Mitchell and Jerome’s on-court chemistry dates back to getting cussed out as kids

“His dad used to cuss us out at eight years old.”

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell has repeatedly said he wants to be coached harder this season. Kenny Atkinson has tried to oblige even if it means sacrificing a flip-flop every now and then. Apparently, that desire for Mitchell extends back to when he was a kid being coached by Mark Jerome, Ty’s father.

“His dad used to cuss us out at eight years old,” Mitchell said after Sunday’s win over the Toronto Raptors.

“I tell people all the time I don’t like positive reinforcement. I think it’s just PTSD from my AAU days with his pops. ... I think that’s the funniest part. We talk about it all the time, just getting cussed out at nine years old at 8 AM on a Saturday. It was fun.”

I’m not sure if cussing out small children is great parenting, but it seemed to produce two outstanding basketball players. That much was evident on Sunday night as Mitchell and Jerome took turns beating the Raptors defense down the stretch to come away with the victory. It’s a formula that dates back to when they were kids.

That is seen in their incredible two-man game that has carried over to this day. Their lethal playmaking and outside shooting have allowed on-ball screens for each other to produce clean and efficient offense.

This has led to the Cavs outscoring their opponent by 12 points per 100 possessions (90th percentile) with a 119.4 offensive rating (83rd percentile) when Jerome and Mitchell share the court.

Cleveland’s ability to run lineups with multiple initiators isn’t something they could do last season. The playmaking that Jerome has brought coupled with the off-ball movement and spacing of Atkinson’s offense has led to Cleveland having the best offense in the entire league.

Jerome is in the midst of a breakout year that not many people saw coming. Mitchell was one of the few who hasn’t been surprised by what he’s seen.

“I knew he was capable of this because he’s done this in Virginia, we saw it on a national stage,” Mitchell said. “I think now he’s taking advantage of an opportunity.”

The Cavs are off to an incredible 17-1 start. Mitchell and Jerome are big reasons why that’s been the case. Winning is something they’ve been doing for a few decades, they’re just getting to do it on a regulation court this time.

“We won two national championships as kids down at the Disney Wide World of Sports,” Mitchell said. “We accomplished a lot, but definitely getting chewed out at 9 AM at like nine and 10 definitely is something you don’t forget.”