With the final games of the regular season scheduled this week and the Cleveland Cavaliers well out of the playoff race there is little to play of outside of Draft position. Cleveland takes on two teams this week that will continue on into the postseason, while a third has already clinched a worse record than the Cavs.
Cleveland is battling Toronto and New Jersey for draft position, and the Cavs trail those teams already. The Cavaliers can finish with one of the three worst records in the NBA, assuring themselves of a high pick in June's Draft. The Cavs open the week by traveling to Memphis on Monday night before hosting their home finale on Wednesday against Washington.
The regular season then closes on Thursday night in Chicago, where the Bulls will possibly be playing to clinch home court advantage in the playoffs.
For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword. You can also check out professional basketball news from around the league over at SB Nation’s NBA page.
Antawn Jamison had 21 points, but the Cleveland Cavaliers were no match for the San Antonio Spurs as the team with the best record in the Western Conference rolled to an easy 114-98 victory at home. San Antonio is battling Oklahoma City for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and Sunday night's victory was its seventh in a row. For Cleveland, the Cavs moved closer to a better draft position with the third worst record in the east.
Manu Ginobili had 20 points for San Antonio while Stephen Jackson had 17 and DeJuan Blair had 15. Tim Duncan had the night off for the Spurs, but San Antonio did not need him. The Spurs were in full control throughout and steadily built on a 29-22 lead after one quarter.
For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword. You can also check out professional basketball news from around the league over at SB Nation’s NBA page.
With the postseason long out of the equation, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in a tight battle for NBA Draft Lottery supremacy later this summer as they barrel towards the finish line as one of the worst teams in the league.
The Cavaliers, who landed star point guard Kyrie Irving at No. 1 overall last June, are 21-41 on the season and have the fifth-worst record in the NBA. But with four games remaining and such a close race among other franchises also in dismal situations, there is still a good amount of movement that can take place in the standings.
With four key games (three against playoff teams) remaining on its slate, Cleveland can do no worse than the 13th seed by which it currently occupies. A strong showing over the final week however could thrust the Cavs towards the No. 11 or 12 spots, which would represent a moderate improvement from woeful 2010-11 season where they won just 19 games.
