Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards: Postgame Grades and Analysis
John Wall scored 28 points and the Washington Wizards upended the Cleveland Cavaliers, 91-78, in a potential playoff preview at the Verizon Center on Friday night.
The Wizards led by double figures for most of the second half, leading by as much as 16.
The loss marked the third straight for the Cavaliers.
| LeBron James | C+ |
| Kevin Love | D |
| Kyrie Irving | B+ |
| Anderson Varejao | C+ |
| Dion Waiters | F |
| Rest of Team | F |
| John Wall | A+ |
| Bradley Beal | B+ |
| Paul Pierce | B+ |
| Marcin Gortat | C- |
| Nene | B |
| Rest of Team | A |
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James: C+
Chalk up another lackluster performance for LeBron James.
James shot 8-of-21 (38 percent) in the loss, going 2-of-7 from three-point range. Several of his misses from three were good looks, but you just got the feeling that he was settling. Moreover, he missed three of his seven free-throw attempts.
LeBron also expressed some frustration in the fourth quarter, walking back on defense a couple of times. Per Cavs beat reporter Chris Haynes:
He finished with a okay line of 22 points, four boards and four assists, but he was unable to truly leave his fingerprints on this contest.
Kevin Love: D
Make no mistake about it: Kevin Love is lost.
This may have been the most uncomfortable the big man has looked all season. He spent most of his time in the corner waiting for a kickout, and while he knocked down a pair of triples, he was just not engaged at all. Washington Post reporter Jorge Castillo quotes Marcin Gortat on the Cavs' play:
Love also took a couple of uncharacteristically wild shots in the paint that didn't even come close.
He finished with eight points off 3-of-8 shooting and also tallied eight rebounds and four turnovers.
Kyrie Irving: B+
Kyrie Irving was Cleveland's best player on this night.
He scored 22 points and made several tough layups to keep the Cavaliers in the game during the second half. He also got to the charity stripe, going 8-of-10 from the line.
However, Irving still took some ill-advised shots, particularly from beyond the arc where he went 0-of-6.
Also, while he did pull down six rebounds, the Duke product doled out a measly two assists. He needs to start facilitating better ball movement.
Anderson Varejao: C+
Anderson Varejao played a so-so game.
He made some nice passes and showed a clear willingness to share the ball, which was good, but he missed badly on several mid-range jumpers and ended up shooting 4-of-10.
Varejao almost recorded a double-double, though, posting 10 points and nine boards.
He curiously did not play during the fourth quarter.
Dion Waiters: F
When you have been supplanted by Joe Harris on the depth chart, you know something is wrong.
Dion Waiters did not get into the game until the second quarter, and when he did, he did nothing to invalidate his coach's decision to roll with Harris ahead of him.
Waiters played poor defense and went 1-of-7 from the floor in 22 minutes. You have to wonder if he factors into Dave Blatt's plans this season.
Rest of Team: F
What else is there to say? Cleveland's supporting cast was awful once again. CSN Washington's Ben Standig notes Blatt had this to say:
It took until the latter stages of the third quarter for the reserves to actually score, and they did little else to make up for their lack of offensive production.
To put things into perspective, Tristan Thompson, the Cavs' top bench player, had four points and five fouls in 27 minutes.
If F-minuses existed, the Cavaliers' role players would get one.
Washington Wizards
John Wall: A+
John Wall was the best player on the floor in this one.
The young floor general lit it up, scoring 28 points off 12-of-20 shooting. Seventeen of those points came during the third quarter when Wall burned the Cavaliers with mid-range jumpers the entire period. Cleveland gave him a cushion, and he took advantage of it.
Wall also collected seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Talk about an all-around game.
Bradley Beal: B+
Bradley Beal came off the bench in his second game back from wrist surgery, and once again, he looked solid.
While Beal didn't light it up from downtown (he took two threes and made both), he had a nice all-around game, tallying 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
He did a fine job defensively, and the fact that he is always a threat to bury a three-pointer helped spread the floor.
Paul Pierce: B+
Paul Pierce was a savvy, veteran presence.
The former finals MVP did a great job on LeBron, limiting him all night and forcing him into perimeter jumpers or tough, contested layups.
He recorded nine points and five boards, going 4-of-7 from the field. Pierce also drew charges on back-to-back possessions during a key stretch of the second quarter.
Marcin Gortat: C-
Marcin Gortat was fairly quiet.
The Polish Hammer scored only four points off 2-of-6 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, making minimal impact on the offensive glass (he had two offensive boards).
Gortat did a fair job in rim protection, blocking one shot and contesting a couple of others, but we have definitely seen better games from the big man.
Nene: B
Nene did not shoot the ball particularly well (5-of-11), but his defense on Love was certainly commendable.
Nene used his strength to push Love off the block several times and bullied him and the rest of the Cavs frontcourt to grab some rebounds in traffic.
You also have to like the way Nene passed the ball, picking up four assists.
He added 10 points and seven boards.
Rest of Team: A
You had to like what Washington's role players were able to do in this one, particularly Kevin Seraphin.
Seraphin went for 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 23 minutes, torturing Cleveland's frontcourt all night. He played the role of bully off the bench.
Andre Miller, Otto Porter Jr. and Kris Humphries combined for 16 points off the pine. Miller made a couple of big layups off great cuts early in the fourth quarter.
What's Next?
The Cavaliers will play the Toronto Raptors at home Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Wizards will head on the road to take on the Milwaukee Bucks, also on Saturday.
