Watching the Market: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Memphis Grizzlies

In what was a must-win game, the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a disappointing first half to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 110-98. Memphis, who was down to only eight healthy players, still led at halftime, crumbled in the third quarter, and allowed the Cavs to take control. Here’s how the market looks after game 80.

Stock Up: Playoff Positioning

Despite enduring their worst stretch of the season, the Cavs are still in line to host a playoff series in the first round. The Orlando Magic would be coming to Cleveland if the season ended today.

Cleveland has two games remaining. A critical matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, who are tied with the Magic one game behind the Cavs, and Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Charlotte Hornets. The Magic will play the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks to finish out the season, which is no easy feat. It's worth adding that Cleveland is only a half-game behind the New York Knicks for the third seed as well.

The Cavs bent in the first half against the Grizzlies but didn't break. They kept pace with the teams around them and are still in a position to host a playoff series.

Stock Up: Evan Mobley

In a game in which he played opposite Lamar Stevens and Trey Jamison, Evan Mobley did what one of the top young players in the league should do - dominate. He finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, which doesn't scream “dominate,” but added three steals and four blocks. Mobley also showed supreme confidence in shooting the three-ball, attempting four of them and drilling two. That would be the most three-pointers he has attempted in a game since Feb. 28.

After being compared to Derrick Favors by ESPN’s Tim Bontempts, it's nice to see Mobley go out and just be good. Granted, he should be this good against the third and fourth-string Grizzlies rotation. Had he not played well, there would be some concerns. But Mobley showed he's one of the game’s elite defenders and can step up and take - and make - a handful of threes. The Cavs will need this level of play in the playoffs.

Stock Down: Level of Urgency

Just looking at the final score and the box stats don’t tell the full story. The Cavs looked like zombies in the first half, scoring just 48 points despite being fully healthy against a Memphis squad that had eight players who wouldn't sniff a playoff minute on any other team. Cleveland was down three at the half, with some warranted boos from the crowd.

One particularly terrible moment was toward the end of the first quarter, where the Cavs failed to get back on defense and allowed a long outlet pass for an uncontested Grizzlies dunk. This stretched Memphis’ lead to seven and forced J.B. Bickerstaff to take a timeout. Darius Garland had poor body language. The offense looked one-dimensional. Add in that players like Jake LaRavia, Scottie Pippen Jr., and GG Jackson were having their way, and it looked like the Cavs were on the verge of their worst loss of the season.

It's hard to say they even fixed the urgency in the second half. The reality is that they are just a better team than the Grizzlies even when not playing great. They won out with talent, not necessarily with heart. If the Cavs come out flat and lose to the Pacers, then the concern will grow immensely.

Stock Down: Caris LeVert hasn't been good

Garbage time stats aside, the Caris LeVert minutes for the last few months remain baffling. His decision-making continues to be dreadful, especially the shot selection, and the efficiency is still less than desirable. He started 1-8 from the field against the Grizzlies and capitalized on the garbage time to make the stat line better.

Utilizing LeVert as the defacto backup point guard is also troubling, a byproduct of the Cavs’ terrible injury luck at that spot this season. He gets beat on defense often, and when he isn’t hitting his shots, there's not much of a reason for him to be on the floor. The Cavs will be relying on LeVert throughout the postseason. They can only hope they get the good version of LeVert then.