CAVS GRADES! Report Cards for each member of the Cleveland Cavaliers (so far)
The Cleveland Cavaliers are more than halfway through the 2023 24 NBA season but let’s use the All-Star break as an opportunity to reflect on what we’ve seen so far and hand out midterm report cards to each member of the Cavaliers we’ll start with the players who have shown their potential this year but
Still have some work to do before earning a passing grade Darius Garland and Max stru are no doubt two of the most important players on the roster but I need to see a little more from both of them in the back half of the Season Garland is the star pupil who hasn’t
Been turning in his homework struggling to excel in the same ways we’ve seen before DG’s stats are down across the board shooting a career low 33% from Deep with an assist to turnover ratio nearly matching his abysmal rookie season Garland hasn’t been the efficient floor General we have come to know in
Love taking poor care of the ball and lacking his usual juice from behind the arc it has been an injury riddled season for DG that’s made it hard to establish a rhythm but thankfully Garland’s had one of the best assist to turnover ratios in the NBA since returning from his
Fractured jaw the three-point accuracy hasn’t returned to form just yet but Darius is connecting on a career-high 54% on his attempts from two-point range and has jumped to a 68% finisher in the paint this is nearly 10% better than his previous career high so while season has
Been a rough one for DG there’s still a chance he can make it all up in the final semester the same can be said for Max Shu who is also shooting a career low 33% from downtown he has been the definition of a streaky shooter with eight games of five plus three-pointers
And another eight games of zero three-pointers all in the same season streu is still thriving as a glue guy in Cleveland’s starting lineup Bridging the Gap offensively between the front and back court with the 17th highest plus minus in the entire NBA his value as a force spacer was exactly what the Cavs
Needed even if shots aren’t falling right now a hot streak from streu or Garland at the right time could lift the Cavaliers through an entire round of the playoffs they have each had their moments of greatness throughout the year but to pass the class they’re going to
Have to put in some extra credit down the stretch so who has already earned a gold star for the Cavaliers I think Donovan Mitchell Jared Allen and head coach JB bicker staff deserve the highest score so far and again keep in mind I’m only grading them for the first half of the
Season this could all change depending on the playoffs another first round elimination would not bode well for anybody but since facing the edge of a cliff back in December JB bicker staff has done a fine job winning back some Goodwill with the fan base his most effective skill as a coach is getting
His players to buy into his system and with injuries sending the Cavs rotation into a spiral it was JB’s culture and the power of friendship that helped turn this season around the Cavs are playing radically different basketball from a year ago attempting more three-pointers and modernizing their offense JB
Deserves a ton of credit for bringing this Vision to life as he preached this exact play style all summer long then there’s Donovan Mitchell who deserves the gold star more than anyone else in Cleveland he’s a legit M VP candidate having possibly the best season of his career made his life miserable as
Mitchell displays some range he now is three for three from Deep while Mitchell shot the ball better last year he’s playing a better allaround game than we’ve ever seen from him reaching New Heights as a playmaker and exerting himself defensively to be a positive impact on that end of the floor let’s
Face it without Donovan Mitchell the Cavs would probably be competing for a playin spot rather than securing the second best record in the conference put it on the floor and how about that spectacular the last gold star goes to Jared Allen who had his reputation drugged through the mud more than anyone
Else after last year’s collapse in the playoffs Allen has done everything in his power to remind everyone how dominant he can be as a defensive anchor Allen has led the charge as Cleveland Works to reclaim the best defensive rating in the NBA and his growth on offense should not go
Overlooked he’s playing above the break operating dribble handoffs and knocking down mid-range jumpers Allen is turning into everything the Cavs need from the center position he’s about four or five feet away from being a legit FL spacer which is something I would have never predicted but at just 25 years old it
Could very well be in the cards for Jared Allen passes I’m not missing AAR come on he said why not why not me let’s shift gears now and talk about the other side of the grading scill George neang and Damen Jones are on the fast track to summer school if things don’t
Turn their way while Nang has had some big moments for the Cavs and undoubtedly brought the grit and toughness the locker room was missing his actual contributions on the court have been hit or miss and I mean that literally Nang is a welcomed addition when his shots
Are falling but his minutes get really ugly really quickly when his three-point shot is off he’s as vulnerable as anyone in the NBA defensively and the’s Gunner archetype leads to some shot attempts that only look good when they go inang misses B sun with the rebound now I’m a fan of the process
Over the results so nang’s willingness to shoot is actually a good thing in my book and despite some truly awful shooting stretches yangang is at a 35% clip from downtown which places him roughly League average even if it’s below his usual 40% Mark I think playing
