The Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Philadelphia 76ers later tonight. First, let’s get into the news and links of the day.
The first sip
The NBA Cup group stage doesn’t begin for the Cavs until Friday when they host the Chicago Bulls. But their path to getting to Las Vegas just became much clearer.
The Cavaliers are in Eastern Conference Group C with the Bulls, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Wizards. The Celtics are the Cavs’ primary competition within the group and the conference at large. Boston’s loss to Atlanta last night provides an easier way for Cleveland to get out of the group stage and knockout round.
Head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker in group play. If the Cavs lose to the Celtics next Tuesday, and both teams finish 3-1, the Celtics would have the advantage. However, if three teams finish at 3-1, then the tie-breaker would be point differential. The Cavs could win the group in that scenario if they can accumulate a better point differential against teams like the Wizards and Bulls.
The loss to the Hawks also allows the Cavs to essentially eliminate the Celtics on Tuesday with a win. It’s unlikely that a team with two losses would advance out of the group stage and even more unlikely that they would be a wild card team. That would open up a clear path for the Cavs to advance to Las Vegas as the rest of the conference is struggling. This wouldn’t have been the scenario if the Celtics beat the Hawks.
Next Tuesday’s game against the Celtics was always going to be important. It still is. The Cavs now have more room for error and a greater reward for winning.
NBA schedule today
- Pacers vs. Magic – 7 PM
- Cavs vs. 76ers – 7:30 PM
- Celtics vs. Nets – 7:30 PM
- Bulls vs. Knicks – 7:30 PM
- Pelicans vs. Thunder – 7:30 PM, ESPN
- Clippers vs. Rockers – 8 PM
- Pistons vs. Bucks – 8 PM
- Wizards vs. Spurs – 8 PM
- Grizzlies vs. Lakers – 10 PM, ESPN
- Timberwolves vs. Trail Blazers – 10 PM
- Suns vs. Kings – 10 PM
Podcasts
Me and Tony Pesta discussed what we’ve seen from the Cavs over the last few games on The Junkyard Pod. You can watch that below or listen to it HERE.
Links of the day
Senegal
