Key: Road Warriors
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The Cavaliers look to win their third straight road contest – and take the first two against the Hornets this season – as they head south for a Wednesday night showdown in Charlotte.
The Wine & Gold put together a better effort on Sunday than the previous evening against Toronto, but still dropped both halves of their weekend back-to-back at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, falling to Zion Williamson and the Pelicans. Playing without both Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, Cleveland led for most of the way. But Williamson led New Orleans’ final push, closing the game on an 8-2 run to win their sixth straight over the Cavs.
Like the Cavaliers, the Hornets have battled the injury bug all season – most notably losing their Rookie of the Year frontrunner, LaMelo Ball, who was lost for the season on March 20. Despite using 19 different starting lineups on the season and a current two-game losing streak, Charlotte comes into tonight’s contest sitting in the Eastern Conference’s 7th seed at 27-26 overall.
The Wine & Gold have taken two of the last three over Charlotte, including a victory back on December 23 in the Cleveland’s home opener, with seven Cavs scoring in double figures.
Key: Full Frontline
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There’s a good chance Wednesday night’s matchup gives J.B. Bickerstaff a rare look at an intact frontline – with Jarrett Allen and Larry Nance Jr. slated to return against Charlotte.
So many combinations that were unthinkable in the season-opening meeting with the Hornets is on the table for Cleveland tonight – with Kevin Love, Allen, Isaiah Hartenstein, Nance Jr. and Dean Wade all in the mix. Bickerstaff spoke on Tuesday about using a big lineup with Larry Jr. at the 3. For the first time in many moons, he has options.
Before an illness sidelined him for the previous seven games, Nance was on a roll – averaging 16.0 points and 11.0 boards, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 50 percent from long-range in the previous three.
Jarrett Allen, who suffered a concussion in a loss to the Lakers on March 26, was on a nice heater of his own – averaging 15.0 points on 55 percent shooting to go with 11.0 boards and 1.6 swats in his previous five outings.
Through his first seven games with Cleveland, Hartenstein has averaged 10.3 points on 60 percent from the floor, including 40 percent from long-range, to go with 8.9 boards and 3.4 assists.
And we can’t forget Wade, who led the Cavs with 21 points on Sunday night, going 8-of-12 from the floor, 5-of-8 from long-range. He’s notched double figures in each of his last three games, averaging 15.7 points on 56 shooting over that stretch.
The Hornets frontline has been banged up all season, but Miles Bridges – who arguably threw down the dunk of the year last week against Clint Capela and the Hawks – has been picking up the slack of late. The third-year forward from Michigan State, who’s been starting at the 4, is averaging 18.5ppg over his last five.
Key: Guard Duty
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Youngstown native and former Shaker Heights Red Raider Terry Rozier has definitely earned the nickname “Scary Terry” when it comes to facing his hometown team.
Rozier had some nice games against Cleveland as a member of the Celtics, but he’s been murder since relocating to Tobacco Road. In his last three outings against the Cavs, the rugged guard has gone for 35, 30 and 42 points – the latter, a game-high in this year’s season opener.
Rozier sat out the Hornets’ Tuesday night loss to the Lakers but is expected to be ready to roll when the Wine & Gold roll in Wednesday.
The Cavaliers were without their standard starting backcourt – with Collin Sexton sidelined with a left groin strain and Darius Garland with a right ankle sprain. Both are still listed as questionable for Wednesday night’s contest.
It’s obviously a blow if Cleveland’s dynamic duo is unable to go on Wednesday – the pair combined for 49 points in the opener – but if not, the Cavs will still be in the capable hands of Matthew Dellavedova.
Even with a pair of miscues in the two losses over the weekend, Delly still has an absurd 8:1 – (32:4) – assist-to-turnover ratio in six games this season. In Sunday’s contest against New Orleans, he led both teams with 10 helpers.