Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Donovan, LaVine, Ivey, LeVert

January 4th, 2023 at 12:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Last-Two Minute Reports have shown that the Bulls were on the wrong end of some critical calls during their past two games, but that’s little consolation for coach Billy Donovan, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.

“It doesn’t do anything,” Donovan said after Monday’s overtime loss at Cleveland. “It’s like, ‘We’re sorry.’”

The NBA determined that officials in that game missed a lane violation on Donovan Mitchell when he sank a game-tying shot with three seconds left in regulation after rebounding his intentionally missed free throw. The league’s report also said a travel by Cleveland center Jarrett Allen was missed before he scored with 8.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The NBA acknowledged that two nights earlier, DeMar DeRozan was fouled by Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert on a potential game-winning shot as time expired. The Bulls also were the victim of a missed call at the end of their second game of the season. Three extra wins would have Chicago on the verge of a top-six spot in the East instead of its current position outside the play-in tournament, but Donovan said the team can’t dwell on officiating mistakes.

“We’ve got to overcome things. I’m just a big believer of that,” he said. “I think a lot of times you can look around and look at what everybody else is doing wrong instead of looking at yourself and what we can do better ourselves and what we have control over.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Bulls guard Zach LaVine said this week that he doesn’t mind seeing the team’s last-second shots going to DeMar DeRozan, but K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago doubts whether LaVine was being honest with that statement. Sources tell Johnson that LaVine has “questioned his role internally” as a complementary player to DeRozan.
Pistons guard Jaden Ivey is making an impression on rival coaches during the first half of his rookie season, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Although the No. 5 pick needs to improve his shooting numbers, his athletic gifts suggest that he has a bright NBA future. “You watch him the open floor and he’s dangerous,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “He’ll continue to develop his shot. He’ll get better as time progresses. That’s just how those guys are.”
LeVert is considered the Cavaliers‘ top trade asset heading into next month’s deadline, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said on his latest podcast. Fedor explains that LeVert has an expiring contract and his $18.8MM salary is in the range of players that Cleveland might want to acquire.

Mitchell Playing With Great Efficiency

January 3rd, 2023 at 5:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Donovan Mitchell‘s 71-point eruption on Monday has washed away his disappointing postseason performances with Utah last season, Michael Pina of The Ringer writes. The 25-year-old Mitchell has been as efficient offensively as he’s ever been during his career. If he can sustain that, the Cavaliers got a special talent that rarely gets traded, particularly before the player reaches age 30.

Mitchell’s 71-Point Game Latest Highlight In Historic Offensive Season For NBA

January 3rd, 2023 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell exploded for 71 points (and 11 assists!) in Cleveland’s overtime win over Chicago on Monday night, marking the highest-scoring night for an NBA player since Kobe Bryant poured in 81 points against Toronto in January 2006, nearly 17 years ago.

“In my 15 years, that’s the best performance I’ve ever seen,” said veteran forward Kevin Love, who spent several seasons playing alongside all-time great LeBron James and saw Kyrie Irving score 55-plus points multiple times (link via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com).

Including Bryant, there were just six players in NBA history who had scored at least 70 points in a game before Mitchell did it on Monday — Wilt Chamberlain, David Thompson, David Robinson, Elgin Baylor, and Devin Booker are the others.

“It’s humbling. I’m speechless to be honest with you,” Mitchell said, per Fedor. “Not only did I do that but I did it in an effort where we came back and won and it’s how we won. This is nuts. I’m extremely blessed and humbled that I’m in that company, in that group.”

As Marc J. Spears of Andscape tweets, Mitchell scored or assisted on 99 Cavaliers points, which is the second-highest total in NBA history, topped only by Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962.

Mitchell’s performance stands above the rest of the class as the best single game of the 2022/23 season, but he has faced plenty of competition, and was hardly the only player to have a huge night on Monday. Klay Thompson scored 54 points in a double-overtime victory for the Warriors; LeBron James had 43 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists en route to a win in Charlotte; Joel Embiid went for 42 points and 11 rebounds in a win over New Orleans; and DeMar DeRozan, whose Bulls lost to the Cavs, saw his 44-point showing get overshadowed in a major way by Mitchell’s night.

According to NBA.com, Monday represented the third time since December 23 (11 days ago) that at least five players have scored 40-plus points on the same day. Prior to December 23, that had only happened four times in NBA history.

