CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered another crushing loss as the Chicago Bulls defeated them 127-111.
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
32 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound
At some point, the Cavs will have to win games even when Mitchell doesn’t outright carry them. I guess they aren’t ready for that just yet. Mitchell scored 32 points on 22 shots but was far from his best on defense. Even his effort was questionable tonight.
Grade: C–
Darius Garland
15 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds
The Cavs scored 20 points in the first five minutes of this game. Garland had nearly half of them with three triples in the opening minutes. He only scored six points the rest of the way, and was among the most guilty of Cleveland’s poor defensive effort.
Grade: F
Jarrett Allen
14 points, 3 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
Allen is just getting back from missing the last two weeks with an injury. But there isn’t room for any more excuses. The Cavs needed Allen to be a beast tonight. He was just fine — which feels worse than it should, given the circumstances.
Grade: C
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Jaylon Tyson
21 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Tyson plays harder than anyone. But, he isn’t nearly as talented or experienced as the guys ahead of him. Maximum effort from Tyson can only mean so much for a team that isn’t getting nearly enough from its stars.
It’s worth noting that while Tyson has played hard and given more offense than anyone expected, he still comes with all the defensive warts you would expect from a player in his first real NBA season. That’s why his grade is a bit lower than you might assume.
Grade: B+
Lonzo Ball
2 points, 1 assist, 7 rebounds
The Ball experiment is getting hard to watch. He went 0-4 from downtown tonight, further decreasing his three-point percentage to 25% on the season.
Grade: F
De’Andre Hunter
12 points, 1 assist, 5 rebounds
The Cavs tried moving Hunter to the bench tonight to help him snap out of his funk. It didn’t work.
Grade: F
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Dean Wade
2 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds
Wade wasn’t anything special tonight. But he had relatively nothing to do with his team’s struggles.
Grade: C–
Craig Porter Jr.
4 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 3 steals
Porter isn’t a perfect player. He lacks the three-point range that would make him a legit weapon in today’s NBA. But, we are at the point where he has earned more minutes compared to Ball. That finally happened tonight, with Porter playing slightly more than Ball.
Grade: C+
Thomas Bryant
7 points, 0 assists, 6 rebounds
Bryant plays his heart out. There just isn’t much he’s truly capable of doing if the rest of the team can’t even come close to matching his effort.
Grade: A-
