The Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Toronto Raptors 126-113 it what was a disheartening performance. Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
31 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds
Mitchell provided his usual scoring, but you can’t live with seven turnovers from your primary offensive initator on a night the rest of the starters didn’t have it.
Grade: C-
De’Andre Hunter
16 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds
Hunter is in the starting lineup to be a mismatch beater. He mostly did that even if it wasn’t his most efficient
night from the field. The Cavs had a lot of problems on Thrusday. Hunter was neither the cause nor the solution.
Grade: C+
Evan Mobley
14 points, assists, 8 rebounds
I’m not sure what Mobley’s role in the offense is right now. I’m not sure that he knows either. That’s a problem.
On top of that, he played with the effort of someone on the second night of a back-to-back, even though he sat out Wednesday’s win in Miami. This was just a poor performance.
Grade: F
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Sam Merrill
12 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Merrill made some threes, kept the ball moving on offense, and wasn’t the issue on defense.
Grade: C+
Jarrett Allen
8 points, 8 rebounds
Allen carried over his aggressive performance into the first quarter. It seemed like he was going to be a difference maker in this one. And then, he just disappeared. He’s too good and too important to this team for this to be a recurring storyline.
Grade: F
Craig Porter Jr.
4 points, 5assists, 1 rebound
It seems that Porter is finally finding and thriving in his role. This was the second night in a row he excelled in as the backup point guard. This is an incredible development for a Cavs team that needs more off-the-dribble threats.
Grade: A+
Tyrese Proctor
7 points, 1 assist, 0 rebounds
Proctor isn’t afraid to shoot. Tonight, the shots were falling as he went 3-8 from the field and 1-5 from three. That’s going to impact your grade on a night the Cavs needed some help from their reserves.
Grade: C-
Larry Nance Jr.
0 points, 1 assist, 0 rebounds
We’re getting to the point where it’s tough to justify these Nance minutes. He was a -13 in just seven minutes of play. Plus/minus can be misleading. I don’t think it was in this instance. There’s a reason he had his playing time replaced by Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Thomas Bryant in the second half.
Grade: F
Dean Wade
2 points, 1 assist, 3 rebounds
Wade was a non-factor on offense and didn’t really make his presence felt on the defensive end either. That is unfortunate on a night that the Cavs got so little out of Mobley, Allen, and Nance.
Grade: D+
Nae’Qwan Tomlin
18 points, 0 assists, 6 rebounds
Tomlin has played incredibly well the last two games. He’s making an impact on the glass, cutting off the ball, and simply playing with force. That’s what you need from a reserve in his position. The only blemish was his five personal fouls. That’s not ideal in 21 and a half minutes of action.
Grade: A+
Thomas Bryant
4 points, 0 assists, 0 rebounds
The best thing we can say about Bryant is that his minutes were less disastrous than Nance’s. He played with a lot of energy in the seven minutes he was on the court. This helped the Cavs win the minutes he played.
Grade: B