As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer observes (via Twitter), Mitchell’s and Thompson’s outbursts on Monday represented the 12th and 13th times this season that a player had scored at least 50 points in a game. That means we’re on pace for 28 such performances this season, which would be the most the NBA has seen since 1962/63 — there were 34 that year, and 30 of them were from Chamberlain.

It hasn’t just been a historic year so far for individual offense. Team offense is also reaching a high water mark that the NBA hasn’t seen in the last 50-plus years. According to Basketball-Reference, teams are averaging 113.7 points per game so far in 2022/23, which would be the highest league-wide scoring average since the 1969/70 season.

While it may not appeal to fans who love defensive slugfests, this season’s brand of basketball has been ideal for those who favor shootouts. It’s also forcing us to rethink how we evaluate a player’s stat line relative to the league average.

It’s still impressive for a player to average 20 points per game, for instance, but it’s not nearly as rare a feat as it was even 10 years ago, when teams were scoring just 98.1 points per game. In 2012/13, only nine qualifying players averaged 20 PPG for the season — this year, 43 are doing so.

Garland Doubtful To Play Monday

January 1st, 2023 at 5:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavaliers star guard Darius Garland (right thumb sprain) is listed as doubtful to play against the Bulls on Monday, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic tweets. Cleveland forward Evan Mobley (right ankle soreness) is listed as questionable.

Injury Updates: Leonard, C. Johnson, Garland, Brunson

December 31st, 2022 at 6:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has been playing under a minutes restriction all season while returning from a partially torn ACL, but that appears to have been lifted, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Leonard logged 35 minutes Saturday afternoon at Indiana after playing 37 and 35 in the team’s past two games, meaning he’s basically back on a regular schedule.

“Still moving up the right track, feeling healthy still and that’s what it’s about,” Leonard said after the game. “Just keep getting better.”

Coach Tyronn Lue didn’t confirm that Leonard’s minutes limit is gone, but he said the increased availability is welcome because it allows him to stagger Leonard and Paul George and keep at least one star on the court throughout the game.

There’s more injury news to pass along:

Suns forward Cameron Johnson appears to be getting closer to a return after having meniscus surgery on November 8, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, who posted a video of Johnson running before Friday night’s game.
Darius Garland, who suffered a sprained right thumb late in Thursday’s game, will miss the Cavaliers‘ contest on Saturday night in Chicago, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Garland has been receiving treatment for the injury since it happened, Fedor adds. Cleveland will also be without big man Evan Mobley, who is missing his first game of the season because of soreness in his right ankle. Lamar Stevens and Kevin Love will start in their place, giving the Cavs their 17th different starting lineup in 37 games.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson will miss his third straight game with a hip injury tonight in Houston, tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The Rockets will be without starting center Alperen Sengun, who is suffering lower back pain, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston (Twitter link).

Cavaliers, Nuggets In Market For Wing Help

December 30th, 2022 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers and Nuggets are among the teams expected to peruse the trade market for help on the wing in the coming weeks, according to a pair of reports.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe (insider link) says league sources expect Cleveland to seek another short-term option on the wing, while Sam Amick of The Athletic cites sources who say the Nuggets will be looking for at least one wing to help bolster their bench.

Lowe’s report on the Cavaliers comes as no surprise, given that the club has long been thought to be in the market for a wing. With Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in the frontcourt and Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland in the backcourt, a three-and-D wing who can make shots on offense and lock down opposing perimeter threats would be an ideal fit for the Cavs.

Cleveland has some solid defensive wings on the roster, but players like Isaac Okoro and Lamar Stevens don’t offer much offensively. Caris LeVert, meanwhile, is a career 33.4% three-point shooter who isn’t an especially stout defender.

As for the Nuggets, Amick says the goal is to get “longer, more athletic, versatile, defensive-minded, and bigger” on the wing. The “dream scenario,” he adds, would be to find another player with a similar skill set to Aaron Gordon, who is enjoying the best year of his career in Denver.

While it doesn’t hurt to aim high, it seems unlikely that the Nuggets will be able to land that sort of impact player, given their relative lack of trade assets. They’ve already moved three future first-round picks and don’t have many logical salary-matching pieces — only six players on the roster are earning more than $5MM (Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Bruce Brown) and none of them are good bets to be moved this season.

