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Game Preview The Cavaliers have an off day at home after beating the Suns before hosting the Denver Nuggets, or at least what’s left of them. The Nuggets have four starters out, including MVP Nikola Jokic. Between Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, and Christian Braun they average a combined 72 points, 26 rebounds, and 18 assists per game. That was no problem in Toronto on Wednesday as the Nuggets beat the Raptors 106-103. The Raptors were 20-14 and had just beaten Orlando and Golden State. They were at full strength except for Jakob Poetl and playing at home, but still got beat by one starter and Denver’s bench. The crazy thing is the Raptors took 100 shots to 80 for the Nuggets and still lost. The Raptors took 45 three-pointers...

Game Summary This one felt different. After an explosive 37-point first quarter, the Suns challenged the Cavs in a way that teams have been able to challenge them before - get physical, get out on the break, much things up defensively, and keep pushing until the Cavs break. But this time, the Cavs didn't. The Suns battled back all the way back to a 2-point deficit before the Cavs finished the 3Q with five straight points that gave way to Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs unleashing a Cavalanche in the 4Q. A 16-point win later, and the Cavs old Cavs may be back as a new year is upon us. By the Numbers 125.2: Cleveland's offensive rating. (So much for Jordan Ott taking this offense to Phoenix?) 40%: Phoenix's FG% on 105 FGAs 39.1%: Phoenix's...

Game Preview Coming off an impressive 12-point road win over the 23-8 Spurs the Cavs return home to close out 2025 with their first game of the season against the 19-13 Suns, who are on the fourth game of an eastern road trip. The Suns are 9-8 on the road and have won four straight, but those wins were against Washington, New Orleans (twice), and the Lakers without Luka Doncic. The Suns are 7-9 against teams .500 and above. Both teams played Monday and were off Tuesday. Over their last six games, with Devin Booker back on the court, Phoenix ranks 11th in offensive rating and fourth in defensive rating. While Booker masks a lot of this team's offensive problems, the Suns have proven to be a tough defensive team every night. That is why...

Game Summary How does a team that struggled as bad as they did against the Rockets look as good as they did against the Spurs? If the Cavs had a Texas two-step, they stumbled on the first one and finished with a pirouette on the second one. The Cavs are now 2-0 against the Spurs, and this win may be their best one of the year. Their 96.2 dRTG was their third best performance on the year, and was part of the Spurs being held to under 30 points in every quarter for the game. Now, the hard part for the Cavs this year has been sustaining these efforts. Can they do a repeat performance against the Suns? By the Numbers 38.6%: The Spurs FG%, their lowest FG% on the year 36: Spurs free-throws, a +16 in FTA compared to the Cavs 37: Point 4th...

Game Preview The Cavaliers finish off a three-game road trip in San Antonio against the 23-8 Spurs. The Spurs had won 15 of 19 before a hiccup against Utah on Saturday, losing 127-114 without starting PG De’Aaron Fox. Both the Cavs and Spurs had Sunday off. The Spurs are on a roll, beating OKC three times in the last two weeks and making folks wonder if they could make it to the Finals this year. In the last two weeks the Spurs are 1st in the NBA in point differential and offensive efficiency and 2nd in defensive efficiency. This game will be a bear. The Cavs beat the Spurs in Cleveland on Dec. 5 with both teams having depleted lineups. The Cavs were missing Garland, Allen, and Merrill while the Spurs were missing Wembanyama, Castle...

Game Preview After depositing a lump of coal in their fans' Christmas stockings thanks to a choke job in New York the Cavs continue with a tougher stretch of their schedule, starting with a trip to Houston. The Rockets are 18-10 overall and 8-2 at home. Their only home losses were to Detroit and Denver, so this game will not be eggnog and brandy. The Rockets hit a bit of a speed bump recently, losing 5 of their last 8 games. All five losses were on the road to Western Conference teams. On Christmas they bounced back by thumping the Lakers 119-96. In the last three weeks the Rockets have lost to Dallas (12-20) by 13, to New Orleans (6-22) in OT, to Sacramento (7-23) in OT, and to the LA Clippers (8-21) by 10. The Rockets have had some...

Game Summary In a game where the Cavs led for 72% of the game, it only took the other 15% of the game for it to all come tumbling down. The Cavs won the rebounding battle, shot well, managed the Knicks in transition, limited second chance points and escaped turnover trouble (for the most part), and yet it still wasn't enough. New issues and old issues faced the Cavs down the stretch: After posting a +18.6 net rating in the clutch last year, they have a -9.9 net rating this year and had a -53.8 net rating against the Knicks. Despite holding the Knicks off the offensive glass for most of the game (7 offensive rebounds, 4 second chance points before the 4Q), the Knicks creating second chances (5 offensive rebounds, 10 second chance points)...

Game Preview Having won two straight and averaging 140 points the suddenly watchable Cavaliers head to the Garden for a Christmas Day matchup with the Knicks. The game will start at noon and will be televised nationally. The Knicks are 20-9 and in second place in the East. They beat the Cavs in New York in the season opener 119-111. The Cavs did not have Garland and the Knicks were without Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson, who kills the Cavs on the offensive glass. The Cavs were down 5 points with 2 minutes to go but couldn’t make a comeback. Miles McBride came off the bench to score 15 points on 7 shots and was a +17 in that game. He has a sprained ankle and has been cleared to resume full contact practices but has not participated in...

Game Summary Christmas came early for the Cavs as they have now scored 139+ points in back-to-back games (the first time all year) and have now won two games in a row for the first time since right before Thanksgiving. It took a month but the Cavs might, kinda, maybe, finally be back? The Hornets and Pelicans are who they are (not good) but they may be the slump busters the Cavs needed during this rough stretch of winter. The return of Sam Merrill may be too coincidental (or it might not be) but the offense of the last two games has looked much more like the offense of last year. By the Numbers 15: Seconds -- time that New Orleans led during the game 141: Cavalier points, their 2nd highest point total on the year 40: Cavalier assists...