Cavs at Pelicans: How to watch, odds, and injury report

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.

Advertisement

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.

Support us and Let ‘Em Know with Homage!

Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE. The link to the 2016 championship shirt HERE.

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.

Join our March Madness conversation!

Drop in SB Nation’s March Madness open thread during Friday’s games where we’ll be talking about all the wild upsets, buzzer beaters, and Cinderella runs!

Advertisement

SB Nation’s cast of characters will be enjoying the game together, so join Chris Dobbertean, Mike Rutherford, Ricky O’Donnell, Mark Schofield, James Dator, and others for 12 hours of basketball chaos!