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Game Preview After two days off to rest and enjoy some home cooking the 4-3 Cavaliers play their third consecutive home game, this one against the surprising Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers are 5-2 but that might be misleading as they do not have a win over a team with a winning record. In addition, they played the Bulls in Chicago last night so they will be playing the second night of a back-to-back on the road while the Cavs had two days off. The Sixers split with Boston, both games being decided by one point, so I would say those teams are equal. The Celtics are 3-5. Jared McCain played his first game since last December last night. He had a knee injury, then tore a ligament in his shooting thumb in September. He was scoreless...

Game Summary Let it fly may be what you do to a Hawk in the wild but it was also the Cavs offensive approach against the Hawks. They chucked 57 3PA which would have been second only to the regular season finale last year against Indiana. The Cavs did just enough down the stretch, led by a Donovan Mitchell takeover, some timely Lonzo Ball organized offense, and some clutch Jaylon Tyson shots, to hold off the Hawks and get back in the win column. A De'Andre Hunter revenge game it was not. By the Numbers 57: Number of Cavalier 3PA for the game +11: Hawks first half rebound advantage which turned to... +9: Cavs second half rebound advantage 8: Second half offensive rebounds for the Cavs led by Craig Porter Jr (3) and Lonzo Ball (3) 50%...

Game Preview The short-handed Cavs stay home after the loss to Toronto and host the 3-3 Atlanta Hawks. Mitchell, Allen, and Merrill are listed as game time decisions as of Saturday evening. For the Hawks Trae Young is out. The Hawks have defeated Indy (0-5), Brooklyn (0-5), and Orlando (2-4). They lost to Toronto (2-4), OKC (6-0) and Chicago (5-0). The win over Indy came with Mathurin, Nembhard, Toppin, and McConnell out. From SI.com: The biggest thing going against the Hawks early in the season has been their health. Starters like Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, Kristaps Porzingis, and most recently, Trae Young, have all missed time with injuries this season. From a fan site: Atlanta has gotten off to a slow start after making...

Game Preview The Cavaliers return home to take on the Toronto Raptors, who won their opener but have since lost four straight to 3-1 Milwaukee, 2-3 Dallas, 4-0 San Antonio, and 2-2 Houston. The Raptors have played a fairly tough schedule and are probably better than their 1-4 record suggests. Anyone attending the game needs to remember to leave some candy on the front porch or come home to find your house egged. Or maybe not - eggs aren't as cheap as they used to be. Sam Merrill is out for the Cavaliers while Jarrett Allen and Donovan Mitchell are game time decisions. With Strus and Garland also out the Cavs could be missing 5 of their top 9 players. The Raptors are missing starting center Jakob Poeltl. Although Poeltl is only...

Game Summary Energy. Effort. Consistency. Attention to detail. You name it, it probably didn't happen against Boston. The Cavs ultimately dug themselves too deep of a hole to get out of even if this wasn't the Boston team of old. Despite a torrid shooting start, the Cavs cooled off as the game went on but their defense, and rebounding, failed them more than their offense did. 105 points is typically not enough to win in this league, at least anymore, but 125 against this Celtics team is not enough to win in any league. By the Numbers 133: Boston's offensive rating for the game. Their oRTG coming in was 114.9. 55.3%: Boston's eFG% for the game. Their eFG% coming was 52.9%. 75: First half points by Boston. That would have been a top-10...

Game Preview The 3-1 Cavaliers take their talents to Beantown for an early season showdown with the 1-3 Celtics, who appear to be a pale imitation of the powerhouse of the last few years. The Celtics only win has been against the 0-4 Pelicans, who have the second worst point differential in the league. The Athletic has the Celtics ranked 26th in their season preview and predicts they will finish 12th in the East. This time last year, the Celtics were raising a banner in front of the Knicks and threatening to break the record for most 3s in a game. Now, the Celtics have been partially dismantled, in one part because of the collective bargaining agreement and another part because of Jayson Tatum’s torn Achilles tendon…I don’t trust...

Game Summary The Pistons were down Caris LeVert and Jaden Ivey but Michael Jordan, Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr may not have been able to lift Detroit out of the offensive depths (37.9% FG% and 26 TOs) they were in for most of the game. What looked like a quick start, slowly drifted off into the abyss and before too long the Cavs starters left their mark. At thr 7:42 mark, the Pistons were up 16-12. At the 6:50 mark in the 4Q, they were down 108-75 -- that's a 96-59 flip over the course of three quarters. After not finishing the last few games, the Cavs put this early and never looked back. By the Numbers 30.8%: Pistons OREB% for the game. Detroit came in 3rd in OREB% at 38%. The Cavs held their own on the boards even limiting the...

Game Preview On a two-game winning streak the Cavs go to Detroit for the second night of a back-to-back. The Pistons are also on a back-to-back, but they were at home last night. However, it’s a short flight and the Cavs’ game last night started at 6 p.m. so travel fatigue should not be a factor. Both teams are 2-1. The Pistons beat the 0-3 Celtics last night 119-113 and they also beat the Rockets in Houston 115-111. They lost to the Bulls 115-111. The Pistons are averaging 115 ppg and allowing 113. ESPN has a Basketball Power Index which ranks OKC 1st, the Cavs 2nd, the Knicks 3rd, and Detroit 14th. The Cavs are ranked 1st offensively with the Pistons 7th defensively. The Pistons are 13th offensively while the Cavs are 8th...

Game Summary Until Giannis is out of Milwaukee, there's never going to be an easy Bucks game and the Cavs almost found that out the hard way. After being up by as much as 18 points mid-way through the 3Q, Giannis poured in 26 points and brought the Bucks all the way back although they never led. After a strong first half offensive performance (53.5% FG%), the second half offense lack rhythm and flow (36% FG%, 10 TOs). But, Mobley (6-for-6 on FTs in the 4Q) and Mitchell's 18 points in the 4Q helped lift the Cavs out of the basement offensively and to victory. By the Numbers 100%: Evan Mobley's FT% on the night. He went 12-for-12 including 6-for-6 down the stretch to ice the game. 26: Giannis Antetokounmpo points in the second half...