Tag Archives: Cleveland Cavaliers

Cavaliers take on Jazz in Utah

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The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Utah to take on the Jazz as they are trying to get back into the win column after two consecutive losses.

Coming off two straight losses, the Cleveland Cavaliers are not trending in the right direction. A 14-point loss to the shorthanded Lakers and the heartbreaking loss on a buzzer beater to Sacramento has the Cavs at 17-29 on the season. Now Cleveland will take on the 34-11 Utah Jazz in attempt to get an elusive win.

Utah currently has the best record in the league and sit atop the Western Conference. The Jazz are averaging 117 points per game while limiting their opponents to 108.2. Cleveland is on the other end of that spectrum as they score 103.5 per game and give up 111. This could be a long night for the Cavaliers as Utah should be able to score fairly easily from start to finish.

Donovan Mitchell is Utah’s leading scorer as he averages 25.9 per game. Mitchell is also their assist leader with 5.5 per game and is fourth in rebounds with 4.6. The leading rebounder for the Jazz is Rudy Gobert with 13.3 per contest with his 14.6 PPG is fifth on the team. It is not just the starters who make an impact for the Jazz as a familiar face comes off the bench, Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson is the Jazz’ second-highest scorer with 17.4 per game in 25.7 minutes off the bench.

The Cavaliers will have their hands full from the tip Monday night. The talent gap between Utah and Cleveland is huge and there is a very good chance that could be reflected in the final score.

Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 P.M. in Utah

Cavaliers lose on buzzer beater in Sacramento

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A buzzer beater three-pointer from Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes handed the Cleveland Cavaliers a 100-98 loss.

Gut-wrenching. That is the perfect way to describe the Cleveland Cavaliers loss to the Sacramento Kings Saturday night. Cleveland held a one-point lead with 1.6 seconds left as a Harrison Barnes three-pointer goes in with no time left to defeat the Cavaliers 100-98.

This was just a great shot by Barnes on what was an attempt with a high degree of difficulty. It really is a fitting way for this Cavaliers team to fall short isn’t it? A win seeming almost definite only to be snatched away in the final seconds.

Collin Sexton made his return and led the team in scoring with 26 points. The Cavaliers guard made 11 of 24 field goal attempts (1-5 3PT) and 3 of 5 free throw attempts. Sexton did finish with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Darius Garland was the Cavs second-highest scorer with 18 points. Garland went 7-18 from the field (1-3 3PT) and 3-4 from the charity stripe. Garland also had 3 rebounds, 2 assists,s and 2 steals.

The third-highest scorer for Cleveland was Larry Nance Jr. with 17 points. Nance continued to put together his all around good performances as he also had 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

The rise of Dean Wade continues as the young forward led the Cavaliers in bench scoring with 13 points. Wade made half of his field goal attempts (4-8), 2 of 5 three-pointers, and all 3 free throws. It has been an impressive run off the bench for Wade as he seems to be turning into a reliable option for the Cavaliers. Wade rounded out his night with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

The Cavaliers have an off day Sunday after playing two consecutive games. Cleveland will return to action Monday night in Utah to take on the Jazz.

Cavaliers travel to Sacramento to face Kings

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It is the second game of a back-to-back for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they take on the Sacramento Kings.

Friday did not go well for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they could not find a way to win against the shorthanded Lakers. Now they will travel to Sacramento to take on the Kings Saturday for their second meeting in a week. Last time it was Sacramento coming to Cleveland with the Kings coming out on to 119-105. This time as the road team, Cleveland is looking to return the favor.

Last time out Sacramento won fairly comfortably in Cleveland. De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 30 points while Tyrese Haliburton was right behind him with 28 of his own. Sacramento also had two additional starters score in double-digits, Buddy Heild with 19 and Richaun Holmes with 17. Former Cavaliers backup center JaVale McGee led their scoring effort with 18 points, with Darius Garland scoring 17, Collin Sexton with 15 , and Jarrett Allen adding 11. If Cleveland is going to come away with a win this will have to obviously change.

