[Trending News] Player Grades: Cavs at Wizards – Evan Mobley continues to impress

It wasn’t pretty, but the shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers did enough to hold off the Washington Wizards — the team with the worst record in the NBA who only had seven available players at the end of the game.

Cleveland’s poor defense through three quarters kept this game close. Jordan Poole was Washington’s only scoring option and they weren’t able to do much to make his life difficult as he went for 45 points.

Nobody would characterize this as a good win, but ugly wins still count the same in the standings.

Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Donovan Mitchell

33 points (12-26 shooting), 5 assists, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 3 turnovers

Mitchell was able to get wherever he wanted on the court against a terrible Wizards defense that had no chance of staying in front of him. You expect someone of Mitchell’s caliber to score 30+ in this environment and he did.

Cleveland’s perimeter defense as a whole wasn’t good. Mitchell was a part of that as was every other guard on the roster. That takes something off the grades along with the three sloppy turnovers.

Grade: B

Darius Garland

23 points (8-15 shooting), 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 turnovers

Garland helped put the game away down the stretch. Eight of his 23 points came in the fourth quarter as he was instrumental in Cleveland’s 40-point final frame. Finishing games has become his specialty this season.

The turnovers and defense were sloppy. Five assists to four giveaways isn’t what we’ve come to expect. Both of those things lower his grade as was the case with Mitchell.

Grade: B

Evan Mobley

27 points (10-16 shooting), 7 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 block, 1 steal

Mobley is one of the few players that I feel comfortable saying played well. His offensive energy helped pick up a lifeless Cavs team in the second half where 22 of his 27 points came from.

He opened the third quarter by relentlessly picking on rookie Kyshawn George in the post which helped keep the offense afloat. Mobey expanded his game from there as he was a threat as a roller and playmaker off the dribble.

It was encouraging to see Mobley have another strong offensive showing after the dud against the Boston Celtics at the start of the week.

Grade: A

Jarrett Allen

12 points (4-7 shooting), 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks

Allen came out strong, with 10 first-half points. He wasn’t able to keep that aggressive play up over the final 24 minutes.

It was a solid outing from Allen, but nothing too remarkable.

Grade: B-

Max Strus

17 points (6-11 shooting), 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Strus came alive in the fourth quarter. He made a heads-up play to throw a loose ball off a defender before falling out of bounds late in the contest. Strus followed it up by converting a layup shortly thereafter, draining a three, and then setting Mobley up for the game-sealing alley-oop.

This was the second straight strong offensive performance from Strus.

Grade: B+

You Jerome

13 points (5-12 shooting), 3 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal

Jerome saved his best for the fourth quarter where he scored seven of his 13 points. This was another steady performance for someone who’s been consistently good off the bench all season.

Grade: B

Jayon Tyson

7 points (2-2 shooting), 5 rebounds, 1 steal

The Cavs’ inability to secure defensive rebounds is one of the reasons the Wizards were in the game as long as they were. Tyson gave Washington a taste of their own medicine in the fourth quarter when he grabbed three offensive boards.

Tyson has some work to do as a defender, but his rebounding and off-ball movement remain plusses. The Cavaliers would gladly sign up for performances like this with Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro still out of the lineup.

Grade: B

Craig Porter Jr

2 points (1-3 shooting), 5 assists, 3 steals

This was a solid outing from Porter. His on-ball defense leaves a little bit to be desired, but his ability to create steals made up for it against Washington. Porter’s three takeaways were instrumental in creating energy for a team that was lacking it at times throughout the game. Those steals also led to easy baskets the other way.

It wasn’t flashy, but it was the exact type of game you want from your third-string point guard when he’s thrown into action.