those are words you never want to hear from the head coach of a rebuilding team. Especially not in Year 3.

The Brooklyn Nets had a chance to build on their blowout win over New Orleans. Mikel Brown Jr. was back after missing the last two games. There was a small window to finally pick up some momentum.  Instead, they followed it up with another frustrating loss, 129-110, in the finale of a four-game road-trip.

Brooklyn fell behind early and trailed 38-23 after the first quarter. You’d never think Memphis played a game just the night before.

The Nets struggled to contain Memphis from the perimeter and committed 16 turnovers that led to 30 Grizzlies points. They made a push in the third quarter and cut a 23-point deficit to eight, but couldn’t get the stops necessary to make it a game. 

“I think we cut it to seven at some point and you should have been in the game, but we are not mature enough… we played against a team that played in a second of a back-to-back with the same travel that we had, and they played the right way, played really hard and we’re not there yet. So, you know, go back and work and find ways to get better, because when you’re not consistent and you don’t find those ways, it’s just like that’s not what we want to do here,” Fernandez said after the game.

The Nets briefly led 7-5, but Memphis responded with a 9-0 run and never let up control. Cedric Coward, Cam Spencer and Jaylen Wells got hot early, and a Wells’ three-pointer forced a Brooklyn timeout with 7:55 remaining in the first quarter, with the Grizzlies flipping the score to 16-9 in their own favor.

The shooting didn’t slow down. Memphis made nine three-pointers in the opening quarter and carried a 38-23 lead into the second. Brooklyn faced a 19-point deficit in the first half before making a small dent in it. The Grizzlies still led 71-54 at halftime.

“Right now the two practices we’ve had, we’ve practiced very well. So we practice better than we play, which is not a terrible sign. It’s a frustrating sign because you believe you’re better, but all we can do is go back to work.”

Julius Randle said Brooklyn didn’t match Memphis’ urgency from the opening tip. The three-time All-Star pointed to the team’s overall start as a bigger issue.

“We didn’t punch first. We didn’t come out with a sense of urgency, and they took advantage of that,” he said.

What’s the issue?

“Just organization. I think maybe just trying too hard, playing a little unorganized, stuff like that,” Randle said. “And then just attention to detail, you know, just think we got a lapse of focus sometimes.”

Sparked by scoring from Noah Clowney, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Julius Randle, Brooklyn put together a strong third-quarter surge to cut the deficit to 85-77 with 5:12 remaining. Memphis took a 103-84 lead into the fourth quarter and eventually stretched the margin beyond 20.

It was Brooklyn’s fifth loss by double figures.

“They got to grow fast,” Fernandez said about the young group. “You know, like being 20 is not an excuse.…. I’m frustrated or I get mad because I know they’re very good and they’re better than this. And when I just don’t see a connected group is, it hurts…”

Michael Porter Jr.’s Absence

Michael Porter Jr. attended Saturday’s game after missing time for personal reasons. Fernández was asked about Porter’s absence and whether he knew when the forward might return, but the coach declined.

“No, we want to give him his privacy. Everything, it’s fine. So, we’re happy that he was here,” Fernández said.

Keeping up with Mr. Brown

Mikel Brown Jr. returned after missing the last two games. It’s been a bit of a strange start and the guard missed the last two games for two different reasons — one for injury management and the other for an illness. The rookie finished with six points and two assists on 2-of-5 shooting in 20 minutes. 

After the game, his father pointed out the importance of the floor general. Take it for whatever it’s worth.

Travel Chaos

Brooklyn’s trip to Memphis didn’t go according to plan. The Nets were caught in Friday night’s FAA ground stop after boarding their charter flight out of New Orleans, forcing the team to stay overnight before finally flying out Saturday morning.

The team arrived in Memphis around 11 a.m., just hours before its game against the Grizzlies. The unexpected delay also forced Brooklyn to scrap its planned morning shootaround.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously it was something that we couldn’t control,” head coach Jordi Fernández said. “And to be honest with you, it was not that bad. We had good rest and got here [Saturday] morning and did our walkthrough, and probably [would have] gone to the gym, but we were not able to. And I think we feel good and ready to go.”

Fernández acknowledged that the altered schedule wasn’t ideal, particularly for players who had grown accustomed to the team’s usual pregame routine.

“Everybody’s safe. It’s the most important thing,” he said.

Next Up: Philadelphia 76ers

The Nets are back home against the 76ers on Monday, November 16.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Nets had to play without their leading scorer Saturday, as Michael Porter Jr. sat on the bench in street clothes. 

He watched his team take a 129-110 beating in Memphis at FedExForum. 

Porter wasn’t injured but was a healthy scratch for personal reasons. 

Two sources — one a team source and another close to the player — said the issue was believed to be resolved and Porter shouldn’t miss extended time. 

