The Cleveland Cavaliers lost this game on the defensive end.
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
James Harden
13 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 6 turnovers
I think Harden played his best game as a Cavalier last week in Orlando. Today might have been his worst. He shot 4-12 from the floor and finished with six turnovers.
This was an example of all the classic Hardenisms. Careless turnovers. A total disinterest in playing defense. It’s the type of performance that’s bound to happen every once in a while when he’s on your team. Thankfully, this is only the first one we’ve seen in Cleveland.
Grade: F
Donovan Mitchell
26 points, 1 rebound, 11 assists, 1 turnover
It feels like the Cavs are leaning on Mitchell more than you’d expect, given the amount of weapons they have offensively. At times, he’s calling his own number; at times, it feels like no one else on the team wants it as badly as he does.
No one wants to see Mitchell take 10-24 shots on a night where he doesn’t particularly have it. And we definitely don’t want him to exert all of his energy on offense, leaving nothing to spare on the defensive end (though to be clear, I am not excusing Mitchell for his poor defense recently).
A better balance needs to be found soon.
Grade: D+
Evan Mobley
18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks
The Cavalier defense has done Mobley no favors recently. Holes are popping up faster than anyone can plug them. That said, we know he’s capable of doing more on his own. A world-class performance would have helped patch some of the glaring issues this team currently has on defense. Instead, Mobley’s impact felt blunted despite his 4 blocks.
On the other end, this was a strong Mobley performance. He used his size early in the first half to punish Dallas in the paint, going 6-6 for 13 points in the second quarter. He finished with 18 points on 8-14 shooting.
Grade: C+
Max Strus
24 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist
Not sure you could have imagined a better return for Strus. He buried his first three three-point attempts and sent Rocket Arena into a frenzy. He finished with six three-pointers and was arguably the only thing keeping Cleveland alive at various points in the game.
Grade: A+++
Keon Ellis
5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Ellis had been lights out recently from downtown. Packaging that with some of his defensive traits can be lethal. Neither his three-point shot nor his defensive tenacity was apparent today.
Grade: D
Nae’Qwan Tomlin
4 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal
Tomlin’s earned some extra opportunities recently with injuries to Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill, and Jaylon Tyson. Today wasn’t much better than any of the games where he previously struggled, but it certainly wasn’t worse. I just think we’ve seen the ceiling for Tomlin this season.
Grade: D+
Dennis Schroder
8 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound
Schroder’s time in Cleveland has been erratic. This was one of the better games from him, as he scored efficiently and dished out 6 assists. His defense wasn’t anything to write home about, but I could say the same for pretty much anyone on the roster today.
Grade: B
Dean Wade
12 points, 0 assists, 5 rebounds
Wade started this game with a bang. He hit his first couple shots and even took his defender off the dribble for a tough hook.
Grade: C+
Thomas Bryant
10 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists
The issues plaguing this team recently are above Bryant’s pay grade. He’s checked in and given them servicable backup big minutes. Anything more than that is not his job.
Grade: B
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