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Hornets at Cavs: Mitchell resting, Merrill still out with ankle inflammation

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The 14-0 Cavaliers host the 5-7 Charlotte Hornets tonight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The Cavs are coming off a 144-126 win over Chicago Friday night. The 18-point margin of victory doesn’t tell the whole story, as the Cavs struggled to get separation against a gunslinging Bulls team that ranks fourth in made 3-pointers.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 37 points. Darius Garland had 29, Jarrett Allen had 24 and Georges Niang added 14 in a spot start for Evan Mobley, who was sick.

  1. Let’s talk about tonight’s game:
    1. Donovan Mitchell will sit this one out in the name of load management. It looks like Kenny Atkinson is resting him for Tuesday night’s showdown in Boston.
    2. Sam Merrill is out again. Merrill has missed the last two games with left-ankle soreness.
    3. Today’s official injury report indicates that Merrill is out due to left-ankle “inflammation.”
    4. Max Strus remains out with a right-ankle sprain.
    5. Ankle soreness and ankle sprains might seem like minor injuries at first glance, but Cavs fans are well-aware that an ankle injury can wipe out an entire season. Look no further than Ty Jerome last year for painful proof.
    6. Speaking of Jerome, the Cavs haven’t announced their starting lineup for tonight’s game yet, but I’m wondering if Jerome is a candidate for a spot start in lieu of Mitchell.
    7. Evan Mobley missed Friday night’s game due to an illness. Mobley is listed as probable tonight. With Mitchell out, you’d think Mobley would play if he’s anywhere near 100% or even 90%.
    8. Assuming Mobley plays, one possible starting combo would be Garland, Okoro, Niang, Mobley and Allen. That would allow Jerome to spell Garland. We’re certain to see more of Craig Porter Jr. tonight as well.
    9. Caris LeVert is another option for the starting lineup. It’ll be interesting to see what the mad scientist comes up with.
    10. This is a rare “rest-advantage” game for the Cavaliers. Charlotte is on the second night of a back-to-back.
    11. The Hornets edged Milwaukee 115-114 last night.
    12. LaMelo Ball is off to a strong start. Ball is averaging a career-high 29.6 points per game, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds.
Georges Niang

Bulls at Cavs: Niang gets spot start

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Well there’s a bit of news to talk about as the Cavaliers put their 13-game winning streak on the line tonight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Evan Mobley is out with an illness, and Kenny Atkinson has opted to slide in 6-foot-7 Georges Niang to take his place. G-Wagon is averaging 6.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and one assist off the bench this season.

I have some thoughts.

  1. Guessing I’m not the only one who did a double-take when the Cavaliers announced their starting five a few minutes ago. Did Dean Wade fall out of favor with coach Atkinson?
  2. Seriously, what’s wrong with Dean Wade?
  3. I’ve heard that Atkinson is an analytics guy, so maybe more than likely he knows something that we don’t. Plus, the Cavs are 13-0, so who am I to question him?
  4. In case you’ve been off the grid for the past month or so, the Cavs are only the sixth team in NBA history to start the season 13-0.
  5. A win tonight and the 2023-2024 Cavs would own the franchise record for the longest win streak at any point in the season. Pretty impressive.
  6. The offense is still cookin’. The Cavaliers are tops in the league in points per game (121.8), field-goal percentage (51.8%) and 3-point percentage (41.2%).
  7. The Cavs are on pace to set a franchise record for 3-point-shooting percentage. The current high-water mark is 40.7% from the 1989-1990 season.
  8. I feel obliged to mention that the NBA in-season tournament is underway. I’ll leave it at that.

 

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