A ‘real gem’ who adds some welcome toughness to the Cavaliers roster

After trying to attack the jump, Cleveland Cavaliers two-way forward Nae’Quan Tomlin hit home with a two-handed shot. He crashed out of the corner and forced the Houston Rockets to stretch Jabari Smith Jr.’s four. That led to a push on the next possession, when Smith missed a 3-pointer and tackled Tomlin as Kevin Durant cashed in on a second-chance 3-pointer midway through the second quarter.

When Smith pushed him out of frustration, Tomlin stood his ground. Both were given technical fouls. There was no history between the two going into this game. It was purely an internal fire.

“I don’t know them,” Tomlin said after the game in the locker room after the Rockets beat the Cavs 114-104. “I mean, that’s just me. That’s all I can really say.”

There’s an innate toughness that Tomlin brought to the table that the Cavs welcome.

“I loved his energy tonight, his drive,” Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “You hope we found a real gem here. I mean, he really shows some things. His length and his athleticism, and he’s tough as nails. He doesn’t back down from anybody. Crazy competitive.”

“We can’t let anybody come in here and hit us,” added De’Andre Hunter. “Seeing that energy from not only JA (Jarrett Allen) but from Kwan is huge. Kwan brings that energy every night, so we just need more from him and everyone else.”

While Tomlin is a hard-nosed player who isn’t afraid to talk trash or ruffle feathers, he’s growing under the franchise’s eyes as a player. Since last week in Miami, he has averaged 16.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 1.6 blocks and 1.6 assists in 36 minutes. That’s the longest stretch of consecutive rotations he’s had so far in his blossoming NBA career.

On Wednesday, he earned his first start of the season against the big Rockets. It’s a far different circumstance than his last one on April 13, but his approach hasn’t changed. Whatever he did to get to this place, he’ll keep doing it and see where it goes.

“A lot of my teammates were just giving me a push, trying to step me up, give me a lot of confidence,” Tomlin said.

“He’s everywhere,” Hunter added. “He’s an energetic guy. He can crash. He can score in the paint. He can play defense. His shot wasn’t right (Wednesday), but he can shoot. He does everything for us, and he comes off the bench with that energy and that tenacity definitely lifts us a lot.”

After doing a great job on Jaren Jackson Jr. on Saturday night, Tomlin guarded the future Hall of Famer in Durant and pressured the ball with Craig Porter Jr. and Lonzo Ball to force a turnover as Cleveland rallied in the third quarter.

“I definitely remember that stop,” Tomlin said. “I got that stop. I was excited. Especially, that was key. But yeah, that’s what I’m looking for, going in and trying to stop and guard the best players.”

Tomlin attempted a season-best five 3-pointers on Wednesday, failing to knock down a single one. However, on one of them, he confirmed his own miss off the board and dunked the ball with authority. Despite those attempts not failing, Atkinson did satisfied with his aggressivenessespecially in places with momentum.

Cavs two-way forward Nae’Quan Tomlin is on his own

Cavs All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell is at a loss for words to describe Tomlin’s improvement in reading the game.

“I mean, he just doesn’t stop,” Mitchell said Monday. “I told him I don’t care about your mistakes, they’re all aggressive. I don’t care about the fouls. I don’t care… Amazing motor, his energy. I don’t tell him this, but every time I put the line, ‘Oh, he’s going to be tired,’ he’s there again and he’s there again. It’s great to see him continue to elevate his overall game on both ends of the floor.”

“He’s an energetic guy,” Evan Mobley said after last Saturday’s win over the Grizzlies. “I mean, he always comes with a lot of energy. I love playing with him. He’s out there just wreaking havoc for the other team. And then offensively, he just plays basketball, does what he knows how to do and doesn’t think too much. And I think that’s really benefiting us right now.”

Running back Craig Porter Jr. has been Tomlin’s teammate since he was accepted by Cleveland as an undrafted free agent in 2024. He wasn’t shocked that Tomlin made his presence felt.

“Nae’Kwan has always been that guy since the day he got here,” Porter said. “Even before his two-way match, so just seeing that is big because I try to talk to him a lot, especially when I’ve been in that position before. It’s great to see another guy get an opportunity and just make the most of it.”

“It all starts on the defensive end,” Jarrett Allen added in Wednesday morning’s shootaround. “That starts for a lot of players who are trying to find a place in the NBA. He’s guarded everyone we ask him to. Fouls are going to come here and there. He’s getting offensive rebounds. He basically just does everything you can ask a player to do on every end of the floor without basically handing him the ball.”

Atkinson called Tomlin a racehorse, flying around like someone who is “everywhere” and playing like he’s in an open gym in September. It doesn’t matter if it’s against top draft picks or multiple All-Stars. Tomlin is matching up with legitimate, proven competition right now, and that has to be good for his confidence.

“I was thinking about that when he had 18 points (against the Toronto Raptors) the other night,” Atkinson said last Saturday. “Imagine it’s like, ‘All of a sudden I’m an NBA player. I can get 18 points, I can play in a big game like this and contribute, I’m getting great minutes.’ I can’t imagine what that does to a man’s confidence. But I really believe in work, don’t I?

“I mean, summer league, he was amazing. He was elite. You said, ‘Well, summer league, sure.’ And then I’d say, ‘Open gym and preseason, really good.’ So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to us, the coaching staff. But he is building confidence. This is now a game of speed. You know, it goes like this, and his profile, the way he runs the court, his length, he fits this league.”

A standout in Las Vegas, Tomlin averaged 19.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and nearly one block per contest. His performances in the desert drew the attention of many at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center. While there’s still plenty of work to do, that maturation is paying dividends on the big stage.

Tomlin wants to improve on his hitting and defense, and he’s improved on that latter part over the past few games, with just two total errors.

But even with room to improve, he realizes what he does has an impact on him and plans to continue being “a tough guy to play with.”

“High motor, energy, he’s always had,” Tomlin said. “Try to, whenever I go in, just make something happen. I definitely feel like I’m getting better. Sometimes mistakes happen. Just learn from them.”