Portland Trail Blazers at Cleveland Cavaliers: Game preview, prediction, time, TV channel
The Portland Trail Blazers caught a break leading up to their game Sunday afternoon at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell will take the day off to rest. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers will remain formidable. They are 3-0 in games Mitchell has missed this season. But only one of those victories came against a winning team (Detroit).
The Blazers (27-33) are not a winning team but have played like one since Jan. 19. They are 14-5 since and enter Sunday trailing the 10th-place Sacramento Kings (31-28) by 4½ in the Western Conference standings.
The Blazers can’t afford to fall to five games back with a loss to Cleveland, especially with a rugged March schedule just getting started.
To win at Cleveland, the Blazers must excel at both ends of the floor against a team with the second-highest net rating in the NBA (Plus-11.3).
The Blazers will miss starting center Deandre Ayton (calf) and backup Robert Williams III (knee). The Cavaliers big man duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen is one of the best in the league.
The addition of forward Deandre Hunter has only bolstered a Cleveland offense that will be led on Sunday by guard Darius Garland, who averages 21.7 points and 6.7 assists per game.
