Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors Game 1 player grades

I’m still not entirely sure how the Cavaliers managed to pull this one out. After taking their first lead in overtime, the Cavs toppled the Toronto Raptors 113-112 in what was arguably their best all-around team performance in the last eight games.

LeBron James: A+

It wasn’t the best game LeBron James has had in these playoffs point-wise, but he still put up his 21st career playoff triple-double with 26 points (on 12-of-30 shooting from the field), 13 assists and 11 rebounds. His biggest shot of the night was the fadeaway jumper he hit with 30 seconds left to send the game into overtime. He didn’t score during the overtime period, but assisted on two of the Cavs’ three field goals. So you know, just another day at the office.

J.R. Smith: A+

It only took eight games, but a Cavalier not named LeBron James finally hit the 20-point threshold. Smith shot 6-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-6 long range for a cool 20 points. He put up 11 points in the second quarter to help the Cavs pull to within three at halftime, and also expended a great deal of energy drawing the primary DeMar DeRozan assignment. Things could have been worse, as DeRozan put up 22 points.

Kyle Korver: A

Another good game for Korver, who put up 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting from behind the arc. He hit the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime at the 4:23 mark to give the Cavs their first lead of the night that they wouldn’t relinquish.

Tristan Thompson: A

Game 7 against Indiana wasn’t a flash in the pan for Thompson, who had his second straight double-double with 14 points and 12 boards, nine of which came on the offensive end. But maybe most importantly, he was really the only Cavalier that did a decent job defensively on Jonas Valanciunas (21 points, 21 rebounds) for extended periods of time.

Jeff Green: A-

Like FTS’ Ryan Mourton, we should all be Jeff Greeen respecters tonight. He also put up 11 points in the second quarter (13 total in the first half). He was a large part of the reason that the Cavs were able to narrow a 14-point lead to just three at the break, and did a decent job of holding the fort down on Valanciunas in the Cavs’ smaller lineup.

George Hill: C+

It was a very quiet offensive night for George Hill who was inserted into the Cavs starting lineup once more. In 28 minutes he scored four points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field, and dished out three assists. He spent a lot of the game on Kyle Lowry, who put up 18 points. All in all, an average game for Hill, but it could have been a lot worse if Lowry went off.

Kevin Love: C-/D+

Oh Kevin. The good in his night was the fact that he managed to pull down a team-high 13 rebounds. The bad was pretty much everything else. He was dwarfed by Valanciunas on both ends of the floor, and the Cavs going small to use Love for spacing only works if he makes shots. Tonight he was an abysmal 3-of-13 from the field.

Jordan Clarkson: D

In 12 minutes, Clarkson didn’t do much this game, hitting two shots, one of which was a three-pointer. He also pulled down two rebounds and had one assists, but all in all, didn’t really have an impact.

Rodney Hood: D-

We continue on with the mysterious case of the disappearing Rodney Hood. In 16 minutes, Hood shot just 1-of-5 from the field for two points. Like Clarkson, he made no substantial impact.