The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t turn in what would’ve been a winning performance against any of the other 28 teams. Fortunately for them, they were playing a Washington Wizards team that rarely wins and was
missing three starters. Donovan Mitchell’s 24 fourth-quarter points were enough for Cleveland to get a 130-126 victory.
Grades are based on our expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
48 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds
The Cavaliers shouldn’t need this type of performance from Mitchell to beat a three-win team. But fortunately for them, Mitchell provided.
Mitchell is one of the few guys on the team who plays every night like he refuses to lose. He simply willed the team to victory on a night they didn’t deserve one. He’s shown up time and time again for this team. Hopefully for the Cavs, they start they following his lead at some point and match his competitive level.
Grade: A
Jaylon Tyson
13 points, 3 assists, 6 rebounds
Tyson is one of the few players who consistently match Mitchell’s competitive level. The Cavs need more of what Tyson is bringing to the court on a nightly basis. The issue is they need effort and energy like this from their top guys (excluding Mitchell), not someone who came into the season outside of Cleveland’s ideal rotation.
Grade: B
Evan Mobley
23 points, 6 assists, 10 rebounds
Washington was without their best big and defensive anchor in Alex Sarr (if the worst defense in the league can have an anchor), and Mobley couldn’t consistently take advantage. He went just 5-11 inside the arc. That isn’t ideal when you’re going against a center rotation of Marvin Bagley III and Tristan Vukčević.
Grade: D+
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Darius Garland
18 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Things are bad for Garland. He can’t move laterally on defense, isn’t making outside shots (0-11 tonight), and just doesn’t have the burst that has made him a multi-time All-Star. It’s not that he isn’t playing up to the level he’s set in the past. It’s that he’s just been bad.
Bub Carrington — who came into this game averaging 7 points on 34.9% shooting — ran circles around Garland. That’s simply unacceptable from a starting-caliber point guard, let alone one on a max contract.
Garland did turn things around a little in the fourth quarter as he provided four big assists and had six fourth-quarter points. But not enough to make you believe that things are going to get significantly better.
Grade: D-
De’Andre Hunter
15 points, 0 assists, 4 rebounds
Hutner played with more energy at the start of the game. That dissipated pretty early on as he reverted to being the same player who has lacked energy and isn’t making enough shots to make up for it. This resulted in head coach Kenny Atkinson choosing to close the game with Lonzo Ball and Dean Wade instead.
Grade: F
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Craig Porter Jr.
4 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds
Porter changed the momentum of the game with his energy in the fourth quarter. This included getting two steals.
It’s difficult to justify the lack of minutes he’s getting, as he played just under 11 tonight. Atkinson said after the game that associate head coach Johnnie Bryant had to convince him to give Porter more playing time. This was a good call from Bryant, but it’s concerning that Atkinson isn’t seeing that Porter is one of the few guys playing with effort.
Grade: B+
Dean Wade
2 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds
Wade played well in the closing lineup by doing Wade things.
Grade: C+
Nae’Qwan Tomlin
0 points, 1 assist, 3 rebounds
You can’t foul out after playing just 10 minutes.
Grade: F
Lonzo Ball
2 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds
Ball remains unable to score inside. This includes when he has a wide-open layup.
Still, he finished with a plus/minus of +26. He was out there for the team’s best basketball, was in the closing lineup, and hit an important three in the fourth.
Grade: C–
