THE Cleveland Cavaliers had been down two of their key rotation gamers earlier than their recreation in opposition to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro had been injured, so somebody ought to step up on the defensive facet of the sector.
This was particularly essential as Minnesota had first rate measurement with Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and Julius Randle of their rotation.
The unsung hero of Cleveland’s victory was Georges Niang, who had his finest recreation of the season on each ends of the ground.
The veteran ahead completed the sport with 15 factors and 10 rebounds whereas capturing 71 p.c (5-for-7) from the ground.
Cavaliers celebrity Donovan Mitchell took the time in his post-game interview to reward Niang for what he contributed to the victory.
“I imply, he does all the things we ask of him. He is our coronary heart and our soul. He is our snigger, as you have seen. He is our vitality. He is our examine man,” Mitchell mentioned.
“After which nights like tonight, you convey Evan out, he provides you 10 boards. After which offensively, again cuts, attending to the rim, various things like that, pulling down photographs. He does all of it. He is the unsung one hero of tonight and of our crew all yr.”
Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson additionally highlighted his essential contributions, particularly on protection.
“He is the kind of man that basically makes the bench work along with his passing means. Clearly he makes well timed three-pointers. Forty p.c three-point capturing. He can move nice. Good cutter. However what I come again to is his protection this yr, he is been actually good.”
Niang might not have gotten probably the most minutes or averaged a double-double in each recreation, however his efficiency exhibits that he’s an extremely useful bench participant.
