The Cavaliers have overcome injury issues to become one of the best teams in the East. Are they ready for a playoff test?
Cleveland’s top two scorers – Donovan Mitchell (27.4 in 49 games) and Darius Garland (18.7 in 45 games) – rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in games played over Cleveland’s 69 so far this season.
The next man: With injuries hampering two of their stars, the Cavs held on to their third place in the East thanks to a collective effort from top to bottom of the roster.
Everyone involved: Over the past three months, the Cavs rank second in assist percentage, with 69.5% of their baskets coming off an assist.
To what extent did they share the rock? Ten different Cavs have led them in scoring this season (and all but one have led the team at least twice).
No other team ranked top five in either conference did that. Indy (13 players) is the only other team in a playoff position to do so.
Cleveland’s top scorers this season
- 32x: Donovan Mitchell
- 9x: Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland
- 5x: Caris LeVert
- 4x: Max Strus
- 3x: Sam Merrill
- 2x: Evan Mobley, Georges Niang and Dean Wade
- 1 time: Craig Porter Jr.
In the space of a week, the Cavs had the Max Strus game (February 27 vs. Dallas) and the Dean Wade game (March 5 vs. Boston) as both players caught fire on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to lead the Cavs to improbable victories.
While different players led the offense Throughout the season, one of the Cavs’ pillars has been the defense, which ranks fourth overall on the season (111.0), but has been even better over the past three months (109.3 , 2nd in the NBA).
Jarrett Allen’s presence was felt at both ends. He’s already racked up a career-high 34 double-doubles and defensively holds opponents below their expected shooting percentage near the basket (-7.5% inside six feet) and to the line 3 points (-3.3%).
With Mitchell (nasal fracture), Strus (knee), Wade (knee) and Mobley (ankle) are all out for tonight’s game against Minnesota (8 ET, NBA TV), this will be another approach by committee for the Cavs in this clash of No. 3.
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