When asked if he had a timeline for Porter’s return, Nets coach Jordi Fernández said, “No. We want to give him his privacy. Everything is fine, so we’re happy that he was here.” 

Initially listed as questionable, Porter was ruled out an hour before tipoff. 

“A personal situation came up as we were coming to the arena. So that’s why it was announced late,” Fernández said. 

Porter is averaging a team-high 21.5 points on 45.6 percent shooting and 37.5 percent from deep. An Eastern Conference scout who spoke with The Post pointed out how easy the Nets are to defend without his unblockable shot. Julius Randle — Brooklyn’s other proven veteran scorer — said others simply have to pick up the slack. 

“Everybody has to step in and chip in. It’s not just one person,” Randle said. “So we’ve all got to step up and chip in and do it collectively as a unit.” 

Day’Ron Sharpe (16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists) had his third double-double of the season already. His career high is six in 2023-24. 

Fernández handed Noah Clowney the start at small forward for Porter. With Randle, Sharpe, Egor Dëmin and Danny Wolf, every Nets starter was at least 6-foot-9 or taller, just as they had been in the blowout win in New Orleans three nights earlier. 

This was the first time any NBA team had started a lineup of players all 6-foot-9 or taller since the Los Angeles Lakers had done so April 21, 1990. 

Mikel Brown Jr. and Nolan Traore both returned after having missed the blowout win in New Orleans three nights earlier. It marked just the third game that the Nets have had Dëmin, Brown and Traore together. 

Fernández said Brown is still on his minutes limit. With Wolf still starting at two-guard, Brown and Traore logged just 19 minutes each. 

The Nets got thrown into travel chaos Friday by the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to ground every flight nationwide for four hours. They were already set to board their flight but had to stay overnight in New Orleans and fly to Memphis at 9 a.m. 

“Yeah, obviously it was something that we couldn’t control,” Fernández said. “And to be honest with you, it was not that bad. We had good rest and got here [Saturday] morning and did our walk-through, and probably [would have] gone to the gym, but we were not able to. And I think we feel good and ready to go.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Dallas Mavericks behind an awesome game from their young guards.

Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Player of the game

Tyrese Proctor

24 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists

Proctor is in full swing of a sophomore breakout right now. He’s put together a strong week of games, culminating in this prime opportunity to prove that he can scale his usage up into a larger role.

He impacted every facet of the game, lifting Cleveland’s offense with his shot creation and providing support on defense at the point of attack.

The Cavs have found something here. Proctor’s development isn’t something they can overlook.

Grade: A+++

Grades

Meleek Thomas

20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists

Thomas has been the winner of the young Cavs’ season. He’s stood out in almost every game he’s appeared in, and he did not disappoint tonight in his largest role to date. His shot-making, which includes an unstoppable-looking floater, was on full display as he helped energize the Cavs to a big win.

Grade: A-

Mario Hezonja

22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

Hezonja hasn’t been able to earn many minutes in previous games but was given the green light tonight out of necessity. I’d say he made the most of that opportunity, complementing every lineup he was in and providing a sense of stability. He can still be a bit dicey when defending off-ball actions, but Hezonja would be getting more minutes if it were up to me.

Mario shot 9-of-12 from the floor and hit all of the key momentum shots for Cleveland.

Grade: A+

Jaylon Tyson

18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

Tyson was given all the room he needed to get comfortable tonight. He didn’t have to worry about filling a role as he normally would. Instead, being granted the freedom to create for himself and serve as a dynamic offensive threat. That helped him turn in his best offensive game of the season.

Grade: A-

Thomas Bryant

19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists

Bryant, a veteran leader on this team, suited up in the starting lineup despite playing 16 minutes the night before in Miami. There was no rest for TB as he worked harder than anyone else on the court to make sure this team had a big man anchoring the paint on both ends of the floor.

Well done, Bryant.

Grade: A

Norchad Omier

13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists

Omier was the definition of heart and hustle tonight as he used his bulky frame to bang in the paint and grab rebounds. I don’t know what the ceiling is for a player like Omier, but he’s certainly helpful in setting a tone on a night like tonight.

Grade: A-

Craig Porter Jr.

9 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 turnovers

Porter threw some highly questionable passes in this game and turned it over more than you’d like. Other than that, he had some impressive finishes around the rim and was mostly a positive.

Grade: B

Riley Minix

2 points (1-6 shooting)

Minix is back to not fitting in with this Cavs team. He simply hasn’t been able to shoot the ball efficiently, and he’s not a good enough defender to make up for it.

Grade: D

The Utah Jazz are in the midst of the worst start in decades. It’s an even worse start than the former tanking seasons. Before the season started, the Jazz said they would have a competitive season. And even though the Jazz are close in a lot of these games, they are 1-12 and on an 11-game losing streak. With the Walker Kessler trade behind them, the Jazz are left with a lopsided team in desperate need of starting center play that could support their three young stars: Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey, and Keyonte George.

