{"id":342031,"date":"2025-10-15T05:10:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T05:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/342031\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T05:10:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T05:10:11","slug":"player-grades-cavs-vs-pistons-lonzo-ball-finds-his-groove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/342031\/","title":{"rendered":"Player Grades: Cavs vs Pistons – Lonzo Ball finds his groove"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kenny Atkinson finally picked up his first preseason win with the Cleveland Cavaliers, beating the Detroit Pistons 118-100. It feels good to be done with the preseason with real basketball on the horizon.<\/p>\n

Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.<\/p>\n

9 points (3-5 shooting), 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 20 minutes<\/p>\n

This was the best game Ball has played in a Cavs uniform so far. He delivered a masterclass of two-way play, racking up assists, rebounds and blocks. This type of all-around performance is the reason Cleveland sought out Ball in the offseason.<\/p>\n

The Cavs were at their best tonight when Ball was freestyling in transition. He found a groove, parading up the floor and darting passes to open teammates for a long stretch in the second half. The Pistons had no answer for him \u2014 and he wasn\u2019t even the one scoring the points.<\/p>\n

17 points (6-11 shooting), 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 29 minutes<\/p>\n

Mitchell opened this game strongly with 13 points in the first quarter. He scored in quick succession, ending the first period with a flurry of shots that put the Cavs in front by 11 points. Mitchell\u2019s scoring slowed down as the game went on, but this opening statement set the tone.<\/p>\n

He also swiped three steals tonight. One indicator that Cleveland\u2019s defense is being more aggressive in trying to generate turnovers. The Cavs had 13 steals as a team.<\/p>\n

10 points (4-7 shooting), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 20 minutes<\/p>\n

Merrill made his preseason debut tonight after missing the previous three games with an abductor injury. He joined the starting lineup and immediately showed a new side to his game \u2014 attacking a closeout and converting a floater in the lane.<\/p>\n

The Cavs are hoping that Merrill can become more of a dynamic offensive player while continuing to be a reliable shooter from deep. He won\u2019t have to isolate and create for himself. But simple reads on the ball from time to time would be more than enough. He did that tonight.<\/p>\n

7 points (2-5 shooting), 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 13 minutes<\/p>\n

Kenny Atkinson said that Proctor \u2018changed\u2019 this game when he took the floor. His stats won\u2019t reflect that \u2014 but his gravity as a three-point shooter was certainly felt. And the rookie has fit in seamlessly into Cleveland\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n

The Cavs aren\u2019t in a position to give Proctor any minutes that he hasn\u2019t absolutely earned. At this rate, that won\u2019t be hard. Proctor is quickly turning heads and earning the respect of his teammates.<\/p>\n

14 points (3-6 shooting), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 14 minutes<\/p>\n

Hunter missed the second half of this one after suffering a knee injury in the first half. Even so, he poured in 14 points on 3-6 shooting in his 14 minutes. Hunter has been an automatic bucket throughout the preseason and is in a perfect place to have a career-best season with the Cavs.<\/p>\n

8 points (3-13 shooting), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 33 minutes<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t the best offensive game from Mobley. He struggled to shoot the ball for the first time this preseason, shooting 3-13 from the floor. But he kept shooting. That\u2019s the key.<\/p>\n

Mobley wasn\u2019t afraid to press the issue and work his way out of a slump. He\u2019s going to have nights where he isn\u2019t making shots. But can he continue to be aggressive and unload the clip? That\u2019s what will make him an elite player.<\/p>\n

What he didn\u2019t do on offense, Mobley more than made up for on defense. He smothered the Pistons on numerous possessions, contesting shots at the rim and dipping his hands into the passing lane to break up plays.<\/p>\n

15 points (5-12 shooting), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 28 minutes<\/p>\n

Allen had a weird preseason. He wasn\u2019t super involved in the offense, and it often felt like he was receiving the ball in the wrong spots. An above-the-break three-point attempt and numerous jumpers from the baseline are not the type of stuff we\u2019ve come to expect from Allen.<\/p>\n

Some of this will change when the real games start and everything speeds up. Allen will get more opportunities at the rim when everyone around him is playing a bit faster. Still, at least some of this is due to Darius Garland\u2019s absence. Until DG returns, Allen will have to work harder to get his points.<\/p>\n

10 points (4-7 shooting), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block<\/p>\n

Tyson was in somewhat of an offensive lull this preseason. His jumper had looked totally lost for stretches, including an airball from the corner tonight. But then, after cutting hard to the basket for an easy layup, Tyson finally settled into a groove. He finished the game shooting 2-4 from deep and 4-7 from the floor.<\/p>\n

Cleveland will hope that Tyson can offer more as a catch-and-shoot threat throughout the season. Until then, he\u2019s doing his best to become a deterrent for opposing ball-handlers. He\u2019s been aggressive when defending the point-of-attack and is shaping up to be one of the Cavaliers\u2019 more physical defenders.<\/p>\n

2 points (1-3 shooting), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals<\/p>\n

Porter will have to clean up his defense if he\u2019s going to earn consistent minutes in the NBA. His improved conditioning over the offseason should help him at the point-of-attack and chasing around screens \u2014 but there are still too many defensive breakdowns that begin with him on the ball.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Porter had a few solid moments in the preseason. He\u2019s still a good finisher in space and can capitalize on broken plays. And while he isn\u2019t a sturdy defender, he\u2019s got enough juice to make the occasional highlight play.<\/p>\n

Support us and rep Evan Mobley with Homage!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve partnered with Homage to help provide Cavs fans with the best gear. Anything bought from the links below helps support Fear the Sword while also allowing you to rep the Cavs. You can also shop all Homage Cavs gear HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can grab the Mobley shirt seen above HERE<\/a>.The Mobley trading card shirt can be bought HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

11 points (2-10 shooting), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 steal<\/p>\n

Nance has shown us what to expect from him during the regular season, filling in the gaps as Cleveland\u2019s glue guy on any given night. He didn\u2019t do anything spectacular, but he checked most of the boxes. I\u2019m excited to see how he\u2019ll look when he\u2019s playing more staggered minutes with Cleveland\u2019s stars.<\/p>\n

15 points (5-10 shooting), 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block<\/p>\n

The Cavs have been pressuring Wade to increase his three-point volume for quite some time now. He\u2019s accepted the call in preseason, getting up 10 field goal attempts tonight for 15 points.<\/p>\n

Wade is hard to ignore when he\u2019s playing like this. He\u2019s one of the better, more switchable defenders in the league. And when he shoots with confidence, Wade is a bona fide 3-and-D wing. The Cavs haven\u2019t figured out how to unlock this version of Wade permanently \u2014 but the flashes are always impressive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kenny Atkinson finally picked up his first preseason win with the Cleveland Cavaliers, beating the Detroit Pistons 118-100.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3773],"tags":[7,1236,7814,296,188,3860,6,297],"class_list":{"0":"post-342031","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-pistons","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cavs-analysis","10":"tag-cavs-player-grades","11":"tag-detroit","12":"tag-detroit-pistons","13":"tag-detroitpistons","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-pistons"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115376463888079448","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}