Cavs player grades from preseason loss to Pacers

Isaac Okoro impressed as an off-ball screener in the Cavaliers’ second exhibition game.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were without four starters, Caris LeVert, and Sam Merrill. The Indiana Pacers played all of their starters. The Cavs kept it close through the first half, but let go of the rope once the third unit was given an extended run. They dropped this one 129-117.

It’s preseason. The process is more important than the results. The grades are based on our expectations for each player.

Jarrett Allen

13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 15 minutes

Allen continues to look good offensively when you give him the space to showcase his skills. All three of his shots in the first quarter came outside of the restricted area. They used him as an offensive hub in the second quarter where he picked up four helpers in that period alone.

This was a strong showing from Allen. It was the type he regularly seems to deliver when he’s the only big on the court.

Grade: A

Isaac Okoro

9 points, 4-6 shooting, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 9 minutes

Using Okoro more as a roller has been a talking point throughout training camp. By my count, he was used as an on-ball screener three times. All three resulted in points.

Finishing through contact hasn’t been a problem for Okoro. Getting to these spots on the floor has been. This is one way for him to do it. Later we saw Okoro find Porter cutting to the basket after getting walled off by Pascal Siakam in a similar situation.

Skill hasn’t necessarily been the problem for Okoro. It’s figuring out how to use it. You’d like to see Okoro expand his game more. That said, you’ll take the incremental progress.

Grade: B

Jaylon Tyson

11 points, 5-7 shooting, 1-1 from three, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, 29 minutes

Tyson looked like a rookie. He had good off-ball movement and had flashes of good play. He also inbounded the ball directly to the Pacers and got stripped on what should’ve been an easy transition basket.

There are reasons to be excited about what you saw from Tyson. But he still has some work to do before you can comfortably say he’s a rotation player.

Grade: C

Dean Wade

9 points, 3-8 shooting, 1-5 from three, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 23 minutes

The process remains good for Wade even if the scoring hasn’t followed. The defense was once again great. The versatility on that end can’t be overstated. He just needs to become more aggressive on offense.

Fortunately, Wade was once again aggressive. He was active off-ball and didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger from deep. All that’s left is making the shots.

Grade: B

Ty Jerome

15 points, 5-14 shooting, 2-7 from three, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 23 minutes

This was the backup point guard performance that you’d like to get if Darius Garland is out of the lineup. He moved the ball well. Didn’t force his shot, but also didn’t hesitate when he had a chance to put one up.

I don’t know if he fits into the rotation if everyone is healthy, but that’s okay. This is the type of performance and player you’d feel comfortable with making spot shots to keep the rotations the same.

Grade: B

Tristan Thompson

4 points, 2-4 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 turnovers, 18 minutes

Thompson was a -18 in the minutes he was out there. He was saddled with some rough lineups, but he didn’t do much to make them work.

Thompson was a pleasant surprise on the court last season. That same guy hasn’t shown up yet through a couple of exhibition games. That doesn’t mean he won’t, but it isn’t encouraging for a team that has limited options at the backup five.

Grade: D+

Georges Niang

12 points, 5-9 shooting, 2-4 from three, 3 rebounds, 21 minutes

Niang appears to be in better shape than last season. This has led to him being quicker on his feet. Niang was a good source of offense in a unit that had few other options.

That said, he did let an airball hit him in the head.

Grade: B

Craig Porter Jr.

14 points, 6-10 shooting, 2-3 from three, 4 assists, 1 steal, 24 minutes

Porter doesn’t attempt a ton of threes, but the ones he does seem to take are high-difficulty stepbacks. He knocked down one of those difficult shots early on. Whenever that does happen, he seems emboldened to attack the paint even more which is where he excels.

It’s tough to be a point guard of any kind if teams don’t respect your jumper. That will always be the struggle with Porter until he proves otherwise. Still, this was a nice bounce back from a rough stretch dating back to this year’s Summer League.

Grade: B+

Luke Travers

6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 21 minutes

Travers has flashes that get you excited about his future. But then he goes through extended stretches where you forget that he’s playing offense. He still needs to figure out how his game translates to the NBA game. This was a good experience for him.

Grade: C

Jules Bernard

11 points, 3-8 shooting, 3-7 from three, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 16 minutes

Bernard had a good showing. The lefty was aggressively attacking and was in the right spot more often than not.

Making the team out of camp was a long shot considering how set in stone the Cavs roster appears to be. He’s set up for a good season with the Cleveland Charge in the G League.

Grade: B+

J.T. Thor

5 points, 2-6 shooting, 2 rebounds, 12 minutes

Thor didn’t have the most impressive performance after a solid showing on Tuesday. He wasn’t an impactful rebounder or rim finisher. It’s hard to be a reserve center if you struggle in both of those areas against second and third-string, preseason lineups.

While Thompson was bad, Thor didn’t do enough to make me think that he would be a better option if either Allen or Evan Mobley were out.

Grade: D+

Zhaire Smith, Pete Nance, James Gilyard

These three were only given about six minutes of playing time. They competed on the defensive end and all found a way to get on the scoreboard. It’s about as much as you can do in garbage time of a preseason game like this.

Grade: B