Player Grades: Cavs at Hawks
Cavs took their second straight loss to Atlanta.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have officially hit their first slump of the season, dropping back-to-back games against the Atlanta Hawks. We can’t complain too much about a 17-3 start to the year but let’s get these gripes out of the way in today’s grades.
Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
12 points (5-23 shooting), 11 rebounds, 6 assists
You won’t win many games when your best player performs this poorly. Mitchell has more than proven himself as an otherworldly offensive talent — but even the best scorers are bound to have nights like this.
Mitchell’s lack of scoring wouldn’t be as glaring if the defensive effort around him was better. The Cavs struggled to gain any momentum in this game due to their lack of focus defensively. Mitchell is not excused from this. So when you combine both ends of the floor, we have no choice but to give him his worst grade of the season.
Grade: D
Evan Mobley
24 points (10-17 shooting), 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Mobley is the answer if you’re searching for something to feel good about from these two losses. He put together two of the finest scoring games he’s had in a Cavalier uniform — aggressively attacking the Hawks in both games.
Mobley’s confidence continues to grow as the Cavs give him more opportunities to spread his wings. He had numerous attacks on the basket today where he put his head down and rammed through multiple defenders for a flush. Even in a loss, Mobley takes another step forward.
Grade: A
Darius Garland
29 points (11-19 shooting), 5 assists
Aside from Mobley, Garland is the only other Cavalier who played heavy minutes and deserves a positive grade. His scoring kept them somewhat in striking distance despite the plethora of issues around him. Garland wasn’t exactly great on defense — but at least he gave them a dose of scoring to make up for it.
Garland’s 19 field goal attempts are worth noting. He recognized the situation and began unloading the clip in the second half. It wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit but Garland turned in a quality performance.
Grade: B+
Jarrett Allen
6 points (3-3 shooting), 5 rebounds
I could hardly tell Allen played 25 minutes tonight. That lets you know that something was wrong.
Part of the blame has to be placed on Allen. After all, it’s his responsibility to make his impact felt. But feeding the ball to a rolling seven-footer shouldn’t be that difficult. This is a common theme for the Cavs — whenever one of the guards is struggling — the big men suffer.
Still, this was a bad game from Allen. He finished with just five rebounds and had a hard time covering the perimeter against Altanta’s spaced-out offense. Unlearning some of his defensive instincts to protect the paint (and instead rotating to the three-point line) is something Allen must continue to work on.
Grade: D
Isaac Okoro
2 points (0-5 shooting), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal
Okoro had all the right ideas tonight. The problem was executing any of them. His lack of assertiveness showed on multiple drives to the rim that ended in Okoro getting his weak shot attempt blocked. A more decisive attack would have resulted in free throws, at worst.
It’s unfortunate because Okoro was the Cavalier's best option defensively. His ability to hold Trae Young on an island was sorely needed — but his lack of offensive juice made it impossible for Cleveland to keep him on the floor once the deficit reached double-digits.
Okoro’s process was fine. He made good reads and cut to the basket at the right time. Finishing plays is an ongoing battle.
Grade: D-
Caris LeVert
8 points (2-5 shooting), 2 assists, 1 rebound
This was LeVert’s first NBA game in weeks. So, we can’t be too tough on him. It became clear almost immediately that LeVert would need a few minutes to shake the rust off himself.
His first half was not good. But LeVert did gain momentum in the second half with a pair of triples. His value as a switchable defender will go a long way toward patching up Cleveland’s recent defensive woes once LeVert gets his sea legs back. He just wasn’t there yet tonight.
Grade: C
Sam Merrill
7 points (2-7 shooting), 1 assist
Merrill’s value on any given night is self-explanatory. He’s an elite motion shooter who tries harder on defense than he gets credit for. But when the shot isn’t falling — and the defense isn’t holding up — Merrill becomes tough to watch.
This game can’t be pinned on Merrill by any means. Still, he didn’t help swing things at any point.
Grade: D
Georges Niang
3 points (1-6 shooting), 2 assists, 1 rebound
Listen, anyone who has watched Niang over the last two seasons understands the type of game we just saw. He provided nothing on offense while being an easy target on defense. These are games where Niang’s potential three-point shooting is the only justification for his playing time. That potential didn’t materialize tonight and it resulted in one of his worst games to date.
Grade: F
Ty Jerome
7 points (3-7 shooting), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
The Typhoon is slowing down. Jerome hasn’t been a negative in either game but his scorching hot shooting has cooled off. This shouldn’t come as a surprise — Jerome was shooting unsustainably great splits from every spot on the floor.
Still, Jerome was able to impact the game in the second half with multiple steals. He won’t always shoot the cover off the ball but Jerome has done enough to prove he can be a positive contributor, or at least break even, on nights when his jumper isn’t falling.
Grade: C
Jaylon Tyson
3 points (1-1 shooting), 3 rebounds
Tyson is still dipping his toes in offensively but he has dove headfirst defensively to be an instant-impact player. He played with more effort than most of the roster in both games and his nose for offensive rebounds is going to give him a skill to fall back on, even when his role as a scorer hasn’t been defined.
We won’t get carried away but Tyson has done a fine job in his limited playing time to start this season.