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Whew. After Andrew Nembhard missed the final two shots of meaningful Pacers possessions in the fourth quarter, it was a sigh of relief. Whew. With a Cavs win, they prevented a free fall into the play-in game, guaranteed a playoff spot, and even gave themselves a chance at winning the Central Division. Whew. Donovan Mitchell look renewed offensively, was moving around (fairly) well, and had his first 30-point game since February. Whew. It wasn’t all good for the Cavs but it was just good enough at just the right time to give some hope heading into the playoffs. The first four minutes of the game would really be the only time the Pacers were a bit off offensively all night. They started the game with more turnovers (4) than points (3) in...

The Cavs stay home after a day off to face the Indiana Pacers, who they are leading by one game in the standings. A Cavs’ loss would give these teams identical won-loss records but the Pacers would move ahead of the Cavs in the playoff seeding based on winning the season series 3-1. For home court advantage in the first round a win tonight is imperative. The Pacers will almost certainly beat Atlanta at home in their final game. The Pacers are on a roll, having won 8 of 11, including wins over OKC, the Lakers, and Golden State. The Pacers are 21-19 on the road. On March 18 they lost to the Cavaliers at home 108-103 despite the Cavs not having Mitchell, Mobley, Wade, and Strus. Niang, Okoro, and LeVert started for the Cavs with...

It’s been over a week since the Cavs last won a game, and it seems even longer than that. For a stretch of time, it seemed like it may extend longer but the undermanned Grizzlies didn’t have enough bite to last all night. If there ever was such a thing as an unconvincing double-digit win, it was tonight. The Grizzlies led for 9:29 minutes in the first half, the Cavs led for 8:40 minutes. A back-and-forth game and losing at half time are not what anyone would want to see heading into the playoffs but then again nothing about the second half of the season has felt warm and cozy. You know who was warm and cozy? Jake LaRavia. The second-year player had a career high 32 points and was scoring hot all night. He started the game 4-for-4 from...

Sigh. Just when you thought the Cavs had finally gotten it together. Finally. They have one of their highest scoring quarters on the year (twice!), score the most points in a half all year (and one off the franchise record) and are taking it to a good Clippers team at home on the second leg of a back-to-back. All is well. Until it’s not. It’s not well. If there were any nails left to close the hatch on JB Bickerstaff’s return to Cleveland this might have been it. He was already hanging by a thread, and it seems like this loss just snapped it. Barring a miraculous Miami Heat like playoff run, there’s no justifying him returning next year. None. @wuck said it best: The Cavs replayed their entire season in one game. Yeah, the Cavs started...

They giveth, and they taketh away. The Cavs are like a sputtering car right now – just when you think the engine is going to turn over, it dies on you. That’s how these games have felt, and the back half of the season has felt. Western Conference road swings are always tough, and it doesn’t help it’s coming at the time it does now in the season – team is reeling, they’re fighting to find their mojo, and they’ve been on the road for what seems like a month. But, faced with three playoff teams and they lose by 29 to Nuggets (without Jamal Murray), lose by 21 to the Suns and lose by 19 to the Lakers. That can’t make you feel all rosy inside heading into the playoffs. Thing is, Cavs had stretches in the last two games where they actually...

The Cavs get a much needed two day rest after back-to-backs in Utah and Phoenix before taking on the Lakers and Clippers back-to-back in LA. This is not a good time to be playing the Lakers, who are in 9th place and two games out of 6th place and the last automatic playoff spot with five to play. The Lakers are surging to the finish, having won 8 of their last 9. In addition, they are 27-12 at home and 17-21 on the road. Only five teams have better home winning percentages. The Lakers also have had two days off so they are well-rested. Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood, both reserve power forwards, are out, but the Lakers still have Rui Hachimura and Taurean Prince to man that position. LeBron is 18-3 in his career against the...