Player Grades: Cavs vs Celtics – Evan Mobley shines in another loss

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers lost their third straight game, this one against the Boston Celtics.

Grades are based on our expectations for each player.

Donovan Mitchell

18 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds

Mitchell was oddly quiet in this game. He didn’t score his 10th point until the fourth quarter and wasn’t able to carry the Cavaliers’ offense or complement the game that Evan Mobley had. This is in large part because the Celtics loaded up on Mitchell and forced him into being a passer.

His last-second heroics nearly changed everything. Mitchell hit a pair of absurd three-pointers to make it a one-possession game. But it was too little too late.

Grade: C+

Darius Garland

21 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds

Garland doesn’t look like his usual self. Blame it on health, a cold-stretch, or simply searching for a rhythym after missing most of the season. Either way, it didn’t look great. He was a staggering minus-27 in a two-point loss.

I’m not sure how to weigh Garland’s fourth quarter into this. He began scoring the ball when it felt like the game was already out of reach. Then miraculously, it was a two-point game with 0.6 seconds left. I’ll give him an extra half grade simply for his 5-7 shooting in the final frame that nearly allowed the Cavs to steal this one.

Grade: C-

Evan Mobley

27 points, 4 assists, 14 rebounds

Mobley turned in one of his best performances of the season. Maybe the best. He was uber aggressive and supremely confident handling the ball. We want to see more of this moving forward.

Grade: A+

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Thomas Bryant

2 points, 0 assists, 2 rebounds

Bryant earned a quick stint of minutes in the first half with Jarrett Allen and Larry Nance Jr. on the sidelines. Those minutes didn’t go well as Boston’s pace and space system put Bryant on thin ice.

Grade: D+

Jaylon Tyson

17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

This was a rough start for Tyson. He opened the first quarter by going 0-4 from deep. This didn’t deter him. Tyson shot 5-8 the rest of the way.

Grade: A-

De’Andre Hunter

8 points, 1 assist, 3 rebounds

Hunter has been reliable for the Cavs all season. He wasn’t as helpful in this one. He had zero juice on either end of the floor. A few rebounds or three-pointers would have gone a long way. Hunter was a team-worst minus-31 in 26 minutes.

Grade: F

Craig Porter Jr.

4 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds

Porter returned from a hamstring injury tonight. He began the game relatively solid before eventually being benched after Payton Pritchard torched him one too many times.

Grade: C-

Dean Wade

3 points, 0 assists, 2 rebounds

Wade was a step slow defensively tonight. And, he wasn’t active enough on the glass. This was a tough one for Wade fans.

Grade: F

Nae’Qwan Tomlin

7 points, 0 assists, 2 rebounds

Tomlin is settling nicely into his role. He enters every game with tenacity and always has at least one two-way play that gets the crowd involved. All that’s left is to be a bit more tangible in the box sheet.

Grade: B+

Tyrese Proctor

8 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound

The Cavs turned to Proctor for an opening stint in the fourth quarter. He didn’t disappoint. A tough finish in transition, followed shortly by a catch-and-shoot three-pointer, helped the Cavs pull back into this game.

Grade: A+