The Cleveland Cavaliers rolled into Las Vegas Summer League with an extremely young roster and one steady hand, third-year guard Craig Porter Jr., to keep everything together. It was a bold move not having any veterans to give structure to the group, but Porter as point guard could run the show and put his youthful teammates in positions to succeed.
Then Porter left the first game almost immediately with hamstring soreness, and the team took the cautious approach and ruled him out. Suddenly, the one player with more than a year of experience was on the sideline, and the ephemeral hope of someone steady to run the show disappeared.
And that turned out to be exactly what Jaylon Tyson needed.
Jaylon Tyson has stepped up in Summer League
Last season was a peculiar year for Jaylon Tyson as a rookie, drafted 20th overall by a team that launched to the top of the Eastern Conference. On the one hand, minutes were sparse on a title contender; stuck behind Max Strus, Caris LeVert, Dean Wade and eventually De'Andre Hunter there was not a lot of opportunity.
Yet when he did receive significant minutes, when injuries cropped up and thinned the rotation, Tyson showed confidence and real skill as a forward comfortable handling the ball. He even flirted with a triple-double in his most impressive showing of his rookie year against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Yet those were just flashes, and Tyson was always playing alongside another ball-handler, be that Darius Garland, Ty Jerome or Donovan Mitchell (or honestly Mobley or LeVert - last year's team was deep and versatile). With Porter going down in Las Vegas, however, Tyson suddenly stepped into the role of full-time point guard.
It's a role he was apparently quite suited for, as Tyson has played extremely well in his second trip to the desert. In his three games, Jaylon Tyson has averaged 19.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists, the latter a staggeringly strong number given his youth and size.
For context, those 6.7 assists per game rank fourth in all of Summer League, and he is the only non-guard averaging more than six. He has the size to get to his spots and the comfort level hitting teammates for open looks.
Tyson is excelling in every facet of the game. He has five blocks and five steals in his three games and has increased his 3-point volume, launching 7.7 per game. These are all strong indicators of a step up in skill level for the rising sophomore, and they tell a tantalizing tale of what is to come.
The Cavaliers are once again quite deep, losing Isaac Okoro and Ty Jerome from last year's team but gaining Tyrese Proctor, Larry Nance Jr. and Lonzo Ball. Tyson will need to prove himself worthy of a spot in the rotation.
Given his upgraded skillset, size and future potential, the path is there for Tyson to make his way into a prominent role. As the Cavaliers move forward they will need to lean on young up-and-coming players to maintain their level of excellence.
If Summer League is any indication, Jaylon Tyson is ready for the challenge.