Player Grades: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons

Here are your player grades from the Cleveland Cavaliers 125-114 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Derrick Rose: A+

He was one of the few that didn’t screw up, by not playing.

Channing Frye: A

FREE CHANNING! Frye can hold his head upd after this loss, as he contributed 20 points on 6-9 shooting. While his defense wasn’t strong, he managed to be a steady contributor on a night where those were hard to find.

Dwyane Wade: A

Wade was a +15 on a night where the Cavs lost by 11, which isn’t an easy feat to pull off. The bench provided a strong contribution in this game, while the team was a -26 in the minutes Wade was off the floor. But we’ll get into Isaiah Thomas later.

Jeff Green: B

And now we reach the drop-off. Green was solid, but didn’t see much action. After the injury to Love, you would figure front court minutes would open up. Frye’s play may have had something to do with it, as the team didn’t play without a five at any point. But it still would have been nice to see a few more minutes for him.

Jae Crowder: B-

Crowder often gets blown by on the perimeter, which can either be his fault or a failure of the team’s overall defensive communication. There are glimpses of better play from him, but Detroit took advantage of him too many times on that end of the floor.

Tristan Thompson: B-

Like Crowder, Thompson was manhandled at times on the defensive end of the floor. The new and improved Andre Drummond scored 12 points and collected 12 boards with Thompson on the floor, shooting 71 percent with him on and 80 percent with him off. The Cavs know they’ll get beat up by physical bigs when Tristan sits, but that mark is unacceptable for when he is on the court.

Kyle Korver: B -

The Cavs are still struggling to get Korver going, even with Frye returning to the second unit. They must prioritize finding ways to get him open looks as they try to tread water with Love out.

LeBron James: C

First half: B to B+, second half was a disaster. It seemed as though LeBron was broken by the news the team received at halftime regarding Kevin Love. LeBron only made 2 of his 7 shots in the second half, and went 0-2 in the fourth quarter with a few costly turnovers. He checked out and the Pistons ran away with the game.

Isaiah Thomas: C-

Thomas made up for his 3-10 shooting night by going 12-13 from the free throw line, but his overall impact was disruptive once again. He turned the ball over 6 times to his 5 assists, and finished with a team-worst -25 in the box score. He is still trying to find ways to make an impact within the flow of the offense, rather than hijacking it.

J.R. Smith: D

Third time wasn’t the charm as Smith returned to being a non-factor after two strong performances. He’ll get more touches with Love out (hopefully), so that may help him find his rhythm.