Eastern Conference basketball is back on Thursday night with a matchup between the red hot Cleveland Cavaliers (32-16, 2nd in the East) and the Brooklyn Nets (20-30, 11th in the East). Cleveland will be on the tail end of a back to back, as they play in Washington on Wednesday (Note: This article was published before the results of the Wizards/Cavaliers game). In Brooklyn's last game, they lost 119-107 at home against Dallas, failing to cover as 2.5-point underdogs. This will be the third of four games between these teams this season, with the Cavaliers holding a 2-0 lead, winning one at home and one on the road. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 EST from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have won 14 of their last 15 games and are the hottest team in the NBA. Their only loss came on the road in Milwaukee, and the team is finally healthy again after having two of their top stars miss multiple games. Darius Garland and Evan Mobley both missed substantial time with injuries, but are now back in the starting lineup. In their last game, Cleveland was led by Donovan Mitchell with 29 points in a win over the Sacramento Kings.
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Donovan Mitchell is the leading scorer for Cleveland with 28.2 PPG, and he was just named an All-Star Reserve. Mitchell knocks down 3.3 three pointers per game, and has scored 25 or more in his last six games, including a 45-point game against Detroit. Darius Garland provides a second scorer and ball handler in the backcourt, he is averaging 19.0 PPG and 5.7 APG, this will be his sixth game since returning from injury. Cleveland has two players averaging a double-double inside, as Evan Mobley gets 15.7 PPG and 10.2 RPG, while Jarrett Allen adds another 15.6 PPG and 10.6 RPG. Max Strus rounds out the starting lineup as an outside shooter, he is averaging 12.6 PPG from the perimeter.
Caris LaVert is their top scorer off the bench, he averages 15.3 PPG to lead the second unit. Isaac Okoro and Georges Niang play the most of the remaining minutes off the bench. Cleveland currently ranks 16th in offensive efficiency and 2nd in defensive effic iency according to dunksandthrees.com. The Cavaliers play at the 19th fastest tempo in the NBA based on their pace of play.
Injury Report:
Out: Ty Jerome