Tag Archives: Cleveland Cavaliers

Larry Nance Jr. expected to return Friday

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The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to get some help when they return from the All-Star break.

If there is one thing that the Cleveland Cavaliers needed coming out of the All-Star break it is help. Luckily for them help is on the way. Larry Nance Jr. is expected to return Friday when the Cavs take on the Pelicans.

This is a huge addition for Cleveland. Larry Nance Jr. has been one of the better players for the Cavs this season. Nance is averaging 9.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. While the number in each individual category doesn’t pop up off the page (except steals), the fact he can impact so many areas at once is huge.

One area that Larry Nance Jr. has improved this season is three-point shooting. Nance is averaging 38.1% from deep on 3.3 attempts per game, the best and highest of his career in both categories.

During his absence it has become clear that Larry Nance Jr. is a glue guy for this team. Nance is able to bring the best out of some of his younger teammates and that can go a long way for the Cavs.

Cavaliers return to action vs. Pelicans

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The Cleveland Cavaliers return to action after the All-Star break and will head to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans.

are in Entering the break at 14-22, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 13th in the Eastern Conference and have an extreme outside chance of playing beyond the regular season. Their quest to get into the playoffs in a post-LeBron era continues Friday as they take on the 15-22 New Orleans Pelicans.

The records of both teams indicate that neither are particularly good, but they have shown the ability to compete with some of the better teams in the league. Zion Williamson (25.5) and Brandon Ingram (23.6) are the Pelicans’ leading scorers. Lonzo Ball is the leading assist man for New Orleans with 5.1 per game while Ingram is second on the list with 4.8.

Cleveland will have a tough task Friday slowing this team down because stopping them is impossible. Add in the fact that the Cavaliers are scoring about 11 less points per game, the offense could have a tough time keeping up with New Orleans.

If the Cavaliers are going to come out of the break with a win, they will need to lean on their key three players. As long as Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen play up to expectations, they have a chance against most teams.

Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. is expected to return Friday and that could also play a huge factor into the final result of this game.

The game is scheduled to start at 8:00 P.M.

Warriors interested in Cedi Osman

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The Golden State Warriors have expressed interest in acquiring the Cleveland Cavaliers small forward

According to Sam Amico of FourtyEightMinutes, the Golden State Warriors have interest in Cleveland Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman.

Meanwhile, one source said the Golden State Warriors have interest in Osman (as do the Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets), and the Warriors may be willing to part with one of their own young players in return.

Sam Amico on Warriors reported interest in Cedi Osman

This report comes after the initial report that the Cavs could also move Taurean Prince and JaVale McGee. Cleveland is in sort of a sell-off mode and these are players they could very well move.

What it comes down to is evaluating whether or not these players are part of the future of the Cavs. Prince could be a maybe while McGee is an obvious no. In regards to Cedi Osman, it seems like he is more of a complimentary bench player on a contending team with several stars, something that Cleveland is clearly far away from. Osman just does not seem to be the right fit with the current young Cavs and moving on from him would may be in the best interest of both parties.

Cavs sign Quinn Cook to 10-day contract

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The Cleveland Cavaliers are signing the former Los Angeles Lakers guard to a 10-day contract.

Quinn Cook was waived by the Los Angeles Lakers at the end of February and has found a new, maybe only temporary home. The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed the free agent guard to a 10-day contract.

Quinn Cook has been part of the Cavaliers organization in the past, playing for the Canton Charge. The Cavs could be going through some changes as the trade deadline approaches and can afford to take some chances on players that can be considered buy-low candidates. Cook will not be a night-in-night-out game changing player, but he could provide an impact off the bench for a Cavs team that struggles to get production from their second unit.

Quinn Cook is averaging 2.1 points in 3.9 minutes per game in 16 games for Los Angeles this season. Both numbers are well below his career averages of 6.4 and 14.1 respectively.

Lakers interested in Andre Drummond

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The Los Angeles Lakers are interested in signing the Cleveland Cavaliers center if a buyout is reached.

To the surprise of pretty much no one there is not really a trade market for Cavs center Andre Drummond. Drummond is in the final year of his contract which has a $28.7+ million salary for this season. This salary has been an obstacle for the Cavaliers as they have searched for a trade partner. Should Cleveland not be able to find one, a buyout could be reached. If Drummond is bought out, the Los Angeles Lakers would be interested in a deal according to reports.

As Marc Stein also states, the Cavs prefer to find a trade parter to get something in return. If Cleveland gets anything for Andre Drummond that would be a huge win. Drummond really doesn’t fit in the modern NBA and is not really appealing to teams looking to stretch the floor.

Cleveland made the decision to trade and not play Andre Drummond which hasn’t not helped their cause. Drummond has not played since February 12th and it is not easy to trade a player that is not on the court. A similar, but more intense situation took place with the Cavs and J.R. Smith which led to the team eventually waiving the veteran guard in July of 2019. While the end result may be the same, the way it plays out for Drummond seems to be a lot less tumultuous than Smith.

Knicks “frontrunner” for Andre Drummond

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The New York Knicks have been identified as a frontrunner according to reports for the Cleveland Cavaliers center.

It is not a question of if, but when Andre Drummond is no longer a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. A report from Sam Amico of FortyEightMinutes identifies a possible favorite, the New York Knicks.

According to one league source, the Knicks are the “frontrunner” for Drummond.

