CLEVELAND — (AP) — As the Cavaliers were pushing their home record to 10-0 and improving the franchise's historic start to an eye-popping 17-1, a solitary voice rose from the seats that could be heard throughout the lower bowl of Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
"M-V-P! M-V-P!” the lone fan chanted.
Down on the floor, Donovan Mitchell noticed. However, it wasn't directed at the five-time All-Star, but a teammate shooting free throws.
Later, Ty Jerome wanted proof it happened.
"Did you get it on video?” the reserve guard asked.
Cleveland's unexpected start has produced an unexpected rising star.
After missing all but two games last season with a severe ankle injury that dragged on and required surgery, Jerome has not only become an invaluable piece for first-year Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson but is emblematic of the team's early-season success.
This wasn't expected — not by the Cavs and certainly not by Jerome.
“He's in this zone,” Atkinson said of the 27-year-old Jerome, already with his fourth NBA team. “It's phenomenal.”
While he's been good from the jump this season, Jerome has taken his game to another level this past week.
One night after the Cavs lost in Boston after 15 straight wins, Jerome made seven 3-pointers — two on Steph Curry-like heat checks just inside the halfcourt logo — in the first half and finished with a career-high 29 points in a win over New Orleans.
For an encore on Sunday, he matched Mitchell, his longtime friend and boyhood teammate in New York, with 26 points and six assists as the Cavs downed Toronto.
That performance prompted the MVP chant from the fan who once reserved the somewhat sarcastic salute for popular Cavs sub Cedi Osman.
Jerome has a been a marvel since the beginning of training camp, when he made a first impression on Atkinson that has only grown stronger.
“Since the moment he stepped in our gym,” Atkinson said when asked how long he knew Jerome would be a major contributor this season. “He’s been phenomenal every day. I mean, (general manager) Koby (Altman) jokes about MVP of August, September, October. We're all expecting, not expecting, but when is it going to start dipping?
"OK, it’s open gym. OK, it’s training camp. OK, first five games. He just keeps going and it's a real, real credit to him. He’s just in a state of grace right now. It’s beautiful to watch.”
The same could be said for the Cavs, whose burst from the gate under Atkinson is one of the league's best stories. The 57-year-old Atkinson, an affable, fast-talking hoops junkie from Long Island, has made Cleveland an offensive powerhouse.
The Cavs lead the league in virtually every statistical category — points, field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage, point differential and offensive rating. It's a system based on pace, ball movement and fundamentals and it's hard to defend.
“A chaotic environment with standard principles,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson is getting the best from Cleveland's core four of players — Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — while also developing his bench, something predecessor J.B. Bickerstaff struggled to do.
Jerome, who played on Virginia's national championship team in 2019, gives Atkinson a multi-skilled player capable on both ends of the floor. He's come off the bench to provide points or a key assist, and Atkinson deploys him defensively to pester point guards.
“It's hard to take him out of the game,” Atkinson said. "He’s in every conversation at all times. ‘Do we need Ty in there?’ He’s playing phenomenally.”
Mitchell isn't surprised. He's goes way back with Jerome, playing with him on a Riverside (N.Y.) Hawks youth team coached by Jerome's dad.
“His dad used to cuss us out at 8 years old,” Mitchell said with a smile. “I tell people all the time that I don’t like positive reinforcement. I think it’s just PTSD from my AAU days with his pops. Getting chewed out at 9 a.m. definitely is something that you don’t forget.”
Mitchell also finds it funny that Jerome's comeback is getting such attention.
“Y’all be saying that like he died and came back to life,” Mitchell said. ”For him to come back, not only be a solid player, but be dominant, be a special player for us, it kind of gives us life. He’s just done so much for us on a nightly basis, and I have no doubt he’ll continue to keep this up.”
The Cavs figure to come back to the pack at some point.
But a season that began with them considered a contender has turned into become something more.
“17-1,” Atkinson said Sunday, reminded of his team's record. "It's like, wow. I’ve been in his league 17 years and it just doesn’t happen. You should have six, seven losses. You could be .500 at this point. Even in a game like tonight, you lose these games.
"We’re not exactly on top of our game and we still come up with a ‘W.’ It’s pretty shocking where we are, and that’s not to disparage anybody. It’s more about how hard this league is to do that.”
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