The Cavs suffer their first loss of the season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers took their first loss of the season as the reigning champs, the Boston Celtics, threw a haymaker at them. It was a hard-fought game with plenty of lessons to learn.
Grades are based on our expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
35 points (13-29 shooting), 8 rebounds, 3 assists
Mitchell was dormant for most of the night as Boston’s defense held him from making an impact. The Celtics could only hold him for so long — as Mitchell came alive in the second half to rally a comeback.
Dazzling shot-making is one way to beat a stellar defense. Mitchell’s individual heroics nearly got the job done. But the Cavs moved away from him at key points in the fourth quarter. And overall, Mitchell fell into Boston’s trap — trading difficult two-pointers for efficient three-pointers on the other end. This was a great scoring game but it was far from perfect.
Grade: A-
Evan Mobley
22 points (8-13 shooting), 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Mobley was the best player on the floor for Cleveland tonight. He was otherworldly on defense, single-handedly disrupting Boston’s flow for stretches at a time. Mobley’s versatility as a rim protector and perimeter deterrent allowed the Cavaliers to compensate for their lack of available wings (Caris LeVert, Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro all missed this game with an injury).
The Cavs couldn’t hit a three-pointer tonight. But they could rely on Mobley to punish Boston in mismatches. He was a beast in the paint, bullying Jrue Holiday and Payton Pritchard whenever they drew his assignment. His pressure on the rim kept Cleveland alive on offense.
Perhaps the biggest error of the night was moving away from Mobley in the fourth quarter. He scored all 22 of his points in the first three periods before disappearing entirely with zero-shot attempts in the final.
Grade: A+
Darius Garland
8 points (3-21 shooting), 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers
This matchup is simple. Boston is going to show Garland a drop coverage until he forces them out of it with three-point shooting and in-between scoring. Tonight, he lost that battle — shooting blanks from deep and repeatedly missing in the lane. It didn’t help that Garland blew a handful of open looks, as well.
Garland had been shooting lights out from every spot on the floor entering this game. I guess this is the law of averages hitting in the hardest way. The Cavs might have benefited from closing this game with someone other than Garland — but their lack of options off the bench made this difficult. As a result, Garland either had to play better or hand over the keys to someone else. He did neither, emptying the clip in a losing effort.
I will give him credit for his effort on defense. Garland was physical with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, more than holding his own in isolation. His strong start to the season continues on at least one end of the floor.
Grade: F
Jarrett Allen
10 points (5-6 shooting), 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
This was a fairly standard game from Allen. You’d have liked to see him do even more on the glass to help sway momentum but Boston’s 41 three-point attempts make it difficult for a big-man to clean long rebounds. Allen worked hard to protect the paint and contest outside shots but Al Horford had his number, burying 4-of-5 three-point attempts.
Mostly, Allen wasn’t able to assert himself on offense. He only missed one shot but finished well below his season average in points. Part of this is Cleveland’s lopsided shot-diet. Either way, Allen was a little too invisible tonight.
Grade: B-
Sam Merrill
6 points (2-3 shooting), 1 rebound, 1 assist
Boston remains a nightmare matchup for Merrill. Their ability to switch everything has historically put a limit on Merrill’s ability to find clean looks. He was hardly noticeable for this entire game outside of consecutive three-point makes to start the second half.
Merrill managed to keep the ball in front of him defensively — but Brown and Tatum felt little resistance due to their height advantage. The Cavs likely would not have leaned this heavily on Merrill had they been given an alternative.
Grade: D+
Georges Niang
11 points (5-8 shooting), 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Niang was a positive on both ends of the floor tonight. He used his size effectively to bother Boston’s wings and his scoring was a consistent plus. Niang made multiple cuts for easy layups and converted an opportunity in the post against a smaller defender.
Still, the limitations are there. He isn’t the ideal defender against anyone on the Celtics and he isn’t capable of rotating like Okoro, LeVert or Wade are. A few more three-pointers from Niang could have helped (he shot 1-3) but this wasn’t a bad showing.
Grade: B
Ty Jerome
10 points (4-5 shooting), 5 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal
The Cavaliers have relied on Jerome to give them a boost in nearly every game. He didn’t fully provide that tonight as his counterpart in Boston, Payton Pritchard, outshined him with 13 points and three triples.
Jerome did play a role in Cleveland’s second-half rally. His patience when attacking the basket led to good things and he took good care of the ball, missing just one shot and turning it over once.
Grade: B
Craig Porter Jr.
15 points (6-8 shooting), 3 assists, 3 rebounds
This might have been Porter’s best game of his career. He began by knocking down multiple three-pointers before becoming the engine to Cleveland’s run in the third quarter. As the Celtics attempted to head Neemias Queta on Porter — the Cavs relentlessly put him in pick-and-rolls. This opened Porter to catch and create on the short roll. The results were fantastic with multiple dunks and drop-off passes to his bigs.
Porter’s path toward being an NBA player relies on everything he showed tonight. Confident outside shooting and intentional usage within an offense. Kenny Atkinson may have discovered a new way to use Porter.
Grade: A+