A source to Sam Amico about where Andre Drummond could land

The Lakers and Mavericks were also mentioned in the report, but only after a buyout, something that Cleveland doesn’t seem in a rush to do.

At the end of the day it is a real shame that the Cavaliers did not give Andre Drummond a real chance to establish himself in Cleveland. Apparently 33 games was all that the Cavs needed to see before deciding to move on.

Cavaliers could move Osman, Prince, McGee

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The Cleveland Cavaliers could make some moves to reshape their roster before the trade deadline.

There are certain players on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster that have been identified as their core players. Those players do not include Cedi Osman, Taurean Prince, and JaVale McGee. Shams Charania of The Athletic noted that the Cavs could move any or all of these three players. Adding to his report about Andre Drummond, Charania had this to say.

Cleveland has also been open to discussing forwards Cedi Osman and Taurean Prince and center JaVale McGee in the right deal, sources said.

Shams Charania on Osman, Prince, and McGee

The fact that these players have come up is hardly surprising. The initial acquisition of McGee had midseason flip written all over it. When the Cavs landed Prince there was a similar sentiment, although retaining him as part of the supporting cast was a possibility. As far as Osman goes, Cleveland has given him every chance to prove himself and he has failed to do so. While the role he has played for the most part has not been a great fit, it is clear to everyone that he shouldn’t play big minutes for any team. A role in spurts off the bench would be perfect, but that has not manifested consistently in Cleveland.

Larry Nance Jr. not a fan of mock trades

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The Cleveland Cavaliers forward is not a fan of mock trades and made that very clear on Friday via his twitter account.

Larry Nance Jr. is very much aware of mock trades that people are posting and he stated his opinion on them on Friday.

The Cavs forward is obviously not a fan of people suggesting that his hometown team should trade him.

Former Cavs teammate Channing Frye took a friendly jab and Nance returned the favor.

The fact of the matter is that Cleveland should not entertain trade proposals involving the fan favorite. Larry Nance Jr. is an integral part of the team moving forward. While Nance may not be a “core guy”, he is supportive player to the players who are deemed to be core players.

Cavaliers fall short in 4th quarter vs. Pacers

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The Cleveland Cavaliers squandered an eight-lead entering the final quarter and lost 114-111 to the Indiana Pacers in their final game before the All-Star break.

There was a chance the Cleveland Cavaliers could have entered the All-Star break on a five-game winning streak, but it was not meant to be. The Indiana Pacers came to town and put together a 4th quarter rally to hand the Cavs a narrow 114-111 loss.

Entering the final quarter of play, Cleveland was up 90-82 and things appeared to be trending in the right direction. The problem was the 4th quarter was pretty much all Indiana and the Cavaliers were on the wrong end of the spectrum momentum wise. The Pacers outscored the Cavaliers 32-21 in the 4th and that was enough to hand Cleveland the loss.

Another good game for Collin Sexton

As per usual, Collin Sexton led the Cavs scoring attack with 32 points. This was the second straight game with 30+ points and the 10th straight with 22 or more. Sexton was also the Cavaliers assist leader with 10, a season-high and his first double-double of the season.

Young Bull seems to be rounding into form and the All-Star break unfortunately seems to be coming at the wrong time. On the other hand, this break could give Sexton a chance to recover and refocus as the Cavs look to make a push for a playoff spot.

Big games from the big men

Jarrett Allen and Dean Wade were the Cavaliers starting big men and both contributed in a big way. Allen had his usual double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Wade had 17 points of his own with 6 rebounds. Wade went an impressive 5-8 from deep while Allen made 6 of 7 from the field and went 5-5 from the free throw line.

The Cavs starting big men weren’t the only ones to make an impact. JaVale McGee chipped in 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.

Cleveland will return to action March 12th in New Orleans as they take on the Pelicans at 8:00 P.M after the conclusion of the All-Star break.

Cavaliers host Pacers in search of fifth straight win

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have a chance to enter the All-Star break on a five-game win streak if they are able to defeat the Indiana Pacers.

Wouldn’t this be quite the turn of events considering where the Cleveland Cavaliers were just a few games ago. The team was on a lengthy losing streak and the team was sort of circling the drain. Monday’s 101-90 win over the Houston Rockets has Cleveland’s win streak at four and now they have a chance to go into the All-Star break with a five-game winning streak. That would be if the Cavs are able to defeat the Indiana Pacers at home Monday.

Indiana comes in on a four-game losing streak and have lost five of their last six. In fact, the Pacers are 4-11 in their past 15 games, a trend that is not essentially all that inspiring. Perhaps this trend could continue to the benefit of the Cavaliers. The Pacers have two players who are injured who could play Wednesday, Doug McDermott and Jeremy Lamb. Lamb is likely to play while McDermott is listed as questionable. This is in addition to Caris LeVert and T.J. Warren being out.

Meanwhile the Cavaliers injury situation is pretty much unchanged. Taurean Prince is day-to-day and could play Wednesday, although they could wait until after the All-Star break in an attempt to prevent any further injury. Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr., and Matthew Dellavedova remain out. Andre Drummond is also out, but that is because the team is trying to trade him and not due to injury.

For the Cavaliers to come out victorious Wednesday they will need their three key players to step up. Those players being Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen. When those three are right, the Cavs usually end up winning or are at least competitive. If that happens there is a good chance their win streak will run to five at the All-Star break.