Mario Hezonja Was A Bright Spot in the Cavs’ Embarrassing Loss

Despite suffering an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the new look Philadelphia 76ers, there were indeed a few positive takeaways from Cleveland’s opening night performance. Mario Hezonja, one of the team’s newest additions might have provided fans with a few reasons to be optimistic moving forward.

In his first official NBA game in well over 6 years, the veteran forward provided Cleveland with a steadying presence at backup power forward (where he spent 100% of his opening night minutes), offering contributions in several ways, carrying over the impactful play from preseason action.  

He was active defensively, forcing multiple turnovers which in turn, lead to transition points. His 2 deflections wound up leading the team. He held his own in isolation, taking on LeBron (0/1), Jaylen Brown (0/1), and Anfernee Simons (0/2) at various points throughout last night’s contest.

He functioned as a connector when operating off ball on the opposite end of the floor, making the extra pass when needed or the correct read when available, leading to baskets for his teammates.

And though he failed to convert on his attempts from long range (0/5), all of which were of the catch-and-shoot variety, I was intrigued by his mere willingness to pull the trigger considering that we’ve been treated to years of players being hesitant to pull the trigger from that position.

But if I’m being honest, it’s what Hezonja managed to do from inside the arc that impressed me the most. The reigning Spanish ACB Regular Season MVP went to work on the interior, posting up smaller players and working his way to in-rhythm midrange turnaround jumpers and lay-ins around the rim.

The man had the unmitigated gall to waive off Donovan Mitchell as he slowly and methodically backed down his defender (Simons).

That is a skillset that had been missing from this Cavs bench for quite some time. And based off what we’ve seen throughout his tenure overseas as well as his short time here with Cleveland, there is little doubt that he’ll be able to provide it on a consistent basis.

Hezonja would finish the game with 10 Points, 3 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Steals, and 1 Block. And while he wasn’t necessarily efficient, going just 5/13 (35.5%) from the field overall, his contributions on the interior should buy him enough time to see ample minutes until the perimeter shot begins to fall.

As mentioned before, Hezonja spent 100% of his minutes (18 minutes, 38 seconds) lining up at Power Forward, with the Cavaliers posting an efficiency differential of +2.6 when he was on the floor. It could only be a matter of time before Head Coach Kenny Atkinson is forced to give him a little more to work with.

If nothing else, he looked the part of a veteran role player, someone who absolutely belongs in the NBA. If he’s able to start knocking down shots while still providing in the aforementioned areas, he'll have won the backup power forward role earlier than anticipated, especially with Nae'Qwan Tomlin sidelined at the moment.