Sam Merrill was on fire tonight.
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost a frustrating one to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
30 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds
Mitchell had a dazzling playmaking game. Especially in the first half. But he shifted his focus to being a scorer in the second half, and he had a pair of unfortunate turnovers where he was simply doing too much with the ball.
Grade: A–
Darius Garland
16 points, 8 assists, 1 rebound
Garland was surgical in the pick-and-roll once again tonight. He might not have erupted in the fourth quarter as he did against Indiana, but Garland’s control of the offense was behind Cleveland’s best runs of the night.
Grade: B+
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Evan Mobley
19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Mobley was relatively aggressive tonight. He scored his 19 points on an efficient 8-11 shooting. He could have done more on the glass, though; some of Cleveland’s rebounding struggles came from an extremely undersized starting lineup.
Grade: B
Sam Merrill
22 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
Merrill was lights out tonight. He hit 5-11 three-pointers and was the spark plug behind Cleveland’s late rally. His sharpshooting brought the Cavs back into this game — and he even threw an impressive lob to Jarrett Allen earlier in the first half.
Grade: A+
Craig Porter Jr.
4 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound
This is no fault of Porter, but his inclusion in the starting lineup just doesn’t make sense. He’s a bad fit next to Mitchell and Garland. There wasn’t much he could do about it.
Grade: D
De’Andre Hunter
14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
At one point, Hunter threw a turnover straight to Donte Divincenzo, who layed it up on the other end just as Cleveland was making its rally. Hunter wasn’t horrible tonight by any means. He was actually helpful, for the most part. But that turnover will stick with me.
Grade: B-
Jarrett Allen
11 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist
Allen was fantastic in the first half. He fought Rudy Gobert on the glass and was aggressive catching on the roll. The Cavs’ offense might be at its best when it’s getting Allen involved like this.
The second half wasn’t as fruitful for Allen. He faded out of Cleveland’s offense as they tried to shoot their way back into the game. And, Allen left his hand down on multiple Naz Reid three-pointers that felt crushing.
Grade: B+
Jaylon Tyson
4 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist
This was another quiet game from Tyson. He wasn’t particularly good or bad.
Grade: C+
Category: General Sports
