Cleveland Cavaliers forward Jaylon Tyson opened up about what he wants to improve on this year.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a lot of work to do this season to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals after an appearance last year.
Cleveland has a strong roster, being led by stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. But it's the role players around the two guards that will ultimately determine how far this team can go this season.
One of those players who will be counted on heavily is forward Jaylon Tyson, who will need to step up even more this coming season. Tyson played a big role for Cleveland a year ago, but with another year in the NBA, the Cavaliers will be looking for him to keep improving his game.
The 2024 first-round draft pick did play well for the Cavaliers during last season, showing improvement on the offensive end of the floor. Overall, Tyson averaged 13.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game, playing in 66 contests.
Tyson also improved his three-point shooting for the Cavaliers, seeing it jump up to 44.6 percent for the season. But the one area that he struggled with was on defense, specifically off-ball defending.
During Media Day for the Cavaliers, Tyson opened up about the struggles that he saw last season. The forward said that his issues on defense were more from being lazy than anything, with him working on everything over the summer.
“It’s just laziness. … It was a lot of mental lapses, and I think that’s something that we went into with conditioning and being in even more of an elite condition," Tyson said
If Tyson can help be a wing defender for the Cavaliers, it could make a big difference throughout the season. Even with the addition of defensive wing Peyton Watson, the Cavaliers could use more help, giving head coach Kenny Atkinson more options to work with.
Having switchability on defense has become one of the more crucial parts of schemes in the current NBA, and the Cavaliers want to establish themselves on that end of the floor. Cleveland has the offensive attack to compete with almost anyone in the league, but it's the defense that will separate the great teams from the good.
If Tyson really did improve on his conditioning, it could give him a chance to perform at a higher level, giving the Cavaliers a major boost. Tyson will be given all opportunities to show what he can do with this team this season, and if he can play up to par, Cleveland may have a steal in the rotation.
But only time will tell if he has improved to where the Cavaliers need him to be. And with the new season starting up soon, Tyson will have a chance to show out.
