Darius Garland's Status Uncertain for Cavs vs. Pacers NBA Playoffs G1 amid Toe Injury
Jack Murray
May 3, 2025
Darius Garland's status for the start of the Eastern Conference semifinals is still shrouded in mystery a little over 24 hours before Game 1 tips off.
Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters that Garland went through a full practice on Friday and had a scheduled rest day on Saturday, but it remains to be seen if he'll suit up for Game 1.
Kenny Atkinson says that Darius Garland went through a full practice yesterday and had a planned day off from practice today. His status for Game 1 tomorrow against the Pacers is up in the air.
Garland missed Games 3 and 4 of the Cavaliers' first-round series against the Miami Heat due to a toe injury. Cleveland swept Miami and outscored the Heat by a combined 92 points in the games Garland missed.
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While Garland's absence was not too damaging to the Cavaliers in the first round, getting him back on the floor will be crucial. He averaged 20.6 points, 6.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 75 games during the regular season and averaged 24 points, seven assists and 2.5 rebounds in the first two games against Miami.
Cavs' Kenny Atkinson Named NBCA's NBA Coach of the Year After Earning Top Seed
Adam Wells
Apr 19, 2025
After leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to one of the best seasons in franchise history, Kenny Atkinson has been recognized by his peers as the NBA's best coach for the 2024-25 campaign.
The National Basketball Coaches Association announced on Saturday that Atkinson won their NBA Coach of the Year award.
.@cavs Head Coach, Kenny Atkinson has been named the 2025 recipient of the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award.
Other coaches who received votes, listed in alphabetical order, include J.B. Bickerstaff of the Detroit Pistons, Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets and Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets.
Atkinson issued a statement included in the NBCA's announcement:
"Coaching the game of basketball has been an amazing journey for me and my family, and to be recognized by my peers for a job well done this season is extremely humbling. I’ve had the pleasure of coaching some amazing players over my career and I would not be in this position without their commitment and sacrifice for the greater good of themselves and the Cleveland Cavaliers."
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The NBCA did not release vote totals for the award. Atkinson and Bickerstaff are arguably the two frontrunners for the Red Auerbach Trophy awarded to the best coach as voted on by the media.
Malone's inclusion on the list is interesting since he was fired by the Nuggets with three games remaining in the regular season. Daigneault, winner of the NBCA award last year, led the Thunder to an NBA-best 68-14 record. Udoka led the Rockets to the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20 with a 52-30 record.
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Atkinson replaced Bickerstaff in Cleveland when he was hired in June 2024. He took over a pretty good situation with a Cavs team that made the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons under Bickerstaff.
The Cavaliers took a huge leap forward under Atkinson. They earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and won 64 games, the second-most victories in a single season in franchise history.
Cleveland's 16-win improvement from the 2023-24 season was the second-biggest increase in the NBA, trailing only the Pistons (14 wins in 2023-24 to 44).
This season marks the fourth time the Cavs have posted the best record in the East. The last time it happened was during the 2015-16 season when they won the NBA Finals.
Donovan Mitchell Feels He Should Be In Top 5 for NBA MVP But Doubts Voters Include Him
Paul Kasabian
Mar 10, 2025
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell believes he should be in the top five of the NBA MVP conversation, but he also feels he may not land there when the voting results are revealed, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
"Mitchell’s attitude and willingness to sacrifice his stats for the betterment of this team are part of his MVP case, but he knows the voters (like me, probably) generally tend to consider a player’s statistical impact on winning, compared to teammates, when deciding the league’s MVP," Vardon began.
"He and I talked about it a little postgame. He said he thinks he should be in the top five but has a hunch he won’t be (we’ll see: If you count Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Giannis and Jayson Tatum as four of the top five, perhaps Mitchell gets in there ahead of LeBron James or Anthony Edwards).
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"He said, not shockingly, he would like to win a league MVP, but he also said hasn’t won the trophy that really counts — the Larry O’Brien trophy given to the NBA Finals champion in June. So personal awards have to wait."
The latest NBA.com Kia MVP ladder has Mitchell seventh, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James and Jalen Brunson.
The latest Basketball-Reference NBA MVP Awards Tracker doesn't list Mitchell in the top 10, but it does list two teammates, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, at No. 5 and No. 7, respectively.
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Mitchell should certainly get his MVP consideration as the top scorer (24.2 PPG) on the NBA's best team, which is 54-10 with a 14-game winning streak.
As good as Mitchell has been, though, his teammates have been exceptional as well. He's third on the team in VORP (value over replacement player) behind Allen and Mobley and fourth in win shares (behind those two plus Darius Garland), per Basketball-Reference.
On the flip side, you have players whose individual success are invaluable to their team's success, like Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić, who have gaudy individual stats and are far and away their team's top superstars. At this juncture, it appears those two are in a fight for the MVP.
