{"id":615424,"date":"2026-02-21T08:32:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T08:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/615424\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T08:32:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T08:32:55","slug":"player-grades-cavs-at-hornets-donovan-mitchell-turns-in-his-100th-30-point-game-as-a-cavalier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/615424\/","title":{"rendered":"Player Grades: Cavs at Hornets \u2013 Donovan Mitchell turns in his 100th 30+ point game as a Cavalier"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> extend their win streak to seven after a narrow win over the Charlotte Hornets.<\/p>\n

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

Donovan Mitchell<\/p>\n

32 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals<\/p>\n

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Mitchell started this game 4-15. But, as we\u2019ve seen all season, Mitchell turned it on when the Cavs needed him most. He shot 5-8 the rest of the way and finished with his 100th 30-point game as a Cavalier.<\/p>\n

Grade: A\u2013<\/p>\n

James Harden<\/p>\n

18 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal<\/p>\n

Harden is dishing the rock with efficiency since joining the Cavs. He had another 8 assists tonight as the Cavalier offense feels more potent than it\u2019s been all season with him at the helm. We only wish he could have grabbed a few more rebounds or been sharper off the ball defensively.<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/p>\n

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Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can also shop all of Homage\u2019s Cavs gear HERE<\/a>. The link to the new City Edition shirt can be found HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Jarrett Allen<\/p>\n

26 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block<\/p>\n

Allen hasn\u2019t let up on any opponent for weeks now. He put his head down and attacked the paint over and over again tonight as the Hornets didn\u2019t have enough bodies to stop him. If he hadn\u2019t hauled in 14 rebounds, the Cavs would have lost this one. Bravo, Allen. This aggression has been a joy to watch.<\/p>\n

Grade: A+<\/p>\n

Jaylon Tyson<\/p>\n

5 points, 1 rebound<\/p>\n

Tyson\u2019s role has changed significantly now that Harden is here. That means we\u2019ll likely have to adjust how we grade him. He simply isn\u2019t getting as many opportunities. That said, Cleveland could have used a better effort on the glass.<\/p>\n

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Grade: B-<\/p>\n

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Keon Ellis<\/p>\n

4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals<\/p>\n

I\u2019m convinced that Ellis can clone himself and appear multiple places at once. That\u2019s the only way to explain some of the defensive plays he comes up with.<\/p>\n

Grade: A\u2013<\/p>\n

Thomas Bryant<\/p>\n

2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks<\/p>\n

Bryant had some highs and lows. His block in the third quarter was electric, but he might have been a step too slow for a fast-paced matchup like this.<\/p>\n

Grade: B-<\/p>\n

Dennis Schroder<\/p>\n

8 points, 3 assists, 3 steals<\/p>\n

Schroder continues to be a pest. He came up with two big steals in the second half and has given the Cavs bench an edge that they\u2019ve been missing.<\/p>\n

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Grade: A-<\/p>\n

Sam Merrill<\/p>\n

10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists<\/p>\n

Merrill had more success tonight. He hit 2-of-4 three-point attempts and had a nice backdoor cut early in the first half.<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/p>\n

Dean Wade<\/p>\n

8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal<\/p>\n

Wade hit consecutive three-pointers in the fourth quarter to close this out. He hasn\u2019t missed a shot since returning from the All-Star break.<\/p>\n

Grade: A+<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cleveland Cavaliers extend their win streak to seven after a narrow win over the Charlotte Hornets. All…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3777],"tags":[7,684,473,3878,193,5759,1024,864,527,685,1178,2286,3211,6,1166,362],"class_list":{"0":"post-615424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-charlotte-hornets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-charlotte","10":"tag-charlotte-hornets","11":"tag-charlottehornets","12":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","13":"tag-dean-wade","14":"tag-dennis-schroder","15":"tag-donovan-mitchell","16":"tag-harden","17":"tag-hornets","18":"tag-jarrett-allen","19":"tag-jaylon-tyson","20":"tag-keon-ellis","21":"tag-nba","22":"tag-sam-merrill","23":"tag-thomas-bryant"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116107700710582256","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615424","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=615424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}