Cavaliers at Clippers preview and gamethread

After a fresh reminder of what loss feels like, the Cavaliers begin their west coast trip.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have rediscovered what normal NBA franchises feel regularly with a Sunday loss to the Orlando Magic. Can they take this feeling and use it towards what should be a grueling stretch of late games on the West Coast?

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (56-10) vs Los Angeles Clippers (38-30)

Where: Intuit Dome, Los Angeles, CA

When: 10:30 pm EST

TV: FanDuel TV, ClipperVision

Line: Cavs N/A

Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, DeAndre Hunter, Jarrett Allen

Cavs injury report: Evan Mobley – QUESTIONABLE (foot), Luke Travers – OUT (G League), Emoni Bates – OUT (G League), Nae’Qwan Tomlin – OUT (G League)

Expected Clippers starting lineup: James Harden, Norman Powell, Kawhi Leonard, Derrick Jones, Ivica Zubac

Clippers injury report: Jordan Miller – OUT (hamstring), Patrick Baldwin Jr. – OUT (G League), Cam Christie – OUT (G League), Trentyn Flowers – OUT (G League), Seth Lundy – OUT (G League)

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What to watch for

Cleveland Cavaliers? Oooooowhaaaaaadaryoudoin here?

The Cavaliers are enduring what could be their most taxing stretch of games this season. Starting on Tuesday, the Cavaliers will be playing 5 games in 7 days beginning with the Clippers. The Cavaliers then go on to challenge the Kings, Suns, Jazz, and Spurs. This would a tough challenge for any team, never mind how wedged together the games are, also adding in that this is in the closing stretch of the season.

While these teams aren’t exactly the cream of the crop in the Western Conference, this still sets up a grueling week. If the Cavaliers were on a 17-game win streak heading into this week, I would have said that it is a guarantee that they will drop the ball hard in one of these games. However, the Cavaliers just lost against the Magic on Sunday afternoon. This could be the exact kick in the butt the Cavaliers needed to push them through the week.

How quickly can the Cavaliers recover from grief?

The Cavaliers have lost 11 games out of 67 this season. That is eleven days of sadness that we have had to agonize over the state of basketball in Cleveland during the 2024-25 season. The Cavaliers have lost 16% of their possible games thus far. That is an insanely low percentage.

The Cavaliers hadn’t lost a game since February 5. It feels like the Cavaliers can use this loss to propel them through the upcoming week. While it seems unlikely the Cavaliers will mirror their latest win streak to close out the season. It still is possible that it will be the fire that inspires them to close out the season.

With 15 games left, the Cavaliers are still hoping to maintain their form as the Celtics and Thunder are looking to recalibrate themselves for postseason basketball as well. Hopefully, the Cavaliers can maintain their course as well, while still calibrating their potential flaws heading into the postseason.