Philadelphia 76ers Versus Cleveland Cavaliers: Post Game Grades

A-. Joel Embiid continues to show the entire NBA why Sam Hinkie was much better at judging NBA talent than the other 29 general managers. In just his fourth game, Embiid led the team with 22 points, including a perfect four of four from three point range. Even moreso, Embiid seemed to bring the team alive in the second half. When he hit his fourth three-pointer, his face displayed the pure joy and relief of a young man finally coming into his own.<p>He is only four games into the NBA, and there does not seem to be a ceiling in sight. The big man did cough up six critical turnovers, which were particularly hurtful in the closing seconds of the game. But he cannot do it all alone, although the team seems content at times to allow him to try. </p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID

SERGIO RODRIGUEZ. B-. Sergio Rodriguez is showing comfort now, handing out 11 assists to go with seven points, two rebounds and two steals on the night. He was particularly in the groove when he began to find Ersan Ilyasova.<p>While Rodriguez has not shown an ability to take over the game in crunch time, he does have a remarkable flair for getting the ball to the open shooter. Thankfully, the arrival of Ilyasova and the increasing minutes of Jahlil Okafor have given him more options than just feeding the ball to Joel Embiid. He was a pedestrian 20 percent from thee point range, and coughed up three turnovers.</p><p>But he was considered just a reserve point guard, and he’s proving to be a true bargain of free agency.</p>. PG. Philadelphia 76ers

A. Jahlil Okafor is positioning himself to fall into the running as NBA sixth man of the year. Coming off the bench, he pumped in 14 points in just 22 minutes of play. He also added five rebounds, three blocks, and a steal in the contest.<p>Keep in mind that he was undervalued last season due to a perceived lack of defense. But in this year’s lineup, he seems to have figured out that role as well. While he is still building his playing minutes (from 30 minutes per game last season to just over 18 minutes this season), he appears to have improved into a solid player. </p>. C/PF. Philadelphia 76ers. JAHLIL OKAFOR

Dario Saric continues to make a liar of me. I expected big things out of the gate from the rookie, but was disappointed to see his debut muddled with poor shooting. Expecting him to need time to work through issues simply led him to go gangbusters in two games in November. Calling his latest burst a resurgence, he layed an egg of a game tonight. In 17 minutes of play, he scored just three points, committed four fouls, shot just one of five from the floor, and pulled down seven rebounds.. F. Philadelphia 76ers. DARIO SARIC. D+

D. Robert Covington has been half of the player hoped for early in the season. Defensively, he’s as good as it gets on the team. He contributed to holding Lebron James to just 20 percent shooting from the perimeter, and 39.7 percent overall from the floor. He broughtt down eight rebounds, blocked two shots and pilfered the ball three times.<br />But eventually he would shoot, and not very well. He scored just once in ten attempts, the lone score was the only one of nine three point shots.<p>Robert Covington is far too valuable on defense not to play. But the team needs to help out the starting small forward. His backup for now is Hollis Thompson, a four year veteran who can score, but who is nearly as great a liability on defense. Ultimately, the team will find the answer for small forward as rookie Ben Simmons returns to the rotation. Until that time, the team has committed to allow Covington to play through another slump. </p>. SF. Philadelphia 76ers. ROBERT COVINGTON

B-. Gerald Henderson is the Philadelphia 76ers answer to the “shutdown corner”. Unfortunately, that role requires Henderson to play agressively. That gets picked up by refs, and tonight Henderson picked up five fouls with just under 24 minutes of playing time. Before he walked to the bench, he scored 11 points, pulled down two rebounds and had two steals. He had a nice two-point shot as he shot four out of five for two points. On the other hand, he was only good on one of four shots from three-point range. Defensively, Henderson and Covington were solid tonight.. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. GERALD HENDERSON

Philadelphia 76ers. ERSAN ILYASOVA. A. Ersan Ilyasova and a protected first round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers seems like quite a steal for the 76ers tonight. Ilyasova scored 21 points, pulled down four rebounds while shooting 61.5 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from the perimeter. But it was more than the amount of points, as Ilyasova scored at critical moments throughout the game. In the vacuum of Saric’s struggles tonight, Ilyasova had a field day, almost scoring at will. In just his second game as a 76er, he is clearly well-suited for the offense of head coach Brett Brown. PF