CLEVELAND, Ohio — De’Andre Hunter has been saying it for months now.
The Cavs need to exercise their toughness. Not just strength. Not just size. The kind that shows up when the game gets uncomfortable, when bodies collide, when the margin for error disappears and someone has to decide whether they’re willing to absorb the hit and keep coming.
On Monday night against Charlotte, Hunter stopped talking about it and showed everyone exactly what he meant.
With just over three minutes left in the third quarter, Hornets forward Moussa Diabate swung an elbow that caught Hunter square in the nose. Blood spilled onto the floor at Rocket Arena. Hunter headed straight to the locker room as officials reviewed the play and Cleveland prepared to shoot free throws.
Then the wrinkle arrived.
If Hunter didn’t return to the court to attempt the free throws himself, he’d be ruled ineligible to come back for the rest of the game.
Someone from the Cavs sprinted to the locker room to deliver the message.
Hunter didn’t hesitate.
He reemerged moments later to a roaring ovation, stepped to the line with his face freshly bloodied, calmly knocked down both free throws, then drilled a 3-pointer on the ensuing extra possession. In the span of about 90 seconds, a mid-December game against Charlotte turned into something more revealing.
A snapshot of identity, resolve and an edge Cleveland has been searching for.
“He’s a tough dude, physical,” coach Kenny Atkinson said after the Cavs’ 139-132 win. “But that was a heck of a shot he took. … His arm could be falling off, and he probably would have came back and shot ‘em with the other arm.
“With him tonight was both ends. I thought offensively, obviously, great, but defensively he’s the one guy that can stand up these guys that kind of bully you and hit you with their shoulder. So he was great on both ends.”
That last part matters just as much as the free throws.
The Cavs haven’t lacked skill. What they’ve lacked — especially when the calendar flips toward the postseason — is someone who welcomes contact, who embraces the confrontational parts of basketball instead of enduring them.
Hunter was brought here in February precisely because of that profile. A two-way wing with size, strength and the ability to score without being schemed into touches. But what’s becoming increasingly clear is that his mindset may be just as valuable as his skill set.
The timing couldn’t have been better.
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The last few weeks had been rough for Hunter, who was mired in a shooting slump and pressing through possessions. On Monday, he had 12 points at halftime. After the elbow, something clicked.
He stopped thinking — the most dangerous version of a scorer who had been pressing for weeks.
“Sometimes you need to go through that yourself as a player, kind of like a wake up,” Donovan Mitchell told cleveland.com. “He’s been going through a rough stretch and just sometimes you need something that’s an outer thing to kind of lock you back in. He works on his body. He’s in the gym every day. He’s being himself. It’s not like anything’s changed. And I think for him to come out there, hit those free throws, hit his first shot, like, that gives us a boost and gives us a lift.
“Because especially in the playoffs, you need to show that you’re still there and stand 10 toes no matter the situation.”
Hunter poured in a game-high 15 points in the second half, shooting 5 of 6 from the field and 2 of 2 from 3-point range, finishing with 27 points. The physical jolt seemed to free him — mentally and rhythmically — allowing him to trust the work instead of questioning each release.
“Yeah, I try to,” Hunter said when asked if he plays with a physical edge. “Sometimes it gets tough with officiating and things like that. You get a couple early fouls, you can’t play as physical, but if I’m not in foul trouble or anything like that, I definitely try to — whatever matchup I have — be physical and just try to be that physical force for the team.
“… I think it’s needed. I think it’s more of a mindset thing. A lot of guys are strong and things like that, but it just takes an actual effort to be physical and to make those extra plays and stuff like that. So I won’t say I am great at it every night. It’s something I’ve got to improve on. So this is the start.”
The Cavs need that honesty as much as they need the production.
Last postseason exposed a familiar issue. Cleveland was pushed around by a feisty Pacers team that never backed down, never shrank and never allowed the Cavs to play comfortably. Hunter didn’t. He was one of the few who consistently pushed back — memorably dumping Bennedict Mathurin to the floor after a series-long stretch of altercations.
Hunter entered this season openly acknowledging the void.
“We can’t let anyone come in here and punk us in any kind of game. … I think that’s needed to know that you’re not just going to come in here and do whatever you want,” he said after a Nov. 19 game against the brutes of Houston.
That’s the backdrop that made Monday feel bigger than the box score.
“He wants to bump. He wants to be physical with guys,” Darius Garland said. “He got his whole nose knocked off today, came back in and had a great second half so that’s just one example of what he does. I mean he’s a big spark for us whenever he’s going like that on both sides of the ball.
“Him just playing with no thought, man, just going out there just being a hooper as he is. So it’s really good to see.”
For a team built around the beautiful game — and Hunter’s can be picturesque too — there’s value in having someone willing to make it uncomfortable. His game can get nasty in a way that makes fans scrunch their nose up. A physical dribble drive, a poster dunk, a crossover delivered with bad intentions. Hunter offers permission to meet force with force. Permission to make the game ugly when it needs to be. Permission to stand 10 toes when the moment demands it.
That’s the real takeaway from Monday night.
The Cavs don’t need Hunter to lead them in scoring every night. They need him to set a tone. One that has been missing. One that can’t be diagrammed on a whiteboard. Toughness is contagious when it’s authentic. When it’s earned. When it costs something.
Hunter paid for it with blood on the floor, free throws under duress and a reminder to a locker room still learning how hard playoff basketball demands them to be.
If that edge sticks — if it rubs off — the bloody nose might be remembered as more than just a winning moment over Charlotte. It might be the night Cleveland finally found the kind of physical presence it’s been searching for all along.