As the Cleveland Cavaliers search for workarounds to their injury woes, Nae'Qwan Tomlin has become an unlikely source of hope. An undrafted free agent in 2024 who has played nine NBA games in two seasons, Tomlin proved that Cleveland has a deep pool of talent to pull from.
In turn, Tomlin established a fundamental truth that has come to define a vast majority of NBA champions in recent seasons: The Cavaliers have a next-man-up mentality.
Cleveland entered its Nov. 13 encounter with the Toronto Raptors down a small surplus of critical contributors. The list included All-Star point guard Darius Garland, 3-and-D specialist Max Strus, and breakout second-year wing Jaylon Tyson.