Denver could potentially acquire a mid-level type player by building a package around Ish Smith and his $4.7MM expiring salary.

Cavs Concerned Garland Could Miss Time With Thumb Injury

December 30th, 2022 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers guard Darius Garland injured his right thumb during Thursday’s loss in Indiana and there’s concern that he could miss some time, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Garland sustained the injury when his right hand got hit by Pacers forward Oshae Brissett, who was attempting to knock the ball loose. Flexing his right thumb in clear discomfort, Garland stayed in the game for a couple more possessions before exiting to be evaluated by Cleveland’s training staff. The 22-year-old checked back in about three minutes later, but didn’t attempt another shot the rest of the night and missed a pair of free throws in the game’s final minute, Fedor writes.

“It was bothering me a lot,” Garland said after the game. “I was just trying to go out there and compete as much as I could. The last two free throws, I looked at (head coach) J.B. (Bickerstaff) and I was like, ‘Ah, I really don’t want to shoot these.’ But I got fouled and just tried to make two. They didn’t go in. Everything hurt. I was playing with a wrapped thumb. I couldn’t really do anything. I wasn’t going to be effective with that. It was already throbbing and swollen at that point.”

Garland will be examined further on Friday before the Cavs announce an official diagnosis and provide an update on his availability for Saturday’s game in Chicago. According to Fedor, the point guard said he hopes to “fight through it” and be ready to face the Bulls.

Still, even if Garland has avoided a serious injury, he couldn’t hide his frustration about the amount of contact he has taken this season, which began when he suffered an eyelid laceration due to a reach-in attempt on opening night.

“Just getting hacked all season,” Garland said. “Nothing has changed. The physicality isn’t a factor at all. It’s the whistle not being blown at the right time when it’s a foul, an obvious foul. Some of this stuff we should be reviewing.

“… The whole thing about the league taking care of the players, it seems like we’re not doing that as much this year. At least, the way we did in previous years.”

Cavaliers Notes: Rubio, Mobley, Mitchell, Irving

December 27th, 2022 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio, who was cleared earlier this month to participate in 5-on-5 work, is getting close to making his season debut following his recovery from a torn left ACL. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff indicated today that Rubio’s return could come at some point early in the new year, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link).

“I would expect him, if things go the right way, sometime early next month,” Bickerstaff said. “So we’re definitely progressing in the right direction.”

Rubio began last season in Cleveland and played a key role in the Cavaliers’ early-season success, but sustained an ACL tear on December 28, almost exactly one year ago. He was subsequently traded to Indiana as a salary-matching piece when the team acquired Caris LeVert.

The Cavs were 20-13 entering the game in which Rubio got injured, but lost that contest and then played .500 ball the rest of the way, falling out of the playoffs in the East after losing a pair of play-in games. They’re off to a 22-13 start this season as the veteran point guard works through the final stages of his rehab process.

Here are a few more Cavs-related notes:

As Russo writes for The Athletic, Nets star Kevin Durant said he believes Cavs big man Evan Mobley has a “bright future” in Cleveland after working out with the former No. 3 overall pick in the Los Angeles area over the summer. “A lot of guys coming into the league who can do pretty much all things on a court, and he’s one of those guys that can dribble, that can guard, block shots, shoot threes, finish over the rim,” Durant said. “So, he showcased that this summer. Seeing his work ethic up close is something I wanted to see as a fan of the game because you can see the potential if you see a guy work.”
Durant also praised Donovan Mitchell for the role he has played in the team’s strong start this season, per Robert Fenbers of Cleveland.com. “Donovan Mitchell is the key to this change for this team, and it’s the reason why you look at them as contenders at this point,” Durant said. “He is such a dynamic, dynamic player since the moment he has stepped into this league.”
Kyrie Irving is typically greeted with boos in Cleveland because of how his tenure with the team ended, but in spite of Irving’s trade request, Kevin Love believes his former teammate deserves to have his number retired by the Cavs, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Without a doubt. Absolutely. Right away, after his career ends,” Love said. “It’s not even a question to me. He needs to be up there. He made the biggest shot in franchise history and one of the most important shots in Finals history when you consider how it all went down — what it meant for the city, what it meant for his legacy, LeBron (James)‘s legacy and everything else, including that Golden State team that became a dynasty and was historically great.”

