Cavs Notes: Playoff picture, Donovan Mitchell, De’Andre Hunter, road wins

The Cavaliers are finally wrapping up this five-game swing through the Western Conference, and yes, they could sure use a win.

It’s hard to imagine saying that about a team that enters Tuesday at 57-14, but the defending champion Celtics are hot on their tails. Boston is also on a West Coast swing and has won six straight and 11 of 12. Entering Tuesday, the Celtics are 4.5 games behind the Cavs for the No. 1 seed in the East.

That said, this is hardly panic time. But you just don’t want it to get to that. With a win, the Cavs would be five games in front of the Celtics with 10 to go. A loss? Just four games.

Again, though, it’d take quite a Cavs meltdown for the Celtics to catch them. 

As for Tuesday’s game in Portland … well, the Trail Blazers are also fighting for the postseason. It’s a long shot, but they haven’t been eliminated from a play-in spot. Landing one would truly be among the best stories of the NBA season, as Portland was expected to tank.

Instead, coach Chauncey Billups has made certain the Blazers have done anything but. They gave the Cavaliers all they could handle a couple of weeks ago in Cleveland, with the Cavs looking bad, then somehow winning in overtime. Either way, you can expect the Blazers to fight, scratch, and claw and try to get revenge. They are undoubtedly capable.

• In case you missed it, the Cavs will be without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell, who’s being held out for the purpose of rest. The Cavs beat the Grizzlies without Mitchell a little over a week ago (in Memphis). They’re deep and talented enough to win Tuesday, too.
• They will have to be better defensively than they’ve been recently, though. Opponents are getting wide-open looks from the perimeter much too frequently. Cleveland did considerably better in the second half vs. the Jazz, hence a win in blowout fashion.
• For the record, De’Andre Hunter is who saved the Cavs in their previous game against the Blazers, scoring 18 in the fourth quarter and OT combined.
• The Cavaliers’ 27 road wins are tied for the most in franchise history. They’ve now won at least 57 games for the sixth time. The all-time best record is 66-16, set in 2008-09. The Cavs will have to finish 10-1 to beat it.
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