Cavaliers preview: Cleveland injury update, key statistics for Game 7 vs. Magic
Despite intentionally putting themselves in position to play the Orlando Magic in Round One, the Cleveland Cavaliers have it all on the line in a grand finale Game 7 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Since the beginning of the series, the Cavs have been favored to move on. Surprisingly, the away team has yet to win a single match. The Cavaliers came close in Game 6 before the Magic pulled away in the final minutes to spoil Donovan Mitchell's 50-point night. It marked the second time in the star's playoff career to score more than fifty points in a postseason loss.
Cleveland holds homecourt advantage for Game 7, giving them the advantage. After nearly stealing the first road win of the series, the Cavaliers enter the final match with momentum and three games of excellence at home. The Cavs will need to lean on their stars and their playoff experience to outlast a hungry Orlando squad. Unfortunately for Cleveland, their bench production has been next to nothing, and Mitchell has played through a knee injury all six games. With Jarrett Allen's addition to the injury report ahead of Game 5, the Cavaliers' status on Sunday are far from predictable.
Who's playing for the Cavaliers in Game 7?
There have been no official changes to either team's injury report since Game 6. Though Evan Mobley temporarily exited last game early in the second quarter with an ankle injury that halted his impact the rest of the game, he has not been downgraded from active yet.
Cavaliers Injury Report:
Jarrett Allen (rib) QUESTIONABLE, Dean Wade (knee) OUT, Ty Jerome (ankle) OUT, Craig Porter, Jr. (ankle) OUT
Magic Injury Report
Gary Harris (hamstring) QUESTIONABLE
Ahead of Cleveland's last game in Orlando, Allen practiced with the team and was prepared to play until shortly before tip off. He has only been reported to have a rib contusion, relieving any concerns of long-lasting injuries that could span into the Second Round if Cleveland wins. Still, the Cavaliers are struggling to stay healthy since the start of the regular season. The Magic's physical, and sometimes reckless, defense has certainly left the Cavs with plenty of war scars. In Game 7, the Cavaliers need all hands on deck - preferably healthy.
Key Statistics for Cleveland in Game 7
In Mitchell's 50-point game, he was the only Cavalier to score in the final period of the match, totaling 18 points in that timeframe. The rest of the team had a combined six field goal attempts and eight rebounds.
After a slow start to the playoffs, Cavs point guard Darius Garland has averaged 22 points, five assists and six rebounds while shooting four-of-nine from three-point range in his last two games.
As any observer can notice, Cleveland's bench production has been the catalyst for most of their struggles this postseason. Caris LeVert, the team's sixth man, has averaged a postseason career low in points with 6.2 per game in 21.2 minutes a night. Isaac Okoro, after tremendous growth in the regular season, has provided 4.3 points per game on 39.3 eFG% throughout the six games. After being benched in Game 5, Georges Niang returned to action in Game 6. In the first play with Niang on the floor, he committed a foul. He ended the game with three points, four fouls, two steals and one turnover in 11:24.
If the Cavaliers hope to keep their home winstreak going and have a chance to end coach J.B. Bickerstaff's streak of losing every postseason road game, they must return to form in Cleveland and stop the Magic from gaining any momentum in the second half. The Cavaliers' have consistently struggled to maintain any intensity following the halftime break when in Orlando, and Game 5 nearly gave the Magic the first road win without Mobley's last-second rejection on Franz Wagner's layup.
Beginning how they started, the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Orlando Magic for a weekend matinee game on Sunday, May 5 with a 1:00 pm Eastern Time tip off. The winner will go on to play the Boston Celtics in the TD Garden on Tuesday, May 7 for the Eastern Conference Semifinals.