Player Characters: Cavs VS Pistons – Defense makes a statement

Cleveland Cavaliers went into this game on a three-game sliding. We’ve seen them dominate all season – but we didn’t know how they would respond to a losing row for the first time this season. Tonight we saw a pretty resounding statement about the defensive end.

Grades are based on our usual expectations of each player.

Donovan Mitchell

21 points (6-12 shooting), 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal

At various points during the season, Mitchell has taken a back seat as the rest of his teammates step in to carry the load. He did it tonight and tried only 12 shots, but was left on the pulse of the violation.

Mitchell chose his spots well. He shot 50% off the floor and released six assists as the stamps had a difficult time containing him. Mitchell’s score throughout helped ease cavaliers to a rhythm, even when their three-point shot did not fall. The team ended only 12-44 from Deep (27%). A game like this could have been brutal if it wasn’t for Mitchell’s effortless shooting.

Character: A-

Evan Mobley

11 points (4-9 shooting), 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 stealing, 2 blocks

Mobley didn’t quite look out in his first match back toward Houston Rockets. He was much closer to the star of the two -way we’ve seen all season tonight. He had moments when Detroit felt hopeless and tried to find an opening. His two blocks do not paint the full picture of how dominant mobley is like an edge protector.

More important is that Mobley pulled in 14 rebounds. Cavs had previously struggled to keep opponents on the glass. They won the rebounding battle tonight largely for Mobley’s efforts.

He was not a huge scoring threat (0-2 from three), but Mobley’s middle-class jumper fell tonight.

Character: B+

Darius Garland

22 points (8-19 shooting), 7 assists, 5 rebounds

Garland remains the engine that drives Cleveland’s violation. He was on top of everything where he created teammates and disks one of the only true bursts of scoring Cavaliers enjoyed all night. Garland’s two triple in the fourth quarter was backbreakers for Detroit.

Cavaliers already have a player in the All-Star game. They should expect mobley to be there too. But if Garland is somehow absent – something has gone wrong. He has been one of the most effective guards in the NBA this season.

Character: A.

Jarrett Allen

15 points (6-10 shooting), 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

It felt like Allen was sleeping in his recent games. That was not the case tonight. He was bombastic in the paint and laughed off the free throwing line. This was one of the more active games that Allen has had all month, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. His Rim Protection was a core cause that Cavs held Detroit to only 91 points, and his constant presence at the other end gave Cavaliers an offensive option than chucking three-pointers.

Character: A+

MAX STRUS

10 points (4-9 shooting), 8 rebounds, 2 assists

Ignore the three-point shooting (2-7). This was the best game Max Strap has played all season. He was incredibly active in defense and drawn Matchup with Cade Cunningham and helped in an attempt to keep him for 9-of-26 shooting. Streric fought for screens, walls defensively and competed each shot. His 8 rebounds were the icing on the cake.

Struse may have fought from deep, as everyone in this game did. But his activity from the ball is what we have come to expect from him. A couple of back door cuts allowed him to break away for light layups in the second half. Couple this with his defense and it was the closest at last season Struse that we’ve seen.

Character: A.

Georges Niang

3 points (1-9 shooting), 3 rebounds

In complete contrast to strus this was possibly worst Games we’ve seen from niang. He was somehow worse defensively than his previous game – despite the fact that Cavaliers held Detroit to almost 40 fewer points than Houston. Niang was unable to contain anyone, unable to grab a rebound and not able to compete with shots without anticipating (five errors in 20 minutes).

To finish it, he shot 1-9 from the floor. You may be able to make the bad defense when he shots down, but it’s hard to see when none of the end of the floor comes together.

Character: f

Ty Jerome

15 points (7-11 shooting), 3 assists, 2 rebounds

Jerome put together one of the most effective scoring performance at night. Remember, Mitchell, Allen and Merrill are the only other cavaliers that shot over 50% from the floor. Jerome’s contribution from the bench is an important reason why Cavs was able to build and maintain a lead against the stamps.

Jerome has had burning hot three-point shooting arrow. This wasn’t one of them. Instead, he worked his way into the paint and converted a handful of floats.

Character: B+

Sam Merrill

8 points (3-6 shooting), 4 rebounds

Merrill is closer to being a three-point specialist than he is an all-round player. Therefore, it is important that he delivers the promise of being an elite protector to justify his minutes. He completed it tonight by beating two triple on a key connection between the game.

Character: B-

Jylon Tyson

5 points (1-4 shooting), 2 rebounds, 2 assists

When Niang gave them nothing and Tristan Thompson was a last resort – Kenny Atkinson gave Rookie a chance. Tyson safely played it by offense, avoided any risks and makes simple readings for two assists. So in defense he played a physical game and gave help on the glass.

It was nothing impressive. But it wasn’t bad either. Something similar could be valuable with the variance that Cleveland has received from their backup -frontcourt depth.

Tyson has hardly played meaningful minutes this season. But … We officially come to the point where he has seen enough of the floor to avoid looking like a deer in the headlights. I am interested in seeing how his games are progressing if he continues to get an opportunity,

Character: C.