That group this season has been elite, hiding behind subpar play from their center and bench. From CraftedNBA.com, here are the Jazz’s best players sorted by net rating and showing their best On-Off players.

Utah’s trio of Bailey, Peterson, and George is playing winning basketball, and it’s an incredible sign for Utah. But outside of those three, it’s not looking good. Losing Jaren Jackson Jr. at the beginning of the season has been brutal because his two-way play would have been a huge part of helping Utah get some wins.

Probably the biggest disappointment, though, is Lauri Markkanen’s play this season. His off-ball offensive game is high-level as usual, the problem is everything else. He’s not producing on the ball, and he has not been a good defender. That’s why Utah should consider a potential move for Domantas Sabonis, who wants out of Sacramento. The trade is an easy, player-for-player trade with Lauri Markkanen.

Lauri Markkanen for Domantas Sabonis

I’ve thought about this a lot this season, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. Yes, Sabonis has some flaws just like Markkanen does. He’s undersized at his position and not a good rim protector. He also struggles in space and on the perimeter defensively, just like Markkanen.

But Sabonis’ pros would be huge for this Jazz team and their young COR3, and could provide a skill set that would take them to another level. Yes, Markkanen provides catch-and-shoot threes and cuts to the basket. Utah is getting enough shooting, scoring, and cutting from that young trio. What Utah lacks right now is a starting center. Sabonis would bring what they’ve been dying for all season, including elite rebounding, screening, passing, and inside scoring. Adding Sabonis would solidify the position in a way that they haven’t had all season. Yes, the Jazz can simply wait for Jusuf Nurkic to come back, but with Nurkic’s size and his foot injury, it’s not a given that he’ll stay healthy this season. Also, having Nurkic come back and play 20-25 minutes a night off the bench is best anyway.

Sabonis is also a perfect fit with what Will Hardy does on offense. He can get the ball and run a dribble handoff from the three-point line, then dive, or run simple pick-and-rolls as the screener. With Sabonis setting screens and scoring inside, you can see how Utah’s offense could get to an elite level. It’s also interesting to think about how well Ace Bailey would fit playing off of him. Sabonis is no Jokic, but he’s the next best thing at center, hitting cutters and passing out of the short roll to open shooters. And finally, Sabonis can score inside on a mismatch. If Utah has a mismatch down low, Sabonis can easily take advantage. And when Jaren Jackson Jr. comes back, Sabonis is the perfect fit next to him, with their strengths offsetting each other. Jackson can be the weak-side defender while Sabonis cleans up their rebounding issues.

There’s also an elephant in the room for the Jazz right now that needs to be recognized. Lauri Markkanen has simply not lived up to his superstar-level contract. With a move like this, Utah can get off his contract before it becomes untradable. Sabonis’ contract is for this season and next, so if we’re simply looking at contract relief, it’s another bonus for Utah. If Markkanen is also a consistent injury risk and not an elite on-ball scorer over the next three seasons, his contract becomes an albatross with two years after this season and the final year coming in at $53M. Utah can get off that contract sooner rather than later by making this happen. Sabonis’ contract runs through this season and next, and then Utah can either extend him or look for another option that fits the timeline of Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson, and Ace Bailey.

For Sacramento, Lauri Markkanen is the perfect fit for Darius Acuff Jr. Acuff can be the hub of everything they do, and Markkanen can do what he does best next to him: take catch-and-shoot threes and score off the ball. Markkanen also provides more spacing for Acuff, which can help him take his game to another level.

Honestly, this one makes a ton of sense for both sides. Most likely, no picks trade sides in this, and Utah can then use their picks from the Kessler trade in other ways, or just simply draft a center prospect for the post-Sabonis era.

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers all but punted this game after not getting back from Miami until late this morning. They rested four of the five starters from last night’s game (Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Jarrett Allen, Peyton Watson) rather than risk injury on the second night of a back-to-back. Yet sometimes, the receiving team muffs the punt.

The Dallas Mavericks — who weren’t resting their starters — took their eye off the ball. Cleveland took advantage, led by a triple-double from Tyrese Proctor to ruin Kyrie Irving’s homecoming and defeat Dallas127-117.

Three stars of the game

First star: Tyrese Proctor

24 points on 10-of-19 shooting, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 turnover

Proctor has been a revelation over the last week. He backed up an impressive performance in Miami — albeit in a supporting role — with a dominant on-ball showing against the Mavericks.

This was a different outing than what we’ve seen from Proctor in the past. Instead of being mostly an off-ball shooter, he thrived at creating his own shots. Only one of his 10 field goals was assisted. This included going 5-for-8 on off-the-dribble jumpers.

