{"id":702442,"date":"2026-04-07T02:43:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702442\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T02:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:43:19","slug":"winners-and-losers-cavs-at-grizzlies-depth-shines-in-third-straight-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702442\/","title":{"rendered":"Winners and Losers: Cavs at Grizzlies \u2013 Depth shines in third straight win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\">A shorthanded <a href=\"http:\/\/fearthesword.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cleveland Cavaliers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Cleveland Cavaliers&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> beat the Memphis Grizzlies on the second night of a back-to-back. Let\u2019s go over today\u2019s winners and losers.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER \u2013 Keon Ellis<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">This was a fantastic 48 hours for Keon Ellis.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">He started the week by nailing 3-of-7 three-point attempts in Cleveland\u2019s win over the Pacers. Then, he followed it up with another big shooting night on the road \u2014 scoring 16 points and nailing another three three-pointers in the first half against Memphis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">We\u2019ve seen shades of Ellis that we didn\u2019t even know existed. The three-point stroke is pure, but some of his on-ball attacks have really surprised me. In particular, he had a drive out of the baseline that turned into a totally unexpected across-his-body dunk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">This rangy athleticism has made Ellis the type of player who can rack up steals and blocks. But seeing him use it on the drive is just as exciting. He\u2019s quickly filling in offensively as another multifaceted guard who can shoot, cut, dribble, and attack the basket.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>WINNER \u2013 Jarrett Allen Handles<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Life is always better when Allen is on the court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Allen\u2019s been the heart and soul of the Cavaliers this season. He put that on full display once again tonight with a handful of jaw-dropping plays.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">We had a few to choose from. His monster block in the first half, followed by an and-one finish, was pretty sweet. But I have to shout out this filthy behind-the-back move into a thunderous dunk as the play of the night.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER \u2013 Nae\u2019Qwan Tomlin and Craig Porter Jr.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Porter and Tomlin were two unlikely heroes earlier in the season. Their timely contributions helped the Cavs stay above water during a treacherous start to the year. Since then, the team has slightly moved past the need for them.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Tonight was different.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">This was probably the best game that either of them has played since before the All-Star break. Tomlin, especially, delivered a much-needed performance to prove that converting his contract was worth it. Tomlin was everywhere, gobbling up 4 offensive rebounds and 9 boards overall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Tomlin\u2019s energy can raise the floor for this team. We saw it a bunch in the \u2018ber months. He\u2019s had a more difficult time staying on the court recently \u2014 but his work ethic remains his greatest strength. Tomlin simply wouldn\u2019t take no for an answer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">As for Porter, he continues to play bigger than his size. Brad Duaghtery referred to him as \u201clittle Wemby\u201d tonight. And, while yes, that\u2019s an insane thing to say. Is he entirely wrong\u2026? Porter is better at blocking shots and grabbing boards than he is at being a modern-NBA point guard. He\u2019s a big man stuck in a 6\u20191\u201d frame.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Quirky comparisons aside, Porter helped fuel a comeback run for the Cavs with his rebounding and strong defensive impact. Porter had 2 blocks and 2 steals to go with 8 rebounds.<\/p>\n<p>LOSER \u2013 Three-Point Defense<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">I mean, come on, Cavs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">There\u2019s only so much you can say at this point. Even with injuries across the board for both teams \u2014 one simple truth remains. Opposing teams can light them up from downtown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The Grizzlies entered this game 21st in three-point percentage. That didn\u2019t stop them from shooting 29-59 from deep in this one. That\u2019s tied for the most three-pointers in NBA history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">I can\u2019t stress enough how much leeway I\u2019ve given the Cavs in recent years when it comes to defending the three-point line. I fully understand that three-point variance can paint an inaccurate picture on any given night.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">But we are long past the point of blaming luck on anything happening to the Cavs this season. If a team ties history against you, it\u2019s time to face the music.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Of course, neither team was anywhere near full strength. That adds a dose of unpredictability that I\u2019m willing to acknowledge. However, the Cavs remain near the bottom of the league in terms of opponent three-point shooting. That\u2019s a full-season trend that\u2019s impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Memphis Grizzlies on the second night of a back-to-back. Let\u2019s go over&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3772],"tags":[7,306,305,193,3846,14901,568,1178,3211,177,30021,6,2474],"class_list":{"0":"post-702442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-cavaliers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cavaliers","10":"tag-cleveland","11":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","12":"tag-clevelandcavaliers","13":"tag-craig-porter-jr","14":"tag-getty-images","15":"tag-jarrett-allen","16":"tag-keon-ellis","17":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","18":"tag-naeqwan-tomlin","19":"tag-nba","20":"tag-wemby"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116361131658498950","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702442","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=702442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}