The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to finish off this three-game road trip with three-straight wins. Like the other two teams the Cavs have already faced, their opponent on Saturday — the New Orleans Pelicans — isn’t exactly playing their best basketball.
The Pelicans aren’t tanking. They don’t have their 2026 first after trading it away on draft night so that they could select Patrick Queen. There’s no incentive for them to be bad; they just are.
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New Orleans is 25-46 this season, and well clear of the race for the final Play-In spot. They are, however, playing better of late as they’ve won three in a row, including a victory over Darius Garland and the Los Angeles Clippers in their last game.
The Cavs have struggled against bad teams during this road trip. They didn’t play up to their skill level in the wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls. We’ll see if that changes this time around.
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Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (43-27) at New Orleans Pelicans (25-46)
Where: Smoothie King Center – New Orleans, LA
When: Sat., March 21 at 7 PM
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, FanDuel Sports App, NBA League Pass
Point spread: Cavs -5
Cavs injury report: Jaylon Tyson – QUESTIONABLE (toe), Donovan Mitchell – QUESTIONABLE (eye contusion), Jarrett Allen – OUT (knee), Craig Porter Jr. – OUT (groin), Tyrese Proctor – OUT (quad), Olivier Sarr – OUT (G League),, Tristan Enaruna – OUT (G League)
Pelicans injury report: Bryce McGowens – OUT (toe), Trey Alexander – OUT (G League), Hunter Dickinson – OUT (G League), JOsh Oduro – OUT (G League)
Cavs expected starting lineup: James Harden, Sam Merrill, Keon Ellis, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley
Pelicans expected starting lineup: Trey Murphy III, Herbert Jones, Saddiq Bey, Zion Williamson, Yves Missi
Previous matchup: The Cavs defeated the Pelicans 141-118 two days before Christmas
Here’s a look at both teams’ impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.
Offensive Rating
Defensive Rating
Net Rating
Cavs
118.6 (6th)
114.2 (12th)
+4.4 (8th)
Pelicans
114.3 (21st)
117.8 (24th)
-3.5 (22nd)
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