Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Portland Trail Blazers player grades
Isaiah Thomas shined in his debut.
Here are your player grades for Tuesday’s Cavs-Blazers game.
Isaiah Thomas: A
Thomas played 19 minutes off the bench, scoring 17 points on 6-12 shooting. He looked more comfortable as the game went on, already seemed to have his feel of the game back and connected with both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. This was everything the Cavs could have hoped for.
LeBron James: A
A 24-point, eight assist, six rebound and four steal night could have been even better had a few calls gone his way.
Kevin Love: A
Love took advantage of Al-Farouq Aminu defending him inside when Portland tried to hide Jusuf Nurkic on Jae Crowder and battled Nurkic well on the other end.
J.R. Smith: C
Smith had several errant defensive possessions and didn’t do much on offense.
Jose Calderon: B
Three assists and one turnover for Calderon in what will likely be one of his final starts.
Tristan Thompson: A
Thompson, for the second game in a row, looked energetic and comfortable on both ends. This is a very encouraging sign going forward.
Jae Crowder: A-
Crowder made the Blazers pay for hiding Nurkic on him, finishing with 17 points overall, including 12 from three.
Jeff Green: B+
Green made up for an 0-5 night from three by going to the line 12 times and playing solid defense.
Dwyane Wade: A-
Wade had an efficient 15 points and already has some chemistry with Thomas.
Kyle Korver: B
A quiet night from Korver, but they didn’t need him to do much. His presence on bench units that are lacking spacing remains essential.