The Cleveland Cavaliers got rolling early and left the lowly Washington Wizards in the dust thanks to Donovan Mitchell placing his fingerprints all over this game.
Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
19 points (6-15 shooting), 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals
While by no means was this Mitchell’s most impressive showing, it was enough to separate the Cavaliers from the Wizards at the beginning and end of this game. Mitchell has repetitively found his spots to enforce his will on an opponent. Mitchell was knocking down pivotal shots that broke the Wizards will, while also finding his teammates early and often.
Grade: A+
Evan Mobley
19 points (6-12 shooting), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Mobley, when he is comfortable in a game, is a completely different player. The mentality shift is staggering as he goes from getting his within the flow of the game to ultra-aggressively seeking mismatches.
The Wizards were exposed to that version of Mobley. He was seeking post-ups often against smaller guards and inferior defenders on the Wizards and was succeeding. Mobley got to the line eight times from these looks as he was getting hacked by the Wizards once he put up his shots. It’s nice to see this version of Mobley, the only wish is that he displayed this level of aggression against better teams and defenders.
Grade: A
Darius Garland
12 points (2-5 shooting), 3 assists, 1 steal
Garland left the game with a head injury but appears to have avoided anything serious. Everything else before then was looking to be another solid outing from Garland. There was quality shot-making, playing within himself, and looking to put another solid performance together after being the pivotal player in the Boston Celtics game from Sunday. Now, Cavs fans turn to see the prognosis of evaluation.
Grade: Incomplete
Jarrett Allen
11 points (4-6 shooting), 3 rebounds,
While a dominant performance from Allen was not necessary, this game would have been a good get-right game for the big man. Allen hasn’t had a ton of flashy games this season and this one he appeared to fade even further. Allen was truly existing in this game, not really showing much life. He wasn’t a factor on the boards against a smaller Wizards team as well which is troubling. Allen is Mr. Solid on a night-to-night basis but it appears that we are amid a hiatus.
Grade: C-
Isaac Okoro
9 points (3-8 shooting), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Okoro had himself a decent night against the Wizards. He was aggressive from three (by Okoro standards) shooting 3-5 from the perimeter. Okoro also was getting after boards and making a lot of extra effort-level plays that won’t stand out on the stat sheet. In games that get out of hand early like this one, Okoro typically won’t stand out as the defense isn’t necessary so seeing him pop in other ways was a good sight.
Grade: B-
Caris LeVert
10 points (3-9 shooting), 2 rebounds, 3 assists
The LeVert pendulum swings on a night-to-night basis but I would say this one was as neutral of a game as LeVert can muster. In a game where the Cavaliers weren’t relying on him to generate bench points and create runs, LeVert was able to play a more stable style of game. While we have certainly seen a lot better from LeVert in recent games, this one is far from the most detrimental.
Grade: C+
Sam Merrill
14 points (5-10 shooting), 6 assists, 3 rebounds
OH BOY. It’s good to see a Sam Merrill sighting after some dark weeks from the sharpshooter. Merrill caught fire against the Wizards and reminded the Cavalier fanbase why they were so excited about his play last season.
Merrill was fantastic, firing away from all his usual spots but knocking them down keeping the Wizards at bay when they appeared to be flirting with a run of their own. Hopefully for Sam, this is a return to form. The Cavaliers can always benefit from a lethal marksman off their bench.
Grade: A
Georges Niang
14 points (6-9 shooting), 6 rebounds, 1 assist
Niang had another decent game after some rough stretches over the past few weeks. Niang brought it to the Wizards getting aggressive in the paint and using his frame to bully the scrawnier Wizards players. It’s always good to see Niang bring value to the offense in ways other than knocking down some threes. Niang was simply out-hustling the Wizards tonight and the stat sheet shows it.
Grade: B
Dean Wade
1 point (0-5 shooting), 6 rebounds, 1 assist
I don’t want to be too harsh to Wade who is coming off an injury that sidelined him for multiple weeks but tonight was a rough one. Which as I just stated, should be expected as the rust has to come off. Wade played 19 minutes and it looked like for the most part he was getting his legs back under him. Let’s let the guy get some more games under his belt again before we jump to conclusions. The defense was still good.
Grade: C-
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