Scoring wasn’t the only thing Proctor provided. He was the primary initiator of the offense, as evidenced by his 10 assists. Some of these led to direct baskets at the rim for Thomas Bryant (19 points and 11 rebounds) out of the pick-and-roll. Overall, six of his assists went to baskets at the rim. He also sprayed the ball to outside shooters and swung the ball on the perimeter, leading to three assists on triples.

Proctor also helped as a defender and rebounder. Kenny Atkinson often talks about how the guards need to be adequate rebounders as well. Proctor was that in a complete all-around performance.

This season, Proctor has been asked to fit into a very specific role. He’s done that well, but nights like this show that he’s capable of more.

Second star: Kyrie Irving

34 points on 11-of-25 shooting, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals

Irving’s 20 second-quarter points got the Mavs back into this game. He still can be a one-man offense for extended stretches and completely take over games. This was another impressive scoring performance from someone who’s had more than his fair share in this building.

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Third star: Mario Hezonja

22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

Hezonja made a strong argument for why he deserves more minutes than he’s been getting in recent games. He forced mismatches offensively, and then read how the defense was going to react and consistently made the right play out of it. Hozonja processes the game at such a high level. This elevates the basketball IQ for units he’s on the court with.

Duds of the game

Cleveland’s resting starters

0 minutes, 0 points, 0 assists, 0 rebounds, 0 steals

Back-to-backs are difficult, especially when travel plans are thrown off as drastically as they were around the country yesterday. It makes sense to err on the side of caution in a situation like this. What’s the point of risking an injury for a game that will matter very little in the spring? At the same time, saying that the game should be canceled because of an inconvenience like this is a bad look.

On top of that, the Cavs played some of their most inspiring basketball of the early season on Saturday night without six of the top eight players in their rotation. That is good for the guys who played, but a clear indictment on those who didn’t.

Atkinson was asked about rebounding before the game since it’s been a consistent issue with the starting group. He gave a long-winded answer that could’ve been summed up by saying there’s only so much coaching can do. “I always tell the coaches, it’s 50% on us. It’s got to transfer — the message has to get through.”

This message, and many others about how they want to play basketball on both ends, is getting through — just not to the guys who will ultimately determine wins and losses in the spring.

Cavalier who deserves a shoutout

Norchad Omier

13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Omier made the most of his first real rotation minutes for the Cavs. He was impactful offensively with his ability to finish inside and hit a corner three as well. Defensively, he used his wide frame to play backup five when Bryant wasn’t out there.

The Cavs won the minutes Omier played by 11. Getting quality play like this from a two-way big went a long way toward stealing the victory.

Play of the game

Irving received a loud ovation when he was introduced as a starter, and an even louder one when they played a video tribute for his contribution to the 2016 championship team.

Quote of the day

“You know, 52 years is a long, long period of time waiting for a championship, and we did it. And I think that’s one of the hardest championships — I think. I’m not gonna say it is, I said I think personally it’s one of the hardest championships ever in NBA history that we got to accomplish.”

– Kyrie Irving on the 2016 championship

Stat of the game

The Cavs grabbed 57% of available rebounds (92nd percentile).

The Cavaliers who were available on Saturday showed that they’re capable of hearing the message from the coaching staff and applying it on the court.

Main takeaway from this game: The Cavs have some encouraging young players

I wrote about this in yesterday’s deep dive from the Miami Heat loss: The Cavs have quietly turned over their supporting cast. Their younger bench players are far more versatile than the specialists we’ve seen in previous seasons.

The trio of Tyrese Proctor, Meleek Thomas, and Jaylon Tyson have very defined roles when the starters are out there. They’ve mostly performed well in those situations and have shown glimpses of being able to do more. On Saturday, they proved that they can scale their games up when called upon.

Cleveland needed that trio to be the offensive initiators given who was out, and they did that. The ball was moving quickly around the perimeter, with each being able to attack off the dribble when needed. This resulted in the trio all scoring 18 points or more against a Mavs team actually playing their starters.

This performance on its own doesn’t necessarily mean much. It’s not uncommon to see NBA teams let up and lose when their opponent is missing half of their rotation. However, this game didn’t just come out of the blue; it was a continuation of what we’ve been seeing pretty consistently for the last week or so — specifically from Proctor and Thomas.

The Cavs are at a weird crossroads. How they’ve been playing with their star players has led to inconsistent results. We’ve seen some high highs, but some even lower lows. Something needs to change if they’re going to reach the heights they have the potential to.

Surrendering the reins to the young players isn’t the answer to their problems. But turning to the style of play that this group has embraced — and the one that all the Cavs did during the 2024-25 season — could be a solution. Just not one we’ve seen the veterans truly get on board with yet. Maybe this win changes some minds.