The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have their best defensive effort, but their offense more than made up for it as they defeated the Orlando Magic 136-131.
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents that player performing to our expectations for them.
James Harden
26 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds
Harden and Paolo Banchero spent much of this game attacking each other in isolation. Harden didn’t fare well defensively in that matchup, but he made up for it by getting clean looks
at the other end.
This game was a great example of how Harden can completely change a game with his ability to manage an offense. He made sure that they got the right shot every time down the court.
He also made this absurd pass, which counts for something.
The Cavs came into this game with the third-best offense in the league since Harden’s debut. Performances like this show why.
That said, the defense was bad. Some of that blame falls on Harden’s shoulders. That’s knocking his grade some.
Grade: B-
Donovan Mitchell
42 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Mitchell has struggled to find his rhythm since injuring his eye before last Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Even though his eye still doesn’t look 100%, his game looks a lot closer to what we’ve come to expect, as he was once again playing at an All-NBA level.
The Magic weren’t able to keep Mitchell from getting to the paint. This created space for him to get his outside shot off. And once he does that, it’s impossible to contain him, including down the stretch as he put the Magic away late with a runner going to the basket for his 40th point.
This all resulted in an efficient 42-point performance on 14-22 shooting.
As with Harden, Mitchell’s defense wasn’t great. That’s going to knock down what was a spectacular offensive performance.
Grade: B+
Evan Mobley
19 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block
This wasn’t the most impressive statistical performance from Mobley by just looking at his point total, but the process was good offensively. He hunted out mismatches and then took advantage by either getting the easy basket or setting up his teammates around him. This led to him being a perfect 8-8 from the floor.
Mobley wasn’t bad on defense, but you would hope that having the Defensive Player of the Year would help keep a bad Magic offense from scoring 131 points. That is going to knock his grade down some as well.
Grade: B-
Support us and Let ‘Em Know with Homage!
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can buy the Let ‘Em Know shirt HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE.
Max Strus
11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Struss did a lot of things well on the court, including running the pick-and-roll as a secondary initiator.
More importantly, he hit three of his eight triples, which were much needed. He came into this game going 3-15 from deep in his last three contests.
Grade: B
Keon Ellis
2 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
Ellis did some good things on the defensive end once again, but he needs to provide something more offensively if he’s going to be a meaningful part of the playoff rotation.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson ripped the team’s defensive effort. But on a night that the Cavs desperately needed what Ellis can provide on that end, the offense was too inconsistent for him to be out there to close the game.
Grade: D+
Dennis Schroder
6 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound
Schroder has seemed out of place the last few weeks. That continued again. He wasn’t able to make a noticeable impact outside of a few baskets in the fourth quarter. That’s disappointing from someone who provided so much in the first few weeks after the trade.
Grade: D+
Dean Wade
2 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound
Wade wasn’t able to get his shot to go, which limited his effectiveness offensively. And while he provided good defense, he wasn’t anything special on that end, on a night Banchero got whatever he wanted offensively.
Grade: D-
Thomas Bryant
9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Bryant continues to be a star in his role, even if that role is mostly a minor one in the grand scheme of things. He’s done a good job of anchoring lineups where he’s the only big and he’s done a great job of spacing the floor when he’s out there with Mobley.
Tonight, Bryant was perfect from the floor (4-4) and finished tied with Strus for the best plus/minus on the team at +13. You really can’t ask for more from your third center that was forced into duty with Jarrett Allen out of the lineup.
Grade: A
Sam Merrill
19 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Merrill continues to fit extremely well with Harden. The two have developed a great chemistry with Merrills off-ball movement. That was on display once again as Harden continually found Merrill for easy baskets, including an easy layup on a baseline out-of-bounds that felt like two free points.
But to credit all of Merrill’s success to Harden would be a mistake. He’s more than made the most of his opportunity in the starting lineup. That was on display again as he was an impactful all-around scorer, as he went 2-6 from deep and finished four of his five shots in the paint.
Merrill is going to make it a real conversation as to whether he should be left in the starting lineup once Allen returns.
Grade: A
