The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 2 to the New York Knicks 109-93.
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
26 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover
Mitchell doesn’t look right. Or left, when he has the ball. He only looks up towards the rim.
Jokes aside, Mitchell genuinely doesn’t look right physically. He’s as limited as I’ve ever seen him, hardly getting any burst or upward lift on his drives. That’s made it near impossible for him to get to his spots against a rangy Knicks defense.
Outside of that, decision-making remains a blemish. Mitchell ended the night with only 1 assist, something that just isn’t good enough at this stage of the game.
Grade: D–
James Harden
18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers
Harden is unplayable defensively. The Knicks can get anything they want when he’s out there. I wrote more about that here.
This is something Harden has somewhat made up for with his offense in years past. But that’s fallen apart in this series. He only had 2 assists tonight as the Knicks made an effort to take away the paint and force Harden to create plays. He couldn’t.
Grade: F
Evan Mobley
14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
Mobley had 10 points in the first quarter. He scored 4 points the rest of the way and only attempted 8 shots on the night.
Everyone deserves blame.
We can acknowledge that New York made it a point of emphasis to take Mobley away from the ball. They clogged passing lanes and did everything they could to avoid letting him catch it on the roll. That puts a limit on what Mobley can do.
However, it’s an indictment on everyone that Mobley wasn’t involved in other ways. Inverted screens, operating at the elbow. Literally anything. This type of stuff can’t happen, yet it continues to plague them.
Grade: B-
Jarrett Allen
13 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Similar to Game 1, Allen was holding his end of the deal by winning the physicality battle and eating on the offensive glass.
The Cavs won the offensive rebounding battle 13-5. Allen had as many offensive boards as the Knicks. It didn’t matter.
Cleveland hasn’t been able to feed Allen consistently. He’s been spaced out, hiding in the dunker’s spot while his guards dribble, dribble, and dribble the game away.
Grade: B–
Dean Wade
3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Wade looks more ready to shoot than he did at any point in the Raptors or Pistons series. That didn’t help them much tonight as he went 1-3 from downtown. But it’s better than pumpfaking air and stopping the entire offense.
Grade: C-
Max Strus
5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Strus hasn’t had his moment in this series. He struggled to score in Game 1 and shot just 1-7 from the floor tonight (1-4 from deep). I expect him to find his range at some point, but for now, the Cavs are sorely missing his shooting.
Grade: D+
Dennis Schroder
4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Schroder and Jaylon Tyson were the only Cavaliers to play 10+ minutes and avoid a negative plus/minus. They both ended as zeros.
I think Schroder helps the Cavs in spots where the backcourt is struggling to make reads. But that’s a problem in and of itself.
Grade: D+
Sam Merrill
4 points
This was a brutal game for Merrill. He went 0-7 from deep, and it wasn’t like he was taking difficult shots. Most of them were clean looks.
Grade: F
Jaylon Tyson
4 points, 3 rebounds
Tyson got his first chance in this series and didn’t do much with it. He had a brief moment in the second half, where his hustle and off-ball activity provided a boost. But that moment was fleeting.
There’s room for Tyson to assert himself in this series if he can take advantage of his minutes. Going 0-3 from the corner isn’t going to cut it.
Grade: D+
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