On Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers (18-12, fourth in the Eastern Conference) wrapped up a possible pendulum swinging three-game homestand against the feisty Houston Rockets (9-19, 13th in Western Conference).
Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Lauri Markkanen and Cleveland made light work of the Rockets 124-89; now, the Rockets were severely shorthanded, but the Cavs were in complete control from the jump. This extended the Cavaliers’ winning streak to five games. The last time the Cavaliers had a five-game winning streak was in 2018 when some guy named LeBron James was here.
On this three-game homestand, the Cavaliers faced the Sacramento Kings (both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back), the Miami Heat, and the Rockets, who have been playing better of late.
What really made the three-game homestand potentially pendulum swinging or momentum-altering was the 105-94 on Monday night against the Miami Heat. The reason is that the Cavs sat 1 game behind the Heat for fourth place in the East. Moreover, the Heat had vengeance on their mind after what happened on Dec. 1 down in South Beach.
The Heat were without their primary guys, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, but they still fought the Cavs tooth and nail. The Heat wasn’t just going to hand over the fourth seed in the East. But the Cavaliers took it from them anyway.
The other two games on the homestand against the Kings and Rockets were the side dishes to the Heat entrée.
But now that the three-game homestand is over, they will go on a three-game road trip. But here’s the thing, the three-game road trip tips the scale a little bit.
The road trip starts in Wisconsin on Saturday night against the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks will likely be without the reigning Finals MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo, as he’s currently in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Also versatile swingman Khris Middleton could miss Saturday’s game due to a knee injury.
In the first meeting against the Bucks, the Cavs were in the game pretty much from start to the finish. But the Bucks were able to put together a late run to come away with a 112-104 win. To only lose by 8 against the defending champs on the second night of a back-to-back is a feat in itself. That said, there’s no such thing as a moral victory.
Then on Sunday, the Cavs have to travel down south to face the team that the Bucks eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Atlanta Hawks. Talk about getting the double whammy from the schedule makers. Seriously, why do we have to play the Bucks and Hawks on a back-to-back in Milwaukee and Atlanta? The Hawks feature superstar Trae Young, John Collins and Kevin Huerter, plus solid swingmen in Cam Reddish and Danilo Gallinari.
Then on Wednesday, the Cavaliers will visit Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Boston Celtics. This game will mark the final regular season game between the two teams, with the season series being tied 1-1. The first two meetings were in Cleveland in a span of three days in mid-November.
People across the league are starting to take notice of what the Cavaliers are doing. Fans and media members are coming around on the legitimacy of this team. But this impending three-game road trip is going to tell us a lot about this team. The Bucks are the defending NBA champions and they’re in the Central Division with the Cavs.
The Hawks were a No. 5 seed last season and they still made it to the Conference Finals (where they lost to the Bucks). In the process of getting to the Conference Finals, the Hawks took out the No. 1 seed, the Philadelphia 76ers.
When the Cavaliers and Celtics lock horns, it always seems to produce something special. Just look at the recent playoff history between the two teams, the series’ are usually really intense and come right down to the wire.
If the Cavs are somehow able to sweep this road trip or if they even go 2-1, they would really turn some heads. Especially because of the teams they’re playing on this road trip.
Right now, the Cavaliers seem like a feel-good story to some, highlighted by a recent SportsCenter tweet, however, if they can sweep this road trip, they won’t be seen as just a feel-good story any more.