{"id":619467,"date":"2026-02-23T08:11:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T08:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/619467\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T08:11:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T08:11:01","slug":"player-grades-cavs-at-thunder-sam-merrills-best-efforts-arent-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/619467\/","title":{"rendered":"Player Grades: Cavs at Thunder \u2013 Sam Merrill\u2019s best efforts aren\u2019t enough"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> lost a gut-check game to the shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder.<\/p>\n

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

Donovan Mitchell<\/p>\n

20 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 turnovers<\/p>\n

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This has historically been a tough matchup for Mitchell. He was able to break free for a relatively efficient game (compared to his previous efforts vs OKC), but there\u2019s no doubt the Thunder remain the best defensive team in the league at hounding Mitchell. He had to fight for everything today and went 0-6 from downtown.<\/p>\n

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

James Harden<\/p>\n

20 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 5 turnovers<\/p>\n

Harden can handle OKC\u2019s ball-pressure a bit better than Mitchell because of his size at 6\u20195\u201d. But this is still a difficult matchup even for Harden. The Cavs struggled to get the ball into the paint, and it\u2019s largely because the Thunder\u2019s strong point-of-attack defense and willingness to drop on pick-and-rolls.<\/p>\n

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I like the Cavs\u2019 chances in this matchup better with Harden, but clearly, beating the champs isn\u2019t going to be easy at any point. Five turnovers knock him down half a grade.<\/p>\n

Grade: B\u2013<\/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

Jarrett Allen<\/p>\n

11 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers<\/p>\n

Allen went scoreless in the first quarter as the Thunder\u2019s frontcourt dictated the terms of engagement. Allen eventually found his groove and played an otherwise strong game.<\/p>\n

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He\u2019s predictably being maligned for the Cavs rebounding issues (though they tied OKC on the glass today). So, I think it\u2019s worth pointing out that Allen had a game-high 6 offensive rebounds.<\/p>\n

But\u2026 I do have to remove half a grade for airballing that free throw.<\/p>\n

Grade: B<\/p>\n

Evan Mobley<\/p>\n

15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal (25 minutes)<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get some context out of the way before I trash Mobley\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

This was only his second game since January 24th. And, he was on a minutes restriction playing against the best defensive frontcourt in the NBA.<\/p>\n

With that said, only 2 rebounds are tough to swallow. Mobley also struggled with OKC\u2019s physicality on offense, being moved off his spots and resorting to three-point attempts in the fourth quarter. The Cavs need him to be more aggressive, getting to the paint or forcing his way to the free-throw line.<\/p>\n

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Grade: D<\/p>\n

Jaylon Tyson<\/p>\n

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

Tyson\u2019s going through an adjustment period, and it\u2019s affected his recent performances. His role is smaller than before, and his impact has felt more scattered.<\/p>\n

Grade: D+<\/p>\n

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Keon Ellis<\/p>\n

9 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals<\/p>\n

I\u2019m loving the Ellis experience. He\u2019s a difference maker on the defensive end. Just follow him on any given possession and watch how he disrupts actions for the opponent. It\u2019s a joy to watch, and he\u2019s a competent enough offensive player to hang in any matchup.<\/p>\n

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

Dennis Schroder<\/p>\n

11 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block<\/p>\n

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Schroder\u2019s scrappiness is something that will always be valuable. His ability to run the pick-and-roll only adds to his value.<\/p>\n

Grade: A+<\/p>\n

Sam Merrill<\/p>\n

20 points, 3 rebounds<\/p>\n

The Cavs fell into a hole early in this game, and Merrill brought them back to life. His momentum-swining three-pointers made this competitive. And, as the day went on, Merrill began attacking closeouts and making great plays inside the perimeter.<\/p>\n

Grade: A<\/p>\n

Dean Wade<\/p>\n

0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block (18 minutes)<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t much room on the court for a player as hesitant as Wade in this matchup. The Thunder pounce on any form of hesitation. Wade is a quality defender and rebounder, but he\u2019s a bad fit offensively against this OKC defense.<\/p>\n

Grade: F<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cleveland Cavaliers lost a gut-check game to the shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder. All grades are based on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3772],"tags":[1289,13456,7,306,305,193,3846,5759,1024,864,576,527,1178,2286,3211,6,310,475,179,1166,3209],"class_list":["post-619467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-aaron-wiggins","tag-alonzo-adams-imagn","tag-basketball","tag-cavaliers","tag-cleveland","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-clevelandcavaliers","tag-dean-wade","tag-dennis-schroder","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-evan-mobley","tag-harden","tag-jarrett-allen","tag-jaylon-tyson","tag-keon-ellis","tag-nba","tag-oklahoma","tag-oklahoma-city","tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","tag-sam-merrill","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116118938730014611","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619467","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=619467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}