Player Grades: Cavs vs. Nuggets
Mitchell was special once again.
The Cleveland Cavaliers offense was too much as they ran away with a 126-114 victory over the Denver Nuggets on a snowy, Thursday night.
Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
28 points (11-24 shooting), 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
It was an effortless scoring night for Mitchell. He poured in a game-high 28 points and buried 6-10 three-point attempts. His dazzling shot-making kept Cleveland comfortably in the lead even when Denver threatened to rally a comeback.
Mitchell made scoring look easy but he did exert himself defensively. He finished with 4 stocks and disrupted Denver’s offense in key moments of the game. No Cavs fan should take this type of performance for granted. — Tony Pesta
Grade: A
Evan Mobley
20 points (7-11 shooting), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
Mobley matched his career-high with three three-pointers in tonight’s game. He’s already made 16 three-pointers this season — putting him on the verge of breaking his personal record for threes in a season (23).
Mobley has been one of the best defenders in the NBA since a rookie. But this season, he’s slowly putting together the full picture on offense. His case as a first-time All-Star continues to build after this performance against Denver. — TP
Grade: A
Darius Garland
24 points (9-20 shooting), 4 assists
Garland had an even better game than the numbers suggest. He was darting around the floor with an extra pep in his step, creating advantages in spite of just 4 assists on the night. His three three-pointers served as energizers — and he turned the corner for an easy layup late in the game to put Denver away for good.
The results didn’t quite match his process but Garland gets a solid grade for tonight. — TP
Grade: A-
Jarrett Allen
8 points (3-5 shooting), 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Allen wasn’t super aggressive tonight. He finished with just 8 points and hardly looked to score. But his effort defensively was crucial — even with Nikola Jokic getting his numbers regardless. Allen worked hard on the glass for 15 big rebounds and managed to hold Jokic to 13-26 shooting.
Allen’s 6 assists fall two short of matching a career-high. His occasional ability to create for others has been an underrated development of the last two years. Tonight, it was on display. — TP
Grade: B
Isaac Okoro
3 points (1-2 shooting), 2 assists, 12 minutes
Okoro left the game early with a knee strain. He knocked down a three-pointer and dished a few assists beforehand.
Grade: Incomplete
Caris LeVert
21 points (7-11 shooting), 6 assists, 3 rebounds
LeVert had an incredible start to the season, but has struggled to find his footing in the week he’s been back from injury. That wasn’t an issue tonight as there were stretches where he was the best player on the court even though he was playing alongside someone who could wind up with his fourth MVP award.
The Cavs are deep and not overly reliant on LeVert like they have in the past. Oustanding performances like this are now more of a luxury than they are something the Cavs need to keep their offense functional. — Jackson Flickinger
Grade: A+
Sam Merrill
8 points (3-8 shooting), 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Merrill’s shooting can swing the momentum of a game. There’s nothing quite as demoralizing for a team than allowing an open shot to a guy everyone knows you can’t give an inch of daylight.
His three in the first possession of the second quarter showed this. Michael Malone hardly waited for the ball to go through the hoop before he took the timeout. A repeat of that situation happened near the end of the third.
This was the exact type of performance you want to see from Merrill more consistently. — JF
Grade: B+
Georges Niang
5 points (2-4 shooting), 4 rebounds
Niang has been pretty consistent in his effort and the results have been pretty decent for the most part. This was another steady performance. He tried defensively and continues to make the correct plays on offense that keep those bench units moving well on that end. —JF
Grade: B
Ty Jerome
4 points (2-4 shooting), 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Jerome has struggled in his last few games. The illness that kept him out of Tuesday’s game likely plays a role in this. Still, this is something to monitor as we go forward. Jerome has simply been pressing and the outside shot isn’t going down like it used to be.
Simply put, Jerome isn’t the guy he was at the beginning of the season. Whether or not this is a return to the guy he is or if this slump is the exception will determine his next contract and future with the team. — JF
Grade: C-
Dean Wade
5 points (2-5 shooting), 6 rebounds, 1 assist
You’d obviously like Wade to shoot more, but it’s hard to be too critical of this performance. The offense was great overall and Wade was useful on both ends of the floor. It was a considerable improvement to how he looked in his first game back from injury on Tuesday. — JF