Community Shootaround: Best Team In The East

December 24th, 2022 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

When we took a closer look at the Western Conference earlier this week, we pointed out that the No. 1 seed had changed hands many times this season, with eight different teams holding it at some point and five of those clubs spending at least six days as the West’s top team.

That hasn’t been the case in the Eastern Conference, where the Celtics and Bucks have essentially shared the top seed all season. According to Basketball-Reference, Milwaukee held it from October 24 to November 13, Boston had it from November 14 to December 17, and the two teams have traded it back and forth during the past week.

Milwaukee and Boston have made a strong case to be considered the East’s most serious championship threats. The Celtics have been especially impressive, posting the NBA’s best offensive rating (116.6) and net rating (+6.0) while getting an MVP-caliber performance from Jayson Tatum. They’ve also spent most of the season playing without their best rim protector, Robert Williams, and could have an even higher ceiling now that he’s back.

The Bucks have stuck right there with them though, buoyed by the league’s third-best defense and an MVP candidate of their own in forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Like Boston, Milwaukee has gotten off to a strong start despite playing shorthanded — All-Star forward Khris Middleton has been limited to seven games and has struggled mightily in those appearances, so the Bucks could presumably reach another gear if and when they’re fully healthy and firing on all cylinders.

Both the Celtics and Bucks have been up and down in recent weeks, however. Boston has lost five of seven games and actually has the NBA’s worst offensive rating (107.0) during the month of December. Milwaukee has lost four of its last seven.

As the East’s leaders have struggled, several other would-be contenders have closed the gap at the top of the standings, starting with the Cavaliers. The offseason addition of Donovan Mitchell has helped Cleveland take a step forward this season, while the frontcourt duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley has led the NBA’s best defense (107.2 rating).

Cleveland’s +6.0 net rating is tied with Boston for the league’s best mark. The Cavs also have a pair of victories over Boston under their belts already this season and beat Milwaukee on Wednesday, proving they can hang with the East’s top clubs.

Meanwhile, two teams expected to be title contenders before the season began have been on fire lately after getting off to sluggish starts — the Nets have won eight games in a row and 12 of their last 13, while the Sixers are riding their own seven-game winning streak. Brooklyn is now within two games of the East’s top seed, while Philadelphia is just three games out.

The Nets’ offense has looked in recent weeks like the well-oiled machine that we thought it could be, as they comfortably lead the NBA with a 120.4 offensive rating in December. Kevin Durant has played some of the best basketball of his career, Kyrie Irving is staying out of the news and playing great basketball following his return from an eight-game suspension, and Ben Simmons is looking a whole lot more comfortable on both ends of the court after a concerning start to the season.

Somewhat surprisingly, Philadelphia has been most effective on the defensive end of the ball, trailing only the Cavs with a 108.3 defensive rating, but James Harden and Joel Embiid have been clicking on offense lately too. In a win over the Clippers on Friday, Embiid racked up 44 points while Harden had 21 assists. The offense should take another step forward once Tyrese Maxey returns from a foot injury.

The East’s top five seeds look like the best bets to come out of the conference, but we should also mention the Knicks (18-15), who have the East’s best net rating (+10.2) in December, along with the Hawks (17-16), Pacers (17-16), Heat (16-17), and Raptors (15-18), who are lurking in play-in territory for now.

We want to know what you think. Which team do you expect to finish the regular season holding the East’s No. 1 seed? Will the same club represent the conference in the NBA Finals, or will another team make a deeper playoff run? Do you consider the East to be as wide open as the West, or are there fewer real title threats here beyond the top few seeds?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Markkanen Was Shocked By Trade; Allen Emerging As DPOY Candidate

December 23rd, 2022 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Lauri Markkanen had intended to lay down roots in Cleveland and admits that the offseason trade sending him from the Cavaliers to the Jazz came as “kind of a shock,” writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). However, Markkanen doesn’t hold any ill will toward his old team. “It was tough at first because we really enjoyed our time (in Cleveland),” Markkanen said. “Had a really fun year last season so it was tough at first. But then settled in and see the opportunity with Utah. Understanding the business, I know there’s always a chance. It’s not like I had any anger.”
In a separate subscriber-only story for Cleveland.com, Fedor makes the case that Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen has emerged as a legitimate candidate for this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Allen is the anchor of a unit that now leads the NBA in defensive rating (106.8).