Player Grades: Cavs vs Hornets – Cleveland outlasts Charlotte in shaky offensive performance

The first home game back after a long road trip can be difficult, as the Charlotte Hornets showed. They came out flat and couldn’t make outside shots as they scored just 32 points in the first half. The Cleveland Cavaliers took advantage of this as they took a 24-point advantage into the break.

The roles were reversed in the second half. The Cavs couldn’t make anything offensively over the final two quarters, which allowed Charlotte back into the game. The Hornets won the second half by 17, but the Cavs were still able to hang on to a less-than-inspiring 94-87 victory.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. A “B” grade would be an average performance for a particular player.

Donovan Mitchell

24 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 8 turnovers

Mitchell struggled to take care of the ball, which is the last thing you want your starting point guard to do. He committed eight of the team’s 21 turnovers and was a large reason why the Cavs struggled in that area so much.

The scoring didn’t counterbalance the lack of ball security. Mitchell had an uncharacteristically inefficient night. He connected on just two of his eight three-point attempts and went 6-12 on shots inside the arc. Needing 20 shots to get to 24 points against a poor Charlotte defense isn’t what we’ve come to expect from Mitchell this season.

This was far from his best game.

Grade: D+

Jaylon Tyson

14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

This wasn’t Tyson’s most efficient scoring night, but he showed up when the Cavs needed him to. Seven of his 14 points came in the fourth quarter when the game was getting away from them. That’s incredibly helpful, even if this wasn’t his best night shooting as he went 1-9 from three and 6-17 from the floor.

Grade: C+

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Evan Mobley

14 points, 14 rebounds, 0 assists

This was a tale of two halves.

Mobley absolutely dominated the first two quarters. He exposed nearly every offensive mismatch that came his way by aggressively driving to the basket. And even when he didn’t have a mismatch, he drove to the basket with ease against a smaller Hornets front court. This led to Mobley going 5-6 on shots in the restricted area in the first half.

That aggressiveness carried over to the defensive end as well. Mobley was disruptive in passing lanes and dominant on the glass as he grabbed 11 rebounds in the first half.

Then, that offensive effectiveness and aggression just went away. He scored only one point in the second half on just two attempts. And while Mobley was still great defensively in the second half, he wasn’t the All-NBA level player he was in the first.

Games like this underline how frustrating the Mobley experience has been this season. Yes, the Hornets were packing the paint much more in the second half, but you’d hope Mobley has the skills to still be a helpful offensive player against a front line that is this inept defensively.

Grade: C

Tyrese Proctor

5 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists

Proctor just looks like an NBA player when he’s on the court. He competed well on the defensive end and isn’t afraid to take threes when he has an opportunity to do so. Both are things you want him to do, but the shot needs to be more consistent. Proctor went just 1-4 from beyond the arc on Wednesday. It’s easy to envision him becoming an incredibly useful player once his three-point shot becomes more consistent.

Grade: C

Craig Porter Jr.

7 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks

Head coach Kenny Atkinson has compared Porter to a power forward before. A game like this shows why it’s a good comparison, and why that might be a problem.

Porter had two blocks on seven-footers on Wednesday. It’s incredibly valuable to have ancillary rim protection from the point-guard position, and that shouldn’t be overlooked.

At the same time, you need your second-string point guard — and really the only point guard who saw minutes on Wednesday with the injury to Darius Garland and Lonzo Ball not playing this game — to do point guard things.

Porter hasn’t consistently done that. He hit two threes, but was mostly a non-factor on that end. He wasn’t able to create separation off-the-dribble, and had as many assists as turnovers (two).

Grade: C

De’Andre Hunter

4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist

This was a weird game for Hunter. He came out aggressively by being an impactful rebounder and did a good job of getting into the chest of his opponent. However, this aggressiveness led to Hunter picking up three personal fouls in the first quarter.

Hunter then took his foot off the gas and was a complete non-factor for the rest of the game. He went 1-6 from the floor and had four turnovers. This led to him playing just a little over 13 minutes.

Grade: F

Jarrett Allen

12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks

Allen had a solid game. He did a good job as an interior defender and provided some much-needed scoring inside.

Grade: B

Nae’Qwan Tomlin

6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists

Tomlin’s three-point shot is by far the worst part of his game. You want him to work on that skill and be comfortable taking that shot when he’s open. At the same time, you’d also prefer if he didn’t put himself in a position where he had to take three-pointers as often as he does. Maybe spotting up at the corner isn’t the best place to be.

That complaint aside, Tomlin was disruptive on the glass. He made an impact with his hustle and energy in that department, which is what he’s on the floor to do.

Grade: B

Larry Nance Jr.

5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist

Nance is good at a lot of little things that could help this team. His screening, effectiveness running dribble handoffs, disruption in passing lanes, offensive rebounding, and his passing ability are all examples of things Nance can do well that the Cavs could use more of at his position. There’s a reason he finished the game as a +14, which was the highest mark for a Cavalier reserve.

This game also showcased why he hasn’t been in the lineup often. Nance was hesitant to take open threes and couldn’t get inside and finish at the rim as effectively as he did in the past. If he’s going to be in the lineup more, he needs to showcase the outside shooting he did last season with the Atlanta Hawks.

Still, this was a good and encouraging showing.

Grade: A-

Dean Wade

4 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists

This was a typical Wade game. He provided good defense, grabbed rebounds, and moved the ball on offense. That’s all you want him to do.

Additionally, I didn’t know Wade could finish a layup off a Euro step. That bumps his grade up half a letter.

Grade: B