Los Angeles Clippers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Postgame Grades and Analysis
Hosting the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers found their stride out of the gate, quickly taking the lead and hanging on for the 105-94 victory. The win marks their 12th straight, the longest active win streak in the league.
LeBron James paced the Cavs to the blowout victory, which was far more lopsided than the final score suggests. The superstar forward posted a near double-double despite playing limited minutes.
With strong ball movement—Cleveland assisted on 23 of their 31 field goals—and stellar free-throw shooting, the Cavaliers were able to pull away early, never relenting as Los Angeles dropped its second straight contest.
| LeBron James | A |
| Kevin Love | A- |
| Kyrie Irving | C+ |
| Timofey Mozgov | B+ |
| Rest of Team | B |
| Chris Paul | C+ |
| Blake Griffin | B |
| DeAndre Jordan | B- |
| Jamal Crawford | B- |
| Rest of Team | C |
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James: A
In the contest's opening quarter, LeBron assumed the role of facilitator, finding open teammates along the three-point line and underneath as he drew pressure away from them.
After dishing out six first-quarter assists, though, the reckless abandon that describes James' drives to the rim began translating into scores. He finished the night with 23 points, blowing by any defender L.A. placed on him and the help in both the half-court and transition offenses.
With efficiency also on his side—James went 8-of-14 and posted nine assists to just two turnovers, all in 27 minutes—LeBron enjoyed another stellar night even if history suggested that he would struggle.
Kevin Love: A-
The highlight of Kevin Love's night came in the first quarter when he served as the Cavaliers' go-to scorer. He racked up 10 of his 24 points in the opening period, having found his groove from beyond the arc as well as from the paint.
Though he remained quiet from the floor following his initial outburst, Love continued to attack L.A.'s interior tandem–which has never been noted for its off-ball defense—as he found his way to the line consistently; he went 10-of-12 from the stripe.
He also added nine boards, playing his part in giving Cleveland the rebounding advantage despite DeAndre Jordan's big night on the glass.
Kyrie Irving: C+
Unlike LeBron and Love, Kyrie Irving was hardly a dynamic offensive piece. In fact, he posted the lowest scoring total in the starting lineup, going for 10 points on 1-of-5 shooting.
It wasn't until the third quarter that he connected on his lone field goal, scoring the bulk of his points from the charity stripe, where he went 7-of-7.
James, who created plenty of open looks with his high-intensity drives, took over the facilitating duties, relegating Irving to stretching the floor as a spot-up shooter, a role that hardly worked in his favor given his inefficient clip.
Timofey Mozgov: B+
Cleveland put an immense amount of pressure on its bigs from the start on both ends of the floor. Though Love was the team's primary scoring spark in the opening minutes, it was Mozgov who anchored the team's defense.
Blake Griffin and Chris Paul sought to attack the rim early, but Mozgov's presence underneath the basket led to underwhelming shooting clips from both of them.
Offensively, the Cavs ran possessions through the post on more than one occasion, with Mozgov scoring 12 on 5-of-7 shooting while also creating open opportunities for teammates along the perimeter.
Rest of Team: B
J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert—Cleveland's newest additions—each offered up respectable performances, succeeding in their individual niches.
Smith went 50 percent from the floor, scoring 16 points and providing Cleveland with the catch-and-shoot option that opened up the middle. Smith also had one of his best defensive nights of the season, totaling five steals and starting a handful of fast breaks.
Shumpert had a pair of steals, taking one to the hole while the other was swiped away during the transition attempt.
Also off the bench, Tristan Thompson scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds, as well as blocking a pair of shots in his 20 minutes on the court.
The rest of the bench let the lead dwindle down slightly during garbage time, though not enough to spoil the lead established by Cleveland's stars.
Los Angeles Clippers
Chris Paul: C+
Outside of his incredible assist-to-turnover ratio (nine to zero), Chris Paul struggled mightily from start to finish.
With Cleveland's defensive anchors taking away the option to drive, Paul shot more than he usually does. He also took far more contested jumpers than usual.
The result was a 4-of-14 mark that left him frustrated, to the point where he served up one of the season's best flagrant fouls to date.
Though the team was outplayed as a whole, Paul certainly can shoulder a large portion of the blame for his inefficient scoring.
Blake Griffin: B
With Blake Griffin, every possession was completely unpredictable against the Cavs.
Often, Mozgov's defensive presence pushed Griffin out of the post, where he settled for jumpers and turnaround fadeaways—neither of which proved to be reliable.
However, Griffin also had his fair share of strong plays in the post, including a pair of tip-ins as well as a series of scores off post moves that highlighted his unique athleticism and footwork.
Though he could have offered more defensively—he was lackluster both in his on-ball defense and as a help defender—Griffin (16 points, eight rebounds and four assists) wasn't nearly the most broken part of Los Angeles' Thursday night attack.
DeAndre Jordan: B-
These days, DeAndre Jordan seems to be a nightly lock for double-digit rebounds and efficient—though not plentiful—scoring. Such was the case Thursday night, as Jordan went for 14 boards and eight points (3-of-4 FG).
However, what can make or break Jordan's game is his defensive contributions. Though he can protect the rim with his incredible length and athleticism, his off-ball defense has been scrutinized in the past. A similar narrative unfolded from the opening tip as the Cavs' bigs slipped by him on a handful of occasions.
Love's ability to stretch the floor also had Jordan in a defensive funk, as Love made it rain from deep in the opening half, pump-faking Jordan straight out of the gym.
Jamal Crawford: B-
Taking J.J. Redick's spot in the starting lineup, Jamal Crawford began the game strongly, providing the Clippers' first team with the dynamic offense usually seen off the bench.
However, after opening the game with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, Crawford went cold. His jumper was off as he finished the night with a 6-of-14 clip. He went just 1-of-6 from downtown, ultimately posting just 13 points.
Rest of Team: C
Once again, the Clippers struggled to find consistency in the second unit. Especially with Crawford in the starting lineup, the bench wasn't nearly the force it needed to be.
Austin Rivers had another respectable performance, posting 11 points and a team-high plus-11. However, Spencer Hawes (10 points) was the only other Clipper to score in double digits.
In the starting lineup, Matt Barnes was once again a liability. He was a zero on offense while his defense fell short of all expectations before he was ejected in the third quarter.
Up Next
Cleveland will look to continue its streak on Friday, when the team travels to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers. Though LeBron has had a rivalry with Indiana dating back to his days in Miami, the Pacer team on display remains lottery-bound without Paul George at the helm.
So far, the teams have met just once, with the Cavs edging their division rival by 12 behind Kevin Love's 28 points.
The Clippers are also lined up to play the second half of a back-to-back Friday when they take on the Toronto Raptors in the fifth game of their eight-contest road trip. Though the two squads boast similar records, the Raptors have fared only average against Western Conference opponents. Even with Los Angeles entering the night on the heels of a bad loss, momentum hardly favors Toronto, who will look to avoid losing its third straight game.
