If Might Guy were real and an NBA fan, he would've loved the performance put on by the Cleveland Cavaliers in their win over the Utah Jazz. That's because the Cavs, who were missing Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Donovan Mitchell for this matchup, had to dig deep and lean on the power of youth to carry them to victory.

It started with undrafted rookie Craig Porter Jr., who started in place of Mitchell at point guard for the Cavs, setting the table and keeping things flowing offensively for Cleveland. Even though Porter Jr. only connected on 28.6% of his seven field goal attempts, he was all over the floor, making constant winning plays for the Cavs and firmly keeping momentum in Cleveland's corner. Porter Jr. nearly finished the night with a triple-double, racking up seven points, seven rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and an imposing stop on former Cavs guard Collin Sexton.

Sam Merrill shines anew for the Cavs

Meanwhile, Sam Merrill continued his hot streak off the bench after throttling the Houston Rockets from beyond the arc just one game ago. Merrill, who spent nearly all of last season with the NBA G League's Cleveland Charge, led the charge for Cleveland in this win over the Jazz. The former Utah State swingman led both teams in scoring, notching 27 points and connecting on eight of his fourteen three-point attempts, only three makes short of tying the franchise record set by Kyrie Irving.

Merrill's sweet shooting put his thumb firmly on the scale, ensuring the momentum Porter Jr. helped build never left and, more importantly, made Cleveland's bench unit roar to life. Caris LeVert was just behind Merrill with 23 points and seven assists. Georges Niang, meanwhile, chipped in 15 of his own. Finally, veteran big man Tristan Thompson had ten points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

Combined, this reserve quartet was responsible for 60.5% of the total points scored by the Cavs. Sure, Jarrett Allen (17 points, eight rebounds) and Max Strus (18 points, four rebounds, four assists) picked up the slack for the starting unit. But the fact that Cleveland could pull this off with only one All-Star on the floor in Allen is impressive, especially when Mitchell or Garland soak up most of the scoring responsibilities most nights.

Sure, the Cavs had no other option with Mitchell, Garland, and Mobley out; it would be a crime for head coach J.B. Bickerstaff only to play five or six players and run them into the ground. But the fact that Cleveland leaned on its depth and found a way to win for the first time after trailing entering the fourth quarter is encouraging for the Cavs going forward.

Cleveland addressed its lack of depth in free agency after being exposed in the playoffs against the New York Knicks. But, the new faces, along with the regulars, at times struggled to click, leading to some frustrating early season losses. Mind you, this isn't a ringing endorsement of the Cavs finally putting everything together since that couldn't be further from the truth. The grade for this Cleveland squad is incomplete until they're healthy, but the fact that the Cavs were able to showcase their strength in numbers and win without the majority of their star power cannot be ignored.

Cleveland continues to develop trust in backups amid injuries

Darius Garland

As things continue to advance and Cleveland gets healthier, players like Merrill or Porter Jr. might lose minutes in the rotation. That might seem like a bitter pill, but there are only so many minutes to go around, and the Cavs are dealing with injuries to their stars, who get automatic priority any night. Nevertheless, the more important thing is that Cleveland has tangible film and data to lean on and a level of trust between these fringe rotation players and the coaching staff. If Bickerstaff calls on Porter Jr. or Merrill or somebody else, it's clear they won't be overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation. That's something they could've used last year in the playoffs, but thankfully, it's not a glaring weakness for the Cavs from here on.