We are just over a quarter of the way through the 2022-23 NBA season, with most
teams playing around 25 games and things are looking pretty spicy. Some
teams, like the Celtics who are 21-5 currently will be exceptionally
pleased with how their season is going. Others, I’m looking at you
Lakers, won’t be quite so happy as they sit 13th in the Western
Conference with their rather poor 10-14 record. Only 5 teams in the
entire NBA have a worse record than them, much to the delight of many
basketball fans I’d assume.
Today we’re going to be doing a round up of NBA news, specifically
tailored to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are having a pretty solid
season so far, they find themselves sitting 3rd in the Eastern
Conference with a record of 17-11 with them taking on the San Antonio
Spurs next on Tuesday. So things are looking good, but there are
a lot of games left to play and anything can happen, with that being
said let’s get straight into the news!
On Friday night, the Cavs took on the Sacramento Kings in a 95-106
defeat, but one big name missing from the lineup was Point Guard
Donovan Mitchell. Donovan was listed as a doubt on the teams injury
report prior to the game starting. But was seen to be watching the
warmups from courtside in normal clothes. All that is known right now
about the injury suffered by Donovan Mitchell is that he has “soreness
in his lower right leg.” Whether he will return against the Oklahoma
City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs remains to be seen.
Donovan Mitchell has been a major part in why
the Cavs have had so much success this season, will he make the game
against the Thunder? Source: Marca
It’s the worst kept secret in the NBA that the Cavs have been
absolutely purring with Mitchel in the side and what was immediately
obvious with him being absent against the Kings was how much a slow
start the Cavs got off to, not only that they then followed the slow
start with a calamitous finish, which caused them to suffer only their
second home defeat of the season. But to their credit, the 11-2 home
record still has them with the second best home record in the league as
things stand.
Donovan Mitchell hasn’t been the only name missing for the Cavaliers
however. Kevin Love was also out due to what is being described as
lower back soreness and Dean Wade missed his third game in a row after
suffering a sprain to his left shoulder. It will be imperative that the
Cavs can get these guys back into rotation, especially with some big
games coming up.
Speaking of big games coming up, it’s time to take a look at some
upcoming fixtures starting with the Cavaliers and how the experts think
they’ll fare after a pretty solid start to the season. The Cavaliers
next game is a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder who have
found themselves to be quite an unpredictable team this season. The
Cavs are -180 favourites, which would see a $7.77 return from a $5
stake, the Thunder however are +160 underdogs, a $13 return from the
same $5.
If you’re one of the many people who have taken advantage of Caesars
Ohio sportsbook early registration offer of a $100 free bet, as
well as an entry to the Cavaliers ticket draw, there are other games
you may be interested in looking at too. For example, the Cavs next
game after the Thunder is a trip to San Antonio to take on the
struggling Spurs. The Spurs currently sit with a record of 7-18 so as
you can expect, the Cavs are heavy favourites in this one.
While it’s true that concrete odds aren’t available just yet, similar
matchups happening in the NBA this weekend will find you with odds
along the lines of the odds available for the Denver Nuggets Vs Utah
Jazz game on Sunday. With the Denver Nuggets being favourites at
-380 which will see a return of $6.31, meanwhile the odds for theUtah
Jazz who are definite underdogs in this one are +300 which would see a
$20 return. Back to the news!
The Cavs look to take on the San Antonio
Spurs on Tuesday 13th December hoping they will be back to their early
season best. Source: Cleveland.Com
One key thing that will help take a coach far is a genuine passion for
the game and the roadmap they’re running with their roster. There are
plenty of coaches out there with that passion, but not a lot of coaches
actually show it. However in a report today, an unnamed arena staffer
spoke out after the Cavs loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.
He was quoted as saying “I’ve never seen him look so angry.” In regards
to J.B Bickerstaff and while the result won’t have been what Cavs fans
wanted to see, the fact the coach is reacting in such a way is very
reassuring.
I think, in the face of defeat it is very easy to feel dejected.
Bickerstaff however offered up some thoughts after the game ended on
Friday. “I didn’t like the way we finished at all tonight,” Bickerstaff
told Cleveland.com. “I needed to help
them more. I could’ve found more ways to help and I didn’t.”
Commenting about what he saw during the final moments of the game,
Bickerstaff said, “Nothing,” he said. “That’s it. We didn’t execute
well enough. Couldn’t create for one another. Then we had shots we
turned down that I thought were open. We didn’t do a good job of
closing. Give them credit. But also look in the mirror and see what we
didn’t do well enough. I think there’s plenty of those things when we
go back and watch it that we’ll see.”
That’s all we have time for today, I feel that there is a lot to come
from the Cavs still and while it’s still very early to say, if they can
keep their core they will be going into next season looking like a real
threat for the gold. Is a championship a little bit much to ask this
season? More than likely, but the building blocks are there and they
really aren’t that far off. I think Cavs fans have a lot to look
forward to!
