HOMESTAND FINALE
After winning six of their last eight, the Cavaliers look to close out the five-game homestand in style on Thursday night when they go for the season sweep over the Trail Blazers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Cavs won their second straight in Tuesday night’s IST group play finale against Atlanta. The Wine & Gold fell just short of advancing in the Tourney, but did earn their 10th win of the season, and looked impressive doing so as the roster gets healthy. Donovan Mitchell snapped out of a mini-slump with a 40-point exclamation point and Evan Mobley posted an historic two-way performance in the lopsided victory.
On the heels of an eight-game losing skein, the Blazers have won two of three as they embark on a five-game roadie. On Monday night, they held the league’s highest-scoring team, Indiana, to 110 points, and Jerami Grant led all scorers with 34 points.
Cleveland has taken each of the last five and six of the last eight in the head-to-head series against Portland, including a two-touchdown win to wrap up a road trip in mid-November. The Cavs open the month of December on the road – traveling to Motown to take on a Pistons team currently riding a 15-game losing streak.
SHOOTING STARS
The Blazers are in the early stages of a rebuild, but they still need dependable veterans to keep them afloat. Jermi Grant, who’s having a career-year, has been that for Portland.
Grant comes into Thursday’s contest averaging 23.4ppg, with three 30-point outings on the season, including two of the last three games. The Cavs held the 10th-year man and Portland native relatively in check earlier this month – finishing with 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting.
In 23 career meetings against Cleveland, Grant is averaging an even 14.0ppg, netting double-figures in 13 of the last 14 meetings, including a 40-point outburst as a member of the Pistons back in 2022.
The Cavs leading scorer got off the schneid on Tuesday night – with Donovan Mitchell notching his 15th 40-point game as a Cavalier, going 14-for-25 from the field, adding a season-high 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
Mitchell has had no problems against Portland of late – averaging 29.8ppg on 60 percent shooting over the last six outings, all victories.
GOOD GUARD!
Malcolm Brogdon wasn’t in the lineup the last time the Blazers faced Cleveland, but he should be there on Thursday night.
The league’s Rookie of the Year in 2016-17 and last year’s top Sixth Man, Brogdon has been very good again this season, averaging 18.3 points and 6.3 assists in his 12 appearances this year – with Portland going 5-7 in those games.
In 18 career meetings against Cleveland, he’s topped the 20-point mark in eight of them, including a 24-point effort off the bench last year while with the Celtics.
Darius Garland also missed the mid-November matchup in Portland, and he’s been in a groove since returning – averaging 21.3ppg on 52 percent shooting, with three outings handing out eight assists over that seven-game span.
In his last four head-to-head meetings against Portland – all victories – Garland has averaged 22.3ppg, with three double-doubles in the mix.