Theing in the postseason is going to be difficult because he is a weak point defensively and hasn’t had enough consistency on offense to be trusted ultimately the Cav should be able to afford giving neang a few opportunities just because of the way Dean Wade has been playing if there’s anything Wade
And the bench Squad needs to do it’s exactly what they’ve been doing Wade has emerged as one of the most reliable two-way Wings a second unit can ask for offering the Cav some switchability defensively due to his 69 frame and athleticism Wade has always been a sturdy Defender but he’s on another
Level this season and he’s shooting a career high at roughly 40% from Deep on four attempts per game Wade’s uptick and confidence has made him a legit catch and shoot weapon for the Cavaliers and his ability to defend multiple positions as well as chip in on the glass makes
Wade one of the most valuable me members of this team other players in the second unit from sixthman Carris Levert to the undrafted Craig Porter Jr have been getting the job done too Levert remains a streaky scorer but has relentlessly worked on his game to fit what the
Cavaliers need from him he’s given the Cavs another sound switchable Defender and Levert does a fantastic job accepting secondary ball handling responsibilities the more guys you have that can pass shoot and dribble the better your team is and Levert checks all of those boxes while being a quality
Defender someone like Sam Merill might only check one of those boxes but he does so with authority Merill is honestly one of the best Shooters on the planet and his presence makes the entire offense open up Merill is a lights out motion shooter and watching him play off
Of Cleveland Stars has been an absolute treat I don’t know how many minutes Merill can steal from the backourt rotation once the playoffs begin but I do know that a limited leash won’t change his approach if Merill is on the floor he’s shooting the ball he’s currently attempting the most
Three-pointers per 100 possessions in NBA history so Sam Merill keep doing what you’re doing we have two categories remaining so let’s get this one out of the way Tristan Thompson is unfortunately the student who cheated on the final exam and since he has already been caught cheating multiple times before we should
Have known it was too good to be true when he handed in such a fantastic first half of the Season Tristan was suspended 25 games after failing a test for performance-enhancing drugs and jokes aside I hope TT is able to return and match even a fraction of what he was
Given Cleveland before because his hustle and commitment to grabbing every missed field goal is a joy to watch window’s Thompson with and now let’s break down our final category the players who are trending upward Evan Mobley and Isaac quo didn’t have the start of the semester they hoped for but
They put in the work on the study guides and have turned it all around in a hurry aoro is a player I have irrationally defended for years and now I’m not feeling so irrational Coro who leaks out and TOS it down and draws the foul aoro is shooting 40% from the three-point
Line and is attempting them from all around the ark he’s handling the ball with confidence taking Defenders off the dribble and either finishing at The Rim or dishing to his teammates auro is finishing 61% of his attempts in the paint and is near the top of the league
In points per possessions when attacking in transition all the while he is grown as a Defender going from an elite point of attack presence to a legit all defense caliber player auro accepts the toughest individual matchups in the entire NBA and he’s passing each test with flying colors at this rate aoro is
As important as any other role player in Cleveland and he just turned 23 in January then there’s Evan Mobley who won’t be 23 until later this summer and while his stats don’t suggest a leap has taken place anyone watching this young man can see the Improvement that has
Taken shape from year to year Mo’s added weight over the off season has made him more difficult to keep away from the rim and he’s converting a career-high on his attempts from two-point range MO is still a freak athlete with the agility to do stuff like this jump out of the gym saw
Last but he’s now added the strength needed to fight contact like this also and he’s one of the most insane Defenders I have ever seen treating grown men like toddlers here’s Amar Ruiz that ball was just taken away Moy missed a month with a knee injury and spent that time refining his
Jump shot he’s now shooting 41% from Deep this year and made more threes in February than the previous months of the Season combined Moy isn’t a sharpshooter just yet but the hitch in his jump shot has disappeared and he’s making Defenders respect him one way or another’s down 15 the three he’s gone
From a 67% free throw shooter to a 75% clip this season suggesting that where there is smoke there is fire Mo’s offensive leap is going to look different from what we usually see from Young Stars since he is sharing the court with so many other ball dominant
Players rather than the lone force on a lottery team but make no mistake Moy is slowly Gathering all of the Infinity Stones and if his development stays on this trajectory he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with over the next few years in summary the first half of the
Season has been an A+ for the Cavaliers even if they started much slower than they had hoped a little bit of adversity was the best thing that could have happened for this team they’ve only grown closer over the last few months while the playoffs will be their true
Test they’ve put in the necessary work to feel good about their chances this time Around
Handing out mid-term report cards for each player on the Cleveland Cavaliers!
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