Player Grades: Cavs vs Nets

The first five helped the Cavs pull away in the second half of an otherwise sluggish game.

The Cleveland Cavaliers shook off the rust in the second half to beat the Brooklyn Nets in their first game out of the All-Star break.

Grades are based on the usual expectations for each player.

Evan Mobley

18 points (6-12 shooting), 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks

The first-time All-Star came out of the break with a solid all-around game, though not dominant compared to what he's shown this season. Mobley’s third-straight double-double and three blocks (which led the Cavs) are now run-of-the-mill expectations.

What was impressive from Mobley is his approach to offense, which continues to be vastly different than his first few seasons in the league. Here he takes Cam Johnson on one-on-one and pulls off a nifty spin move before flushing a reverse dunk and getting an and-one.

Grade: B+

Max Strus

5 points (2-10 shooting), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 fouls

It was a cold shooting night for Strus, who had been playing well into the All-Star break. Tonight was a bit of a clunker though, helped in no part by the five fouls he accrued on the evening. Strus did hit a big three in the fourth quarter, pointing to the sky afterward as a “thank you” for finally getting one to fall, so he gets points for sticking with it.

Strus started once again, but one has to wonder how long that lasts with the acquisition of De’Andre Hunter and now Isaac Okoro being healthy again.

Grade: C-

Jarrett Allen

16 points (8-9 shooting), 20 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal

The former Brooklyn Net had himself a night with a monster 16 points and 20 rebounds on very efficient shooting. Allen thoroughly outplayed Nic Claxton and put together a dominant performance.

Oh, and he's pretty good at defense too.

Allen gave the Cavs second-chance opportunities with his seven offensive rebounds, something that certainly helps a lot more when the offense is stuck in the mud like it was. A great game from Allen when the Cavs needed a spark.

Grade: A

Darius Garland

18 points (6-12 shooting), 9 assists, 3 steals

Another positive game for Garland, who now has eight or more assists and three steals in back-to-back games. It was a balanced attack for the Cavs’ offensive in general, but Garland’s passing skillset was on full display tonight.

That is a tough pass from Garland, who also had a nice two-man game going with Allen as well. It wasn't a blistering scoring night, but it was the type of controlled effort that Cavs fans have come to expect from their All-Star point guard.

Grade: B+

Donovan Mitchell

26 points (8-21 shooting), 5 rebounds, 2 assists

It wasn't the most efficient shooting night, but Mitchell got the Cavs a bucket when they needed it. Their first points of the second half came via a nasty Mitchell drive and Euro-step, which helped set the tone for the impending “Cavalanche”.

There have not been as many Mitchell scoring explosions this season, but that's a good thing in the long run. The Cavs have a more diverse scoring profile all around, which means Mitchell isn't tasked with running the show every night.

Tonight, it was a very balanced effort.

Grade: B+

De’Andre Hunter

9 points (3-10 shooting), 4 rebounds, 1 assist

Hunter didn't have a very efficient night shooting the ball either, but he did knock down two three-pointers and added a block to the stat sheet. The three-balls from Hunter came in transition and were contested, which was nice to see. He isn't a “corner three or nothing” sort of player.

Grade: C+

Sam Merrill

2 points (1-6 shooting), 1 assist

Quiet game for Merrill, who was catching some fire from deep heading into the All-Star break. His 25 minutes were the second-highest off the bench, an attempt to give the Cavs some sort of offensive shot in the arm, but it was no use.

The issue with Sam Merrill, as has been the case for his entire career, is that he is tough to play when he isn't making threes. Sure, the threat of making threes is helpful, but against good teams, the Cavs will need to cash in some of those attempts.

That being said, Merrill led the team in +/- with a +26. Make of that what you will.

Grade: D

Ty Jerome

6 points (2-4 shooting), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 turnovers

The Cavs are putting a lot of faith in Jerome to be a consistent threat off the bench for the rest of the season, and tonight he was just “fine”. His 17 minutes of court time are the fewest he has logged since early in the month (also the last time he scored less than he did tonight).

Still, there is something about his game that is just enjoyable. As slow and methodical as Ricky Rubio but smart enough to get to his spots.

Grade: C+

Isaac Okoro

5 points (2-4 shooting), 1 rebound, 1 assist

Welcome back, Isaac. In limited court time, Okoro drilled a triple and generally looks ok moving around after his shoulder injury. The corner three he made was from a nice pass from Jerome.

But his best play may have been a late fourth-quarter skip pass to Struss in the corner, which he drilled. Okoro has always been a “greater than the sum of its parts” player, doing the little things, and tonight was no exception. Though it is very fair to wonder what his court time looks like once Dean Wade is healthy.

Grade: C

Honorable Mention

He didn't log a lot of minutes, but congratulations to forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin on his first NBA points of his career. Tomlin has had a strong season playing for the Cleveland Charge in the G League and certainly earned this moment.