Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder player grades: Collin Sexton played a lot better

Here are the player grades for Wednesday’s Cavs-Thunder game. As always, share yours below.

Collin Sexton: B

Sexton’s defense was really bad, but that’s normal for a rookie. In this game, he was aggressive, took better shots and got to the rim much more readily. He did only have one assist, but his first NBA start was progress.

Tristan Thompson: B-

Thompson was fine on the glass and on defense vs. Steven Adams. But he was 5-13 from the field and missed a number of shots that he should be making.

Rodney Hood: D+

He did a hit and catch-and-shoot three. But it felt like he didn’t actually matter to the game one bit.

J.R. Smith: C

Pros for J.R.: Hit some big threes and was engaged on defense late. Negatives for J.R.: His early shot selection was questionable and he was 5-17 from the field overall.

Cedi Osman: N/A

Osman left the game with bask spasms in the first quarter;

Larry Nance Jr.: B

Nance had two nice possession defending the rim and was 3-6 from the field with some nice cutting around the rim. This was a step forward for him and he does look like his bounce is back.

Jordan Clarkson: B+

Some of the shots he took were insane, and he forced looks late that cost the Cavs possessions. But there’s no denying that he was instrumental in their comeback and even assisted on back-to-back three-pointers when it looked like the Cavs

Kyle Korver: C-

Korver opened the floor up with his presence and took two key charges. But a 2-8 shooting night just doesn’t give the Cavs what they needed from him.

Ante Zizic: B-

Nerlens Noel kinda dominated him in spurts, but he did have a few nice buckets and had nine rebounds in only 16 minutes.

David Nwaba: B

Nwaba deserves more minutes. His best play of the night came when he rotated an extra spot when he realized J.R. Smith wasn’t going to and prevented a wide-open corner three-pointer. The Cavs definitely need a guy like this on the floor.