Player Grades: Cavs at Heat Game 4
Cavs swept the Heat.
The Cleveland Cavaliers made history as they swept the Miami Heat behind a 55-point victory on the road. It’s almost hard to even grade the performance we just saw.
Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
22 points (8-15 shooting), 5 assists, 1 steal, 25 minutes
I’m gonna tell you right now, the individual box scores won’t reflect how dominant this game was. Mitchell hardly had to play more than half a basketball game for this to be over. As a result, he only had 22 points and 5 assists — but they all came within just 25 minutes.
Mitchell was on fire from the jump. He drilled a handful of three-pointers to build an early Cavalier lead. This was a dominant series from Mitchell overall.
Grade: A+
Jarrett Allen
14 points (5-5 shooting), 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals
Allen was a man possessed in the opening minutes. He had four steals in the first quarter and finished the game with six overall. By halftime, Allen had a double-double and had anchored the Cavaliers on both sides of the floor for a gigantic lead.
This was a great confidence boost for Allen. He took his lumps against New York two years ago and had a strong start in Orlando derailed in Games 3 and 4. A full series of big performances is everything you hoped to see from Allen.
Grade: A+
Evan Mobley
17 points (6-9 shooting), 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Mobley didn’t put up any explosive scoring games in this series but he was a nonstop presence after his clunker in Game 1. He consistently punished Miami for leaving him open from behind the line, burying two three-pointers tonight and eight on the series overall.
Allen and Mobley deserve credit for absolutely dismantling MIami’s attempt at replicating their two-big lineup. This was a no-contest.
Grade: A+
Ty Jerome
18 points (5-8 shooting), 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block
I can’t say there are many concerns left for how Jerome will translate to the playoffs. He was surgical against the Miami Heat and responded to his only bad performance (Game 2) with a pair of strong outings on the road. He recorded a career-high in assists in the previous game and was a flamethrower from deep again tonight.
Jerome makes it look too easy. His floaters and drifting three-pointers were salt in the wound for Miami.
Grade: A+
Sam Merrill
9 points (3-7 shooting), 1 rebound, 1 assist
Merrill hasn’t worried himself with filling Darius Garland’s shoes since joining the starting lineup. He’s still playing his usual minutes and filling the same role. Merrill canned three triples in this game and continued to hold his own defensively.
This might be a lower grade on a different night. But when you finish as a +31...
Grade: A+
Max Strus
3 points (1-6 shooting), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers
This one pains me. I wrote a full breakdown of how special Max Strus was in Game 3. All of that is still relevant if you want to know what an A+ game from Strus looks like.
Tonight wasn’t that. Strus shot 1-6 and turned the ball over twice. He wasn’t much of a factor on offense — though he played sturdy defense.
Again, Strus had his flaws tonight. But I can’t, in good faith, give a negative grade to someone who contributed (at least on one end of the floor) to building a 50-point lead.
Grade: C+
De’Andre Hunter
19 points (6-11 shooting), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal
Hunter began this series with a dud. He followed it up by unloading the chamber in each game on the road. His shot-making was laughable in Miami. Hunter relentlessly fired from deep and consistently dotted the eye of any defender who dared to give him space. He wasn’t very active on the glass tonight but it didn’t matter. Hunter’s scoring was far too much for Miami to overcome.
Grade: A+
Dean Wade
5 points (2-3 shooting), 7 rebounds
Wade scored his first points of the playoffs tonight. Seriously. He had gone scoreless in the previous three outings.
In previous years, this could have been a detrimental outcome for the Cavs. But now? Wade is the cherry on top of an elite eight-man rotation. Wade coming off the bench, grabbing seven rebounds, applying phenomenal defensive pressure on the wing and hitting a three-pointer is an embarrassment of riches for the Cavs.
Grade: A+
The clean-up crew
This one is for Isaac Okoro, Craig Porter Jr, Tristan Thompson, Jaylon Tyson, Javonte Green and Chuma Okeke.
It’s not easy to keep your foot on the gas when the opponent has waved the white flag and you’re essentially playing meaningless minutes in a series that is moments away from ending. But the clean-up crew played the entire fourth quarter and actually built on the lead the A-Team had created.
They fell just shy of recording the biggest win in NBA Playoff history (58 points) but we’ll give them credit for even getting there in the first place. They led this game by 60 points at one stage.