Stuck in the No. 4 seed of the Eastern Meeting, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday in the customary season finale for the two groups.
Cleveland (51-30) has their best regular-season record since the 2016-17 season, and they have one more practice before playing the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. Cleveland’s best regular-season record since winning the NBA Finals in 2015-16 would be achieved with a 26-55 victory over Charlotte.
After winning back-to-back games at Orlando, Cleveland enters the final three games on a three-game winning streak. The most recent of those victories was a 118-94 decision on Thursday using a improvised lineup.
On Thursday, the Cavaliers had Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Caris LeVert on the bench. Danny Green led the Cavaliers with 21 points, Cedi Osman had 19, and Isaiah Mobley had a career-high 18 points to carry the load.
Green, a playoff veteran who has played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, and San Antonio Spurs and won championships, may make the Cavaliers’ playoff rotation.
A spark plug who has played in the playoffs before could help a Cleveland lineup that doesn’t have much experience in the postseason. Having home-court advantage in the first round should also be considered.
On Sunday, Green and other reserve Cavaliers players will have the chance to play rotation minutes in the upcoming playoff series against the Knicks.
After losing their home finale to the Houston Rockets by a score of 112-109 on Friday, the Hornets enter this game on a four-game losing streak.
Charlotte used a starting five of Theo Maledon, Bryce McGowens, Svi Mykhailiuk, JT Thor, and Mark Williams instead of LaMelo Ball (ankle), Gordon Hayward (thumb), Terry Rozier (foot), Dennis Smith Jr. (toe), and P.J. Washington (ankle).
Mykhailiuk, who has scored at least 13 points in seven of his last eight games, scored 25 against the Rockets, just one point shy of his career high set against Toronto last Sunday.
During its losing streak, Charlotte’s offensive woes have resulted in an average of 102.0 points per game—nine fewer than the team’s season average.
In the interim, Cleveland – – the NBA’s best scoring safeguard all through the customary season at 106.9 focuses permitted per challenge – – has surrendered 104.0 focuses per game across its beyond three successes.
The Cavaliers are expected to enter the playoffs as the league’s best team when it comes to giving up 39.1 field goals per game, 11.3 3-pointers per game, and 41.1 rebounds per game.
