Cavs vs Clippers Game Preview
The Cavs have, mostly, taken care of beating teams they should, but a quality win would be nice.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to end March strong with a win over the LA Clippers.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (59-14) vs Los Angeles Clippers (42-31)
Where: Rocket Arena
When: 3:30 PM EST
TV: FanDuel Sports Ohio
Line: Cavs -7.5
Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Cavs injury report: Ty Jerome - OUT (knee soreness), Emoni Bates - OUT (personal), Jaylon Tyson - OUT (bone bruise)
Expected Clippers starting lineup: James Harden, Kris Dunn, Norman Powell, Nicolas Batum, Ivica Zubac
Clippers injury report: Kawhi Leonard - OUT (rest), Patrick Baldwin - OUT (G League), Cam Christie - OUT (G League), Trentyn Flowers - OUT (G League), Jordan Miller - OUT (hamstring), Seth Lundy - OUT (G League)
What to watch for
Lineup decisions
The Cavs have had a series of injuries over the past few games that have weakened their depth. Ty Jerome has missed a few games with knee soreness, prompting more Craig Porter or Sam Merrill. Max Strus missed Friday’s game against Detroit, which meant more Isaac Okoro. Evan Mobley rested against San Antonio on Thursday, leading Dean Wade to start and some late Javonte Green minutes.
Jerome is slated to miss this game as well, which leaves the Cavs a little thin in ball-handling. Max Strus is off the injury report and likely to start, sending Isaac Okoro back to the bench. Playing Jerome and Okoro together is somewhat viable because the former can shoot and get to his spots, but that is not as easy with Porter.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson is tinkering with lineups, and has admitted that it will be challenging to decide who does and does not play come the playoffs. The Clippers, like the Pistons a few nights ago, are a playoff team and should present as a good test to see what lineups do and do not work.
Get some redemption
Just under two weeks ago, the Clippers beat the Cavs after out-scoring them by 18 points in the second half. Los Angeles put up 132 points, almost 20 points more than their average of 112, which is 20th in the NBA.
The Cavs are slumping, even with wins against Utah, Portland, and San Antonio in the last week. The offensive process does not look the same and their defense has lacked of late, resulting in close games that have required extra effort. This would be a nice time to get things right.
Even without Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers are still dangerous. James Harden, despite his age, is still one of the game’s best scorers and Ivica Zubac has been playing very well of late. Los Angeles has won eight of their last 10 games, with one of those losses being a narrow two-point loss to the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder. This is not a team to be trifled with, and it would be sweet redemption to pick up a win against a quality team.