Sacramento is currently on a three-game winning streak starting in Cleveland on March 22nd. During that span the Kings are averaging 123.3 PPG while allowing 110.7 PPG. The Cavaliers have traded wins and losses over the previous six games, averaging 106.2 PPG while their opponents are outscoring them with 107.3 PPG. It is abundantly clear why the Cavaliers have gone 3-3 in their previous three games.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 10:00 P.M. as each team continues to attempt to crawl back into the playoff conversation.

Cavaliers unable to get past Lakers 100-86

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The Cleveland Cavaliers were not able to come away with a victory against Lakers team that didn’t have LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Friday night was prime opportunity for the Cleveland Cavaliers to take advantage of the Los Angeles Lakers who were without their two best players. The absences of LeBron James and Anthony Davis did not matter however as the Cavs still found themselves losing in L.A. 100-86.

The key culprit for the Cavaliers loss? It was the 3rd quarter yet again. Cleveland only managed to score 10 points in the quarter as they still somehow cannot figure out the cure for their 3rd quarter woes. If Cleveland was able to score at the average rate of the other three quarters the game would have been a heck of a lot closer.

Larry Nance Jr. was the best player on the floor for Cleveland Friday night. Nance led the Cavaliers in points (17). was second in rebounds (10) while finishing tied with Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland for the team lead with 5 assists.

Garland finished 6-17 from the floor including 1 of 6 from deep, not a great shooting performance overall. Garland’s 14 points were the second-highest total for the Cavaliers, itself being a decent scoring total. The issue being that not enough Cavs scored enough points to make this a point total that could work. This would have been the perfect game for Garland to break out and lead the team, but that was not in the cards.

Allen was the team leader in rebounds with 11 and finished third in points with 14. This was a typical performance from the young center and is what is expected from him night in and night out.

The Cavaliers have a quick turnaround as they will travel to Sacramento Saturday to take on the Kings.

Cavaliers continue path to nowhere

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With the NBA trade deadline now in the rearview mirror it is clear that the Cleveland Cavaliers are still on the path to nowhere.

Entering the 2020-21 NBA season the expectations for the Cleveland Cavaliers were not realistically high. In reality is that those expectations should have firmly been on the lower end of the spectrum. The fact of the matter is that this team continues to be stuck in the same cycle of non-competitiveness without a clear way out.

This is not about the Cavaliers decision to deal JaVale McGee to the Nuggets, that was actually a smart move. Cleveland identified an older player that was in demand on the trade market and found a way to facilitate a trade. This is entirely about the complete mismanagement of the Andre Drummond situation. The Cavs are going to end up buying out Drummond after not being able to find a trade, something that seemed impossible from the start.

The issue at hand is that Cleveland refused to give minutes to a player who would have made the team better. After that they let him sit out for a considerable period of time, subsequently torpedoing any trade value Drummond once had. The perception of Drummond as a player combined with his contract gave him little value. Adding only to his low value was the fact no team has seen him in action since February 12th. Teams are not going to sign up to give up anything for a player who has not been in a game in a month and a half.

Now the Cavaliers are going to let one of the more talented players on their roster go wherever he wants while they sit there with nothing to show for it. Teams that are in the business of buying out players are not in the business of winning games. Is the teams who add players who are bought out from non-competitive teams that are on the right end of this transaction.

The faces change from year-to-year, more youthful players find their way onto the roster, and team keeps moving forward on the same path. The problem is that the path is circular and being competitive is not in the cycle. This is a team full of pieces that may not fit together and that has absolutely no depth. The only way it seems this collection of players would work together is with a superstar level talent added to the roster the can carry the team. Problem is that is much easier said than done and extremely difficult to accomplish. Chances are that player does not come and this team is left in mediocrity. Actually, mediocrity would be an improvement as that is a step up from where things currently stand.

Cavs to buy out Andre Drummond

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The Cleveland Cavaliers will reportedly buy out the center after not being able to facilitate a trade.

The Andre Drummond saga in Cleveland is finally coming to an end. According to reports the Cavs are going to buy out the center allowing him to become a free agent.

This situation has been completely mismanaged by the Cavs from start to finish. Even if the team was not going to be able trade Andre Drummond, the whole mess was botched prior to this. The team would rather let Drummond sit an rot in purgatory rather than play him and possibly build trade value. At least he would be providing some sort of production for the team instead of being the elephant (not) in the room. This whole series of events is a failure in team building. Now the Cavs will buy out Drummond out so he can go play elsewhere for at team that actually wants him.

