The Cleveland Cavaliers have just defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in their third to last game of the season. How did it go? What are the seeding implications? Here’s a look back at the Cavs’ 98-110 victory over Memphis to bolster their postseason seeding.
The Cavaliers went with a starting lineup of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
Mitchell finished with a team high 29 points, four rebounds and eight assists. He also hit five threes at a 50 percent clip, with a 52.9 field goal percentage. He was instrumental in keeping Cleveland in the game early, as he scored 19 in the first half alone.
Both big men finished with double-doubles tonight. Mobley scored 12 points with 12 boards, three steals and four blocks. Allen finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. He also had a massive dunk that helped swing momentum in Cleveland’s favor. The Cavs’ frontcourt played all over the place.
Garland also finished with 16 points to go with six rebounds and nine assists. Although putting up a quality overall stat line, Garland struggled shooting threes. He made only two of nine, making both in the second half. Despite struggling to get the deep ball, he posted the highest plus/minus on the team at plus 23.
Caris LeVert also continues to be a big contributor off the bench. Scoring 18 points with two boards, two assists and two steals, LeVert’s high caliber play should be a big help in the playoffs.
Turnovers are like cockroaches to this Cavaliers team. No matter how much they try to get rid of them, they just won’t go away. The Cavs committed a total of 13 turnovers tonight, spread across the team. Mobley had four, Mitchell and Garland each had three, and Allen, LeVert and Niang each also posted one.
The turnovers, and bad pacing in the first half, led to some sloppy basketball on both ends. This is a Grizzlies squad that’s played an all-time NBA record 33 different players this season. The Cavaliers, with a fully healthy starting lineup, should not enter halftime losing to a team this badly beaten up. Cleveland scored only 16 points in the second quarter.
The Grizzlies also scored 24 points off turnovers, meaning the sloppy play is leading to closer games for the Cavs. Their play will have to tighten up if they want to succeed in the postseason.
With the Cavs victory, and the Milwaukee Bucks beating the Orlando Magic, they move up to fourth place. Now only half a game back from the New York Knicks in third, Cleveland could move up again before the end of the season. If they win out, and the Knicks lose the rest of their games, that is, but it’s still on the table.
The Eastern Conference is extremely messy going into the postseason. Though the Boston Celtics locked up the top spot a while ago, almost every other seed is still undetermined. If Cleveland can continue to play like they played in the second half of this game, they should be able to move up one more time before the end of the season.
For more NBA and other sports and esports news, you can find The Game Haus on Twitter and Facebook.
Featured photo courtesy of NBA.com
“From Our
Haus
to Your’s”
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
