Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons player grades

Player grades for Cavs-Pistons.

LeBron James: A

James was overall efficient and had another well-rounded performance. He also didn’t commit any of the sloppy turnovers he did against the Pacers on Friday.

J.R. Smith: A-

A 4-7 three-point shooting night for Smith, plus solid defense, is exactly what the Cavs want from him.

Isaiah Thomas: B+

Thomas didn’t play in the fourth quarter, and still had some rough moments. But he looked to pass more overall and kept the Cavs ahead in the third quarter with a 10-point quarter. A season-high seven assists against one turnover was good, too.

Kevin Love: B+

Offensively, Love was again excellent. He, however, gets dinged for his poor defense on Pistons forward Anthony Tolliver, particularly in the first quarter when Tolliver scored 12 points and Love repeatedly lost him.

Tristan Thompson: B

He didn’t impact the game as much as he did against the Pacers, but he scored on Andre Drummond a few times and made the Pistons track him on the break.

Kyle Korver: A-

Korver finished with 11 points off the bench and found more room to work than he has at any point recently. He was key in the fourth quarter.

Jeff Green: B-

Green defended well, but finished 2-6 from the field. He did throw down this dunk though:

Derrick Rose: C

Rose played just nine minutes and at one point attacked the Pistons 1 vs. 5. He didn’t do any damage, but really didn’t make an impact.

Jae Crowder: A-

In 26 minutes — 10 more than he played against the Pacers — Crowder attacked the rim instead of settling for outside shots, rebounded and defended well. He was part of the LeBron-plus-bench mob that dominated the fourth quarter, too.

Channing Frye: A

Frye provides spacing for every lineup he’s in and, against the Pistons, rebounded and defended well. Plus, his put-back dunk may have been the highlight of the night:

Performances like this are why he should be in the rotation.