Player Grades: Cavs vs Raptors Game 3 – A full blown disaster

James Harden

*18 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 8 turnovers* You’ve seen this type of game before from Harden. More turnovers than field goals made is painful. Not hustling back after turning it over is worse. Harden’s defense was bad, and for the first time in Cleveland, his offense didn’t even come close to making up for it. ***Grade:* F**

**Evan Mobley**

*15 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block* Mobely was able to feast in Game 2 as a result of Mitchell and Harden breaking down the defense and then feeding him with an advantage. Tonight, however, Scottie Barnes expertly denied Harden the ball in the backcourt. That forced Mobley to bring the ball up the floor and create for himself more than at any other point in the series. The results weren’t awful, with Mobley dishing 7 assists and actually finding a brief groove in the second half. But that moment was fleeting — and most of those possessions ended in a drained shot clock with nothing to show for. Worse, I think this was one of the least impactful defensive games of Mobley’s career. He was shockingly absent while the Raptors scored 60 points in the paint. ***Grade:* D**

Jarrett Allen

*12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks* The Cavs can’t afford for Allen to slip now. He’s been crucial to their success all season, but is once again looking like an afterthought as the team jacks three-pointers and stretches him too thin defensively by asking him to cover for an unreasonable amount of breakdowns. It didn’t help that Allen himself seemed lethargic tonight, too. A recipe for yuck. ***Grade:* F**

Dean Wade

*5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal* Finally, something decent to talk about. Wade’s still a non-threat on offense. And that has constricted their ability to generate clean looks as the Raptors are starting to ignore him in favor of packing the paint. Those drive-and-kicks to Wade almost always end in a swing pass before resetting the offense. The guy just doesn’t want to shoot. That said, Wade remains a bright spot defensively and was crushing the Raptors with his offensive rebounding. Wade’s ceiling is clearly defined, but he did all of the floor-raising things tonight to justify his minutes. ***Grade:* C+**

Max Strus

*15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal* Strus could sense trouble in the water. He entered the game and immediately began firing away, briefly swinging the momentum and finishing with 15 points on 4-8 three-point shooting. I really don’t have anything bad to say. Strus unloaded the clip and did so efficiently. This one wasn’t on him. ***Grade:* B+**

Keon Ellis

*0 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 turnover* Ellis has only made one shot so far in this series. He didn’t even attempt one tonight. The margin for error is getting too thin to keep him on the floor. Not to mention, his defense continues to fall by the wayside. Ellis takes some extremely questionable angles when navigating screens — and the Raptors have figured that out. ***Grade:* D**–

Jaylon Tyson

*13 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds,* Tyson was one of the only other bright spots. He’s finally dispatched those ‘first playoff’ jitters and is playing like the version of himself that we saw in the regular season. Tyson shot 3-6 from downtown and had a few shots rattle in and out. The Cavs would love for him to continue playing like this. ***Grade:* B**

Sam Merrill

*3 points, 3 rebounds* Toronto has totally taken Merrill off the board. He just can’t find any daylight. And trust me, this is a player who doesn’t need much room to get a shot off. The fact that he only attempted two three-pointers in 18 minutes tells you everything you need to know about the Raptors’ defensive game plan. ***Grade:* D+**

Dennis Schroder

*3 points, 1 rebound*, 3 turnovers Yeesh. Three turnovers in five minutes is enough to stay on the bench for the rest of the game series. ***Grade:* F**