Cavs trade JaVale McGee to Nuggets

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to trade the veteran center to the Denver Nuggets.

JaVale McGee is heading back west. The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a deal which send the veteran big man to the Denver Nuggets per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The return for Cleveland from Denver is Isaiah Hartenstein and two future protected second round picks according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

Hartenstein is a third year center that is currently averaging 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game. As far as the second round picks go they are an unprotected 2027 second rounder and 2023 second rounder that has protections to 46 according to Chris Fedor.

According to earlier reports the Cavs were not interested in buying out JaVale McGee. The only way that McGee would be playing for a new team is through a trade and that trade has now happened.

JaVale McGee did not appear in the Cavs win over the Bulls Wednesday. It was only a 33 game stint for McGee in Cleveland and he averaged 8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game.

Shorthanded Cavaliers defeat Bulls

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The Cleveland Cavaliers were without four players as they defeated the Chicago Bulls 103-94.

It was a tall talk for the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night. The Cavs were without Collin Sexton, Kevin Love, Taurean Prince, and Matthew Dellavedova as they began their road trip in Chicago. Everything was lining up for a disappointing night for Cleveland, but the team was able to rally and take down the Bulls in Chicago 103-94.

Without Sexton in the lineup, Darius Garland was going to have to step up for the Cavaliers and that is just what he did. Garland finished tied for a game-high with 22 points on 8-20 shooting. The second-year guard made 4 of six shots from deep and both free throw attempts. Garland was also tied for a game-high 9 assists, with 4 rebounds and 1 steal to cap off his performance.

The Cavaliers also got some help from Larry Nance Jr. Nance had a game-high 14 rebounds with 14 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. It was a typical all around performance from the Cavaliers legacy player. When Nanace is able to play his usual volume of minutes, these are the type of performances that can happen on a fairly regular basis.

Jarrett Allen was also a big contributor for the Cavs. Allen finished 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals, and 1 assist. Cleveland’s big man made 9 of 12 field goal attempts and 1 of 2 free throws.

The best performance off the bench for the Cavaliers came from Dean Wade, something that is becoming more and more frequent. Wade scored 10 points on 3-6 from the field including 2 of 3 from downtown and making 2 of 2 free throw attempts. Wade also had 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block in 24 minutes of play.

The Cavaliers continue their road trip Friday in Los Angeles as they take on the Lakers.

Love, Dellavedova, and Prince out for Cavaliers

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The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to be without three players when they take on the Chicago Bulls.

Kevin Love, Matthew Dellavedova, and Taurean Prince will not be available for the Cleveland Cavaliers when they take on the Chicago Bulls Wednesday.

Dellavedova is yet to appear in a game this season for the Cavaliers. Love has only appeared in four games this season, the last being on March 14th. Cleveland has played the last five games without Love and went 2-3 over that stretch. Prince has missed 13 of the last 15 games for the Cavs due to injury or not dressing/playing.

Cavs running out of time for Andre Drummond trade

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The Cleveland Cavaliers are running out of time if they are going to facilitate a trade that sends the center elsewhere.

The NBA trade deadline is just a day away and the Cleveland Cavaliers are up against the clock when it comes to Andre Drummond. The team has been attempting to find a trade for Drummond with no luck. Drummond has not appeared in a game since February 12th when the team decided he was no longer going to be part of the team. Considering that most of the talk surrounding Drummond has not been on the trade market, this series of events only looks worse and worse.

Most of the discussions in regards to Andre Drummond is on the buyout market, which would be a complete failure on the part of the Cavaliers. The reason that certain teams are irrelevant and stay irrelevant is that they end up buying out players only for contending teams to scoop them up. There are plenty of teams rumored to be in the Drummond market if/once a buyout happens, but not a lot on the trade market.

Before the Cavs decide to do what seems to be inevitable they need to examine the trade market until the deadline. If they can get something, anything in return for Andre Drummond they should do it. Even if the trade package is bad, it is better than buying a player out and getting literally nothing in return. Time is running out for the Cavs and they need to figure out what they’re doing ASAP. The team decided to tank rather than play someone who not only makes the team more watchable, but better as well.