Cavs News: Exhausted Celtics, White Hot Love, turtle Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers were off on Sunday, allowing them to sit at home and watch a game with significant implications. The New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics played on ESPN on Sunday evening, with the game going to double-overtime before the Knicks finally won 131-129.

On the one hand, the Cavs likely wish that the surging Knicks had lost the game. They have won nine-straight games and are just one game back of the Cavs for fourth in the Eastern Conference. More importantly, however, the length and intensity of the game could work in the Cavs’ direct favor.

The Boston Celtics wrapped up their unexpectedly-long game on Sunday sometime around 10:45 pm, did postgame media, boarded a plane and flew to Cleveland where they will face the Cavaliers at 7:00 pm. Jayson Tatum played 49 minutes, Jaylen Brown 47 and Al Horford 46. The Celtics played a tight eight-man rotation that stretched everyone thin.

The Cavs might be without Donovan Mitchell tonight, who sprained multiple fingers in their Saturday win over the Detroit Pistons, but it’s very likely the Celtics will be even more short-handed. One of the hardest remaining games on the schedule could turn into a schedule win if the Celtics decide to rest their key players after such an arduous battle with the Knicks last night.

That doesn’t mean the Cavaliers should overlook the game, no matter who plays; they did that earlier this year against a resting Golden State Warriors team and were embarrassed on their home floor. Still, the double-OT game could be a boon to the Cavs as they try to keep pace in a tough Eastern Conference.

More Cavs news

The Cavaliers’ absolute demolition of the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, paired with the Celtics’ two-game skid, means that Cleveland now owns the best net rating in the NBA at +5.6. Boston is next at +5.3, with Denver at +4.5 and Milwaukee at +4.1. Other all-in-one team metrics like SRS (Simple Rating System) and Dunks & Threes’ adjusted net rating, which factor in the strength of schedule, rate the Cavs as the best team in the league.

Here on the website, Mateo Mayorga wrote about Kevin Love’s start in Miami, and how the big man is still ice cold despite playing for the white-hot. Then this morning we looked at the NBA standings according to pace, highlighting Cleveland’s spot as the league’s turtles and whether that would be a problem in the postseason.

NBA news

Sunday was chock full of important basketball games. The Phoenix Suns faced their first real test with Kevin Durant in the lineup, winning in Dallas as Durant and Devin Booker combined for 73 points and kept the Mavericks in a tailspin. That gave the Suns a two-game cushion on the Golden State Warriors, who lost to the Los Angeles Lakers despite Stephen Curry’s return. Another West showdown served as the nightcap, with the LA Clippers pulling off a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies.

In the Eastern Conference, we discussed the Knicks beating the Celtics to win their ninth straight. The Milwaukee Bucks held off a tough Washington Wizards team to stay at the top of the East standings, while the Brooklyn Nets won against the Charlotte Hornets to stay at sixth and above the Play-In cut line for now.

Coming up: The Cavaliers play the Boston Celtics tonight at 7:00 PM ET.