Four Cavaliers Who Cost Cleveland Most in Game 4 Loss

The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t take care of business in Toronto.

The Raptors were able to even this first round playoff series at 2-2 following Sunday afternoon’s victory against the Cavs.

Here are the three two players that hurt the Cavaliers the most in Game 4 on Sunday.

Donovan Mitchell

Mitchell almost single-handedly cost the Cavaliers Game 4 after a stellar regular season that kept Cleveland in the NBA Playoffs picture.

Oftentimes, the team’s spirit matches the energy of their best player. Over these last two games in Toronto, Mitchell has struggled, as have the Cavaliers as a group.

In Game 4, Mitchell was 4-from-12 from deep. He was 6-of-24 shooting for 20 points, three assists and six rebounds. Mitchell had four turnovers and contributed to the overall sloppiness of this game.

The Cavaliers just couldn’t get out of their own way in Game 4. That was on full display in the final moments of the game, as Mitchell forced an unnecessary three-point attempt with less than 24 seconds in the game. Mitchell could’ve let the clock bleed a bit further, but settled for an off-balanced jumpshot that was contested.

Evan Mobley

Cleveland’s maximum contract extension to Mobley was floating on social media – and not in a positive way – after his Game 4 showing.

The Cavaliers are paying Mobley a lot of money. He’s still one of the league’s most elite defenders, but remains maddening on the offensive side of the basketball at times. He scored only eight points and was 4-of-11 from the field. He was 0-for-3 from deep.

When James Harden and Mitchell have an off night, Cleveland’s frontcourt needs to uplift them. And that didn’t happen in Game 3 or 4.

Jarrett Allen

Allen gets a share of the blame pie for Sunday’s clunker. He had just three points in 27 minutes. There’s no way the lights could be that bright in Toronto, right?

Allen’s 15 rebounds push him down the list of shared blame. But as a team? The Cavaliers were outrebounded by three. Pretty bad, and Allen would likely be the first to admit that.

James Harden

We’ll wrap this with acknowledging that Harden seemed to be Cleveland’s only offensive lifeline at times during Game 4’s loss. He scored 19 points, was 6-of-14 from the field, and certainly probably could’ve done a bit more offensively.

But seven turnovers from Harden absolutely killed Cleveland’s offensive momentum and helped Toronto play to their strength in transition.

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