The Cleveland Cavaliers have begun what they hope is another extended winning streak.
They’ll try to stretch it to four wins in a row against a team in a rut when the Cavaliers visit the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday afternoon.
The Cavaliers see this as a time in the season to keep finding ways to become more dominant.
“When you have a team like this, what are our strengths and how can we double down on our strengths?” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said.
Cleveland is fresh off a 3-0 homestand, defeating the Denver Nuggets 126-114 on Thursday night.
Forward Evan Mobley’s growing aggressiveness is something that could be a bonus for the Cavaliers. He has started to expand his shot selection, hitting three 3-pointers against Denver on his way to 20 points.
“I like him having that mentality,” Atkinson said. “I think it’s a big key for us.”
Mobley said he has prepared to start taking more shots away from the basket.
“I was confident out there, so I just kept letting them fly,” Mobley said.
Cleveland owns a 128-114 home victory against the Hornets from Nov. 17, when Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball had a game-high 31 points and 12 assists. Four Cleveland players eclipsed the 20-point mark, led by Darius Garland’s 25.
That was an odd game in that the Hornets took 26 more shots from the field than the Cavaliers, who outscored Charlotte 27-10 at the free-throw line and overcame 20 turnovers.
That was also the last victory in Cleveland’s season-opening 15-game winning streak. Since then, the Cavaliers have gone 5-3.
The Hornets’ losing streak reached seven games with Thursday night’s 125-101 road loss to the New York Knicks. Charlotte coach Charles Lee said his team didn’t maintain a necessary level of physicality in the second half.
Brandon Miller continued his high production with 26 points against the Knicks. He has picked up much of the scoring in the absence of Ball (left calf strain), tallying at least 20 points in nine consecutive games.
Guard Seth Curry could give Charlotte a lift after scoring a season-high 18 points Thursday night.
The Hornets are trying to work center Mark Williams back into the rotation since he returned to action. He has averaged 9.5 minutes off the bench in two games this season.
In the long term, this could mean a reduction in playing time for Moussa Diabate, who has been a defensive and rebounding force but not much of a factor offensively. Diabate, a third-year pro in his first season with the Hornets, is averaging 3.1 points in 20 minutes per game.
“Very confident with his work ethic and has a very smart, curious mind,” Lee said. “He’s going to continue to grow. Minutes will be tough for him as we get bigs back and their minutes start to grow, but he’s been a true pro.”
The injury situation could be more complicated for Charlotte with rookie Tidjane Salaun going down with an injured ankle early in Thursday night’s game.
The Cavaliers have won on four of their last five visits to Charlotte.
–Field Level Media