Cavs miracle season has ended.
Well, that sucked.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had a miraculous 64-win season. They improved in every way imaginable. There wasn’t anything more you could ask for during the regular season.
And in five games, it all vanished.
We’ll have all summer to dissect what went wrong. For now, let’s hand out grades for Game 5.
Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
35 points (8-25 shooting), 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers
You can criticize Mitchell for some of his decision-making in this game. It often felt like the Cavaliers were abandoning their offensive identity and reverting to bad habits. The ball was stagnant and Mitchell relied a ton on his pull-up jumper.
With that said, you can’t argue that Mitchell left any gas in the tank. He exerted himself to the end, willing the Cavs back into the game after Indiana threw a third-quarter haymaker.
Mitchell was phenomenal all year. He was especially great in the first three games of this series. It’s a shame it ended so early because this was an incredible season for Mitchell. His grade tonight does not reflect how special he has been as the face of the franchise.
Grade: B+
Darius Garland
11 points (4-16 shooting), 3 assists, 1 rebound
Look, it’s a boldfaced lie to pretend Garland was anywhere near healthy enough to impact this series. He was visibly limping throughout the game and had none of the shiftiness or burst that makes him an elite floor general.
Is that an excuse, or an explanation? You can decide. But it’s ludicrous to pretend his limited mobility was not a factor.
Garland unloaded the clip tonight. Possibly to the team’s detriment. It’s clear that even if the Cavs had extended the series, the All-Star version of Garland would not have been present. It will be a long summer.
Grade: F
Jarrett Allen
9 points (6-11 shooting), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Allen isn’t the guy who pulls the team out of a rut. He has shown a tendency to disappear when things around him are going awry. This resulted in a disappointing end to a postseason where Allen had consistently been outworking the opposing frontcourt. He beat Bam Adebayo in Miami — then outworked Myles Turner for the first three games of this series.
Unfortunately, Allen didn’t do enough to dispel any of the narratives. He’ll have to face the music once again until he proves otherwise.
Grade: F
Evan Mobley
24 points (8-12 shooting), 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Mobley had a special season. He made the jump to being an All-NBA caliber player and won his first Defensive Player of the Year award. All of that translated to the playoffs, where Mobley looked dominant in most of the games he played.
Is he a polished product? No. Mobley has room to grow — and the Cavs could have certainly featured him more often in their offense. Both are true. But Mobley has proven he’s nothing short of legit. He’s not to blame for why the Cavs lost this season.
Grade: A
Ty Jerome
8 points (3-5 shooting), 2 assists, 11 minutes
Jerome more than deserved the DNP he was on pace to earn in this game. He had been awful in his previous minutes against Indiana.
Yet, I found myself screaming at the screen for Jerome to enter the game. He immediately vindicated me when he nailed back-to-back three-pointers in his first minutes.
Then, Jerome vindicated Kenny Atkinson by missing an ill-advised jumper and subsequently committing a bone-headed foul on an and-one conversion from Tyrese Haliburton.
It was a mixed bag from Jerome. But he looked more like himself in the final game of the season.
I’ll never forget the Ty-Phoons he delivered.
Grade: A-
Max Strus
0 points (0-9 shooting), 7 rebounds, 2 assists
Strus was the ultimate role guy for most of this series. He stunk tonight. It’s that simple. He went scoreless when the Cavs needed him most.
He’ll get a bad grade for today. But make no mistake, Strus was otherwise great in this series.
Grade: F
De’Andre Hunter
12 points (5-12 shooting), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Hunter probably should have played more minutes in this game. He definitely should have played more minutes with the core four. All of that feels like wasted potential at this point.
Nonetheless, Hunter was one of the only players who could effectively score tonight for Cleveland. He will be a helpful piece to the puzzle moving forward.
Grade: A-
Dean Wade
4 points (2-3 shooting), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Wade brought his usual defensive integrity but was predictably gun-shy on offense. The Cavs generated nothing through his touches and the Pacers eventually began to shrink the floor as a result.
Wade is a great piece to have as your 9th or 10th rotational player. Things are dire when he’s relied upon for 19 minutes in an elimination game.
Grade: D+
Isaac Okoro
2 points (1-2 shooting), 1 steal, 16 minutes
The Cavs played Okoro meaningful minutes in this game because of his screen-setting. Okoro is alarmingly one of the best screeners in Cleveland and the Cavs needed this to counter Indiana’s full-court pressure.
Still, Okoro’s lack of offensive production was a killer. He wasn’t able to successfully suppress Haliburton, either. It’s hard to see a path forward in Cleveland for Okoro if he can’t make more of his minutes when they matter most.
Grade: D+