The Cavaliers return home Monday night, looking to shake off the taste of defeat from Sunday when they welcome the Hornets to town for the first half of a home-and-home game.
On Sunday night, the Wine & Gold lost their third straight game – an uninspired effort on South Beach, trailing by as many as 45 points in the fourth quarter after JB Bickerstaff emptied his bench in the third. Evan Mobley returned after a nine-game absence and was the only Cavalier to score in double figures, but that’s about where the highlights end, with Cleveland absorbing the 37-point loss.
The Hornets are coming off an even bigger loss in their last outing – a 41-point defeat at the hands of the Hawks, their 11th.th defeat in the last 13 outings. Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 27 points and Nick Richards led all rebounders, but Atlanta made 20 three-pointers and had three players top the 20-point board.
The Cavs have won three of the last four games against Charlotte, but this is their first meeting this season. Cleveland travels to face the Hornets on Wednesday night, then again to close out the 2023-24 campaign on April 14 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
After missing all of last season, Miles Bridges is having a career year in his fifth season at Michigan State – leading the Hornets in scoring at 21.9 points per game and second in rebounding (7.5 rpg per game). match).
Bridges is coming off a 27-point performance in Charlotte’s lopsided loss at Atlanta and has topped the 20-point mark in five of his last outings, with three 30-point games this year and back-to-back 40-point performances at at the beginning of February.
In his final full season, in four games against Cleveland, Bridges averaged 18.0 points per game, with a 30-point night in the mix.
With Evan Mobley returning to the starting lineup, Georges Niang returned to the bench after nine straight starts – averaging 14.2 points per game on 52 percent shooting. With Niang back in a reserve role, Isaac Okoro moved to the 3 on Sunday.
After scoring double figures in seven of eight games, Okoro has done so just once in his last six outings.
The Hornets have had a rough season, but one reason for hope is the play of rookie Brandon Miller, averaging 16.6 points per game in his first season out of Alabama.
Bothsd An overall pick in last June’s draft, Miller has started 57 games for Charlotte this season, posting 19 games of at least 20 points and two 30-point efforts. So far this season, Miller has made 147 three-pointers — most by a Hornets rookie in team history and most by a first-year player this year.
Evan Mobley returned to the starting lineup on Sunday, finishing with 15 points, going 4 of 6 from the field, including 2 of 2 from deep and 5 of 6 from the field.
Mobley was very good in four games against Charlotte last year, averaging 17.8 points and 9.5 rebounds on 57 percent shooting with Cleveland winning three of the four.
