Cavaliers recovered from a poor first half to beat the Warriors handily
The Cleveland Cavaliers won their 28th game of the season with a thorough pulling away in the second half to beat the Golden State Warriors 113-95.
Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
23 points (9-19 shooting), 4 assists
Mitchell was instrumental in kickstarting the Cavaliers’ resurgence in the second half. It felt like the offense was in dire need of turning things around and Mitchell delivered. His knack for providing back-breaking threes was handy in keeping any hopes of a Warriors comeback at bay.
Grade: A-
Evan Mobley
7 points (2-6 shooting), 7 rebounds 6 turnovers
Mobley found himself teetering in foul trouble for long spurts in the game. It felt like he was never able to find his footing on either end of this game. The Warriors are a smaller team so you would have liked to see Mobley carry the aggressiveness over from the Nuggets game but the threes weren’t falling and there weren’t many opportunities for Mobley to take over.
Grade: C-
Darius Garland
25 points (10-17 shooting), 8 assists
Another game where Garland comes out early and is bombing away from three. You would have thought that Garland was putting on a Steph Curry impression as Garland was able to score from all three levels with ease. It’s amazing how a performance like this one from Garland is common. Last season, there would have been celebrations for a night like this.
Grade: A
Jarrett Allen
12 points (6-9 shooting), 9 rebounds
Allen had it laid out for him to make the Warriors’ night hell. However, it felt like the game was trending that if it was close, Allen would not be able to be in the closing lineup. It felt like the team wasn’t taking advantage of the Warriors’ lack of size and Allen only really got it going in the third quarter. Allen did make an impact, just not to the level I would have hoped for given the matchups.
Grade: B
Dean Wade
10 points (5-6 shooting), 13 rebounds
Wade was excellent tonight. I feel like outside of the stars, Wade had the most impactful performance. He was taking clean looks at the rate you would hope and was extremely active on the glass. The Cavaliers do not need Wade to put the team on his back for them to win. However, nights like this show how versatile and valuable he is for the team.
Grade: A
Max Strus
3 points (1-6 shooting), 4 rebounds
I understand the reasoning as to why Strus was on the floor despite the struggles. It is very clear he is still working to get his legs under him. However, the shots he took tonight seemed forced and unjustified within the rhythm of the offense. It feels like Strus is struggling to find his form and in the first half, the Cavaliers were victim to a player trying to reassimilate into a well-oiled machine.
Grade: D
Caris LeVert
9 points (3-9 shooting)
LeVert is a player who has become very consistent as of late. This was a throwback performance for LeVert. The shot wasn’t there, but that has never stopped LeVert in the past from firing away.
Grade: C-
Sam Merrill
5 points (2-4 shooting), 2 rebounds
Jackson and I discussed this during the Playback stream, but it felt like if the Strus minutes were played by Merrill then there would have been greater results. Merrill felt like he was restricted in his time on the floor and was impactful with the limited opportunities he had. Especially given the fact that he could hold his own defensively with the Warriors’ smaller lineups.
Grade: C
Georges Niang
3 points (1-3 shooting), 3 rebounds
Outside of getting thrown to the floor by Draymond Green, there was not much to mention from Niang. He has his nights where he can vanish and with limited shot attempts, tonight was another one of those occasions.
Grade: C-
Ty Jerome
10 points (3-10 shooting), 4 assists
It was hard to discern early on if this was going to be a return-to-form game for Jerome. He had his moments making a few shots in the second quarter to hold the Cavs’ offense afloat. However, any momentum Jerome generated in the second quarter evaporated as he vanished down the stretch not logging minutes in the third quarter. Overall, this chalks up to a middling night for Jerome who is looking to return to the player he was at the beginning of the season.
Grade: C