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The Cavs return home after their first loss for a rematch of their Nov. 6 game against the New Orleans Pelicans, which the Cavs won 131-122 in the Big Easy. Both teams will be playing the second night of a back-to-back with travel as the Pelicans played in Dallas last night, losing by 41 points. Since Dallas is one time zone over the game started at 8:30 Eastern time so the Mavericks got into Cleveland in the wee hours of the morning after a long flight. The Pelicans are the most injured team in the NBA. The Athletic had this comment the other day: It might be easier to list who is actually available to play for this snakebitten franchise. [Zion] Williamson’s hamstring injury is to the same leg that kept him out of the playoffs in...

Welp, time to start another streak. The Cavs streak was going to end at some point, and the Celtics only furthered what’s turned into a reignited rivalry. The game had a playoff like intensity (thanks NBA Cup?), and I’m not sure there’s much love lost between the teams. The Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis, and the Cavs were down most of their wing rotation in Max Strus, Dean Wade, Isaac Okoro, and Caris LeVert. Sam Merrill got the start for the Cavs while Cavalier favorite Al Horford continued to fill in for the Celtics. Whoever the Celtics had missing didn’t affect their shot selection. Coming into the game, the Celtics take over 56% of their shots from the three-point line – tops in the league. They also are 9th in 3P%. 57 of...

The Cavaliers’ 15-game winning streak is on the line as they head to Beantown to take on the 10-3 Celtics in a rematch of last year’s playoff series that the Celtics won 4-1. According to powerrankingsguru.com, the Celtics have played the easiest schedule in the NBA while the Cavs have played the second easiest. I don’t think either of these teams are as good as their records, to be honest. These teams are very similar statistically as the Cavs are the highest scoring team in the league at 123.7 ppg while the Celtics are 2nd at 121.6. Likewise the Celtics rank 11th in scoring defense while the Cavs are 10th. So it’s the league’s two best offenses against two slightly above average defenses. Neither team is at full strength as the...

The streak keeps on streaking – 15-0, now one of four teams in NBA history to do such. This time, it was Donovan Mitchell’s turn to sit courtside to witness history after Evan Mobley previously sat due to illness. And if that wasn’t hard enough on top of Sam Merrill being out with an ankle injury, Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro went out mid-game as well basically leaving the Cavs with a 7-man rotation at one point. And just like it’s been throughout the streak, each player steps up when it’s needed. The “other” part of the core all stepped up with double-doubles: Darius Garland with 25 points and 12 assists, Jarrett Allen with 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Evan Mobley with 23 points and 11 rebounds. But what’s stepping up without mentioning...

The undefeated Cavs get a rest day at home before taking on the 5-7 Charlotte Hornets, who are on the second day of a back-to-back after squeaking out a 115-114 win at home Saturday afternoon against the 4-9 Bucks. The Bucks were without Damian Lillard, who is in concussion protocol. Dame averages 26 points per game. The Hornets are 4-3 at home and 1-4 on the road, with their only road win coming in the first game of the season against 9-4 Houston. Their other four wins were all against teams with losing records. The Hornets have two centers on their roster, Nick Richards and Mark Williams, and both are out with injuries. Yesterday all their starters were between 6’5” and 6’7”. Williams has not played this year and is listed as a game...

All the Cavs do is win, and set records, and the NBA Cup is no different. In the same night the Cavs set a franchise record for most points in a quarter (49) they also set a franchise record for longest win streak (14). Chicago, Cleveland, Bermuda, Jamaica, it doesn’t matter, Donovan Mitchell wherever he plays the Bulls the results are no different. It was only days ago when Mitchell’s 10-point fourth quarter in Chicago helped the Cavs pull through. So, when it was an 18-point fourth quarter in Cleveland that helped the Cavs pull through again, it was just more of the same. This is a team that has been next man up and find way every game. So, when Evan Mobley was out with an illness, it was Georges Niang’s 14-point, 8-rebound...

After avoiding their first loss in unlucky game #13 the Cavs return home for a rematch against the Bulls, who they defeated on Monday in Chicago 119-113. The Bulls are 5-7 but when Zach LaVine plays they are 5-4. They beat the Knicks in New York on Wednesday 124-123. The Bulls are 1-4 at home and 4-3 on the road, so the Cavs should not think that being at home gives them a big advantage. Both teams were off Thursday. The Bulls are unbalanced in favor of offense, ranking 10th in scoring and 27th in scoring defense. They are allowing 120.4 points per game. They try to win by outrunning and outscoring the opponent. On offense they live and die by the 3-point shot, ranking 5th in 3-point attempts and 10th in 3-point percentage. They...

After a travel day the 12-0 Cavaliers, who are becoming the talk of the NBA, arrive in the City of Brotherly Love, but they are not thinking about brotherly love for the 76ers. They will be thinking about getting another W to keep the streak going and bury the Sixers as far down as possible before they get their trifecta of Embiid, George, and Maxey on the floor together and maybe start winning. For the first time this season the Cavs will go into a game with more rest than the opponent as the Sixers lost to the Knicks Tuesday night in Philly. With Joel Embiid playing his first game the Sixers went into the 4th quarter trailing 78-75 but quickly collapsed. Embiid went 2-for-11 in 26 minutes, mostly going against KAT. You could tell who...

Flying in rarified air at 11-0 the Cavs pack their bags again for a trip to Chicago to take on the 4-6 Bulls. Only four other teams have played 11 games. The Bulls lost five straight before beating the 4-7 Hawks in Atlanta Friday night. The Hawks were missing De’Andre Hunter and his 18 ppg scoring average. The Bulls are 1-5 against Western Conference teams and 3-1 against the East. The Bulls had the misfortune of playing 6 of their first 10 against the West, so they may be better than their record indicates. Also, leading scorer Zach LaVine missed three games and Lonzo Ball has missed seven and is still out. They beat the Bucks (2-7), Orlando (4-6), and Atlanta (4-7). Their only victory over a winning team was against Memphis (6-4)...