Cleveland was super pumped to have Donovan Mitchell, the five-time All-Star guard, back in action on Wednesday in New Orleans.
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Cleveland was super pumped to have Donovan Mitchell, the five-time All-Star guard, back in action on Wednesday in New Orleans. The Cavaliers were kinda all over the place without him for seven games, so they were totally stoked to see him back and doing his thing. Now they’re gearing up to take on the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
But what really stood out for the Cavaliers (42-24) in their 116-95 win against the Pelicans was their killer defense once again. And get this, they did it all without starters Evan Mobley (ankle) and Max Strus (knee), plus reserve Dean Wade (personal).
The Cavaliers came into Friday ranked third in the NBA with a defensive rating of 110.8. Despite missing some key players due to injury, they still managed to hold the Pelicans to a 46.3 effective field goal percentage and snagged four steals and four blocked shots.
Mitchell, as expected, was a bit rusty, hitting only 5 out of 16 shots and scoring 14 points with five assists. But the Cavaliers, sitting pretty at third in the Eastern Conference standings, were on fire defensively. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff even went as far as calling their defense “elite.”
For the Rockets, Adams, Eason, Sengun, and Whitemore will not be available for the game due to injuries. As for the Cavaliers, Jerome, Mobley, Strus, Thompson, and Wade will be sitting this one out.
The Rockets (31-35) grabbed their sixth win in seven games on Thursday, smashing the Washington Wizards 135-119 for their fourth straight victory. Even though they’ve been missing their star center Alperen Sengun due to an ankle and knee injury for the last two games, they’ve managed to keep the momentum going. They’ve been rolling with a smaller lineup, with rookie guard Amen Thompson stepping in for Sengun.
The three-guard squad did the trick against the Wizards. Thompson had a stellar performance with 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and three steals, perfectly complementing Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet’s scoring efforts. Together, they racked up a whopping 64 points, with Green also grabbing eight rebounds and VanVleet dishing out nine assists.
Without Sengun and rookie wing Cam Whitmore, who’s out with a knee injury, the Rockets have got a tough road ahead to keep up their recent winning streak. But their recent performances have got fans hopeful that they might just snag a spot in the play-in tournament in the Western Conference. Their recent wins are definitely boosting their chances.
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