The Cleveland Cavaliers are a sure thing to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Only one team is within three games of them on either side for the fourth seed, and that team is the Indiana Pacers.
The Brooklyn Nets, meanwhile, are in the sixth and final spot that is guaranteed to make the playoffs. However, they are only one game ahead of the Miami Heat.
Let’s see who wins when these two teams play each other at the Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Updating the latest injury for the Nets vs. the Cavaliers
Brooklyn Nets Update
Before the trade deadline, the Brooklyn Nets were in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. However, trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, both of whom you may have heard of, has slowed them down.
One of the two teams that have moved ahead of them in the standings is Cleveland, and Miami is threatening to put them in the play-in tournament.
Right now, the Nets need to win every game if they want an automatic spot in the playoffs.
But wins have been hard to come by, as Brooklyn has lost three in a row. The Nets are 5-8 since the All-Star break, and their home record is 1-3.
Denver was the most recent team to beat Brooklyn. The Nets tried to come back but lost at home, 108-102. The Nets just couldn’t get enough of their shots to go in to win.
In their last three games, Brooklyn has only scored 101.7 points per game on 43.4% of their field goals. This season, the Nets have the second-lowest rate of offensive rebounds in the league. This means that their shots can’t miss that often if they don’t go in.
They are fourth in the league in both three-point shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage, so it is possible for them to turn things around.
On the other end of the court, the Nets have the 13th best defense. They let opponents shoot at the rim only 60.0% of the time, which is the second-best rate in the NBA. At 11.1%, Brooklyn also has the highest block rate.
This whole season, Nic Claxton has been a big part of Brooklyn’s strong defense, especially in the paint. Only 36.7% of their opponents’ shots are threes, which is the fifth-lowest rate, but they make 37.1% of their own, which is the 23rd-highest rate.
Ben Simmons hasn’t played for the Nets since February, and he probably won’t play in this game either. Dorian Finney-Smith is also hurt and might not be able to play, even though he did against Denver.
Let’s scroll down to check out the injuries that have been sustained in this game.
| PLAYER | INJURY |
STATUS
|
| Ben Simmons | Knee |
Expected to be out until at least Mar 23
|
| Dorian Finney-Smith | Wrist |
Game Time Decision
|
- Ben Simmons
Simmons won’t be able to play Tuesday against the Cavaliers because of his knee and back, says Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.
Simmons hasn’t played since February 15; this is a lie. He just recently started doing things on the court again, but he still doesn’t know when he will be able to play in games. Simmons’s next chance to play will be Thursday, when Cleveland comes back to play again.
- Dorian Finney-Smith
Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News says that Finney-Smith might not be able to play against the Cavaliers on Tuesday because he hurt his right wrist.
Finney-Smith hasn’t missed a game since February 7, but he has a wrist problem and won’t be able to play on Tuesday. The 29-year-old has been pretty cold lately.
In his last three games, he averaged 4.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 28.3 minutes per game, but he only shot 23.5 percent from the floor. If he can’t play on Tuesday, Cameron Johnson and Royce O’Neale could get more playing time.
Cleveland Cavaliers Update
The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best net rating in the NBA. This is because they have the best defense in the league this season.
They give up the fewest points and attempts at three-pointers per game. The Cavs’ defense is ninth in the percentage of effective field goals allowed and fourth in the percentage of turnovers.
With the slowest pace in the league, Cleveland makes it hard for most other teams to score.
The Cleveland offense, on the other hand, is ninth in offensive rating. Cleveland has the sixth-best field goal percentage in the NBA, led by Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, and the third-best percentage on shots at the rim.
The Cavs also keep the ball out of the wrong hands. With a turnover rate of 13.0%, they are ninth in the league.
This season, Cleveland hasn’t done well on the road, where they have a 16-20 record.
Their record against the spread is 15-19-2. Jarrett Allen has been out since March 10 because of an eye injury, and it’s not clear if he’ll be able to play in this game.
After beating the Wizards on Friday, the Cavs are 3-1 in the four games Allen has missed.
In the 117-94 win, the Cavaliers never fell behind because they were better than the Wizards in almost every way. This includes a 78-48 advantage in points in the paint.
There is only one player who will be unable to compete on Tuesday due to an injury.
| PLAYER | INJURY |
STATUS
|
| Jarrett Allen | Eye |
Game Time Decision
|
Allen could miss Tuesday’s game in Brooklyn because of his eye.
Allen has missed the last four games because of a cut over his right eye, but he took part in all of Monday’s practice and seems to be getting better before Tuesday’s game. Danny Cunningham of 850 ESPN Cleveland says that if the veteran big man is cleared, he won’t have to wear goggles and probably won’t be limited in any way.