Ultimately, Mitchell isn't winning the MVP, but he has a far greater honor to chase in theLarry O'Brien Championship Trophy. Cleveland should waltz to the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed at this point, a big help as the team looks toward its second franchise title and first since 2016.
Kevin Love Says He's Been Told Cavs Will Eventually Retire His No. 0 Jersey
Paul Kasabian
Mar 6, 2025
Miami Heat forward Kevin Love, who helped the Cleveland Cavaliers win their first-ever championship in 2016, told reporters that his old team plans to retire his No. 0 jersey and hang it in the Rocket Arena rafters someday.
Love made his remarks after Miami fell 112-107 to Cleveland on Wednesday. It was his first game playing in Cleveland after the Cavs waived him on Feb. 18, 2023. He signed with Miami two days later and has been with the team ever since.
Miami had played in Cleveland twice since adding Love, but he did not play in either contest. On Wednesday, Love was in the starting lineup and posted 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 16 minutes.
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Before the game, the Cavs paid tribute to Love in front of a packed house:
The Cavs paid tribute to Kevin Love in his first game back in Cleveland ❤️
He gave love back to the fans and reminded them what they accomplished together in 2016 💍 pic.twitter.com/8xD1s9ws57
Love then gestured to his ring finger, signifying the title the team won in 2016, when he formed a Big Three with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving and combined to upset the 73-win Golden State Warriors.
Love, a 17-year veteran, played in Cleveland from 2014-2023, averaging 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. He made two All-Star teams during his time in town.
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Loved expressed hope that his banner could eventually hang next to one in tribute to Nick Gilbert, the late son of Cavs governor Dan Gilbert.
Gilbert passed away at the age of 26 from Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). He was a good luck charm for the Cavs at the draft lottery, most notably in 2011, when the team got the No. 1 pick and landed Irving.
Per Ethan Sands of Cleveland.com, Love notably spoke in a tribute video to Gilbert last Sunday during the Cavs' annual Bow Tie Night in honor of him.
“One of my favorite things about Nick is he had unwavering confidence. He was always someone who always could lighten up a room,” Love said.
Cavs' Donovan Mitchell Talks 22-Point Rally vs. Celtics: 'We Got Punched in the Mouth'
Joseph Zucker
Mar 1, 2025
Donovan Mitchell acknowledged the Cleveland Cavaliers got knocked off their feet when they fell into an early 22-point hole to the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
Midway through the third quarter, the Cavs were down 17 before pulling off a stunning comeback and winning 123-116. For Mitchell, this was another way for Cleveland to test its mettle before the playoffs.
"It was like, no championship is won tonight,” he told reporters. "So kind of just saying, like, look, all right, we got punched in the mouth. What are we going to do about it? You know what I mean? Like, how are we going to respond? And, that's been my biggest message. You know that, like, I said that about every game. And tonight was another example, just a larger audience."
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Mitchell led by example on the court. He had a team-high 41 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, along with five assists and three rebounds.
Forward Evan Mobley (17 points and 12 rebounds) and Darius Garland (20 points) played important roles in the turnaround as well.
Donovan Mitchell, Cavs' Win vs. Jayson Tatum, Celtics Hyped as ECF Preview By NBA Fans
Paul Kasabian
Feb 28, 2025
The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 25-3 first quarter deficit to defeat the host Boston Celtics 123-116 in a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview on Friday evening.
Celtics superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown did all they could to thwart Cleveland's comeback. Tatum finished with 46 points on 19-of-37 shooting, 16 rebounds, nine assists and three blocks.
He scored 30 in the first half alone and nearly had a triple-double at that point, too.
These two teams don't meet again this regular season, but it's very possible they cross paths in the playoffs. The 49-10 Cavs are cruising toward a No. 1 seed with a seven-and-a-half game lead over the second-place Celtics, who sit 42-18. It wouldn't be a surprise whatsoever to see them meet up in May.
NBA Exec: De'Andre Hunter 'Could Be the Missing Piece' for Cavs After Hawks Trade
Feb 7, 2025
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 3: De'Andre Hunter #12 of the Atlanta Hawks dribbles the ball during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 3, 2025 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
At least one rival NBA executive seems to believe De'Andre Hunter was just the addition the Cleveland Cavaliers need to go on a title run this spring.
"They've been hunting size on the wing to match up with the Celtics and OKC and [other contenders]," the anonymous Western Conference executive told ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "If he stays healthy, he could be the missing piece."
The Cavs acquired Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday in exchange for a package including draft capital and Caris LeVert.
The Cavaliers leaned heavily on injured forward Dean Wade throughout the first half of the season. More than half of the team's 10 losses this season have come without Wade in the lineup.
That may be part of the reason the Cavs, who headed into the trade deadline on top of the East with an NBA-high 41 wins, were looking to add size on the perimeter for the run-up to the playoffs.
The Athletic's Joe Vardon reported in mid-January that the Cavaliers were looking to address the issue, exposed by matchups with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, of "size and physicality on the perimeter."
As Vardon noted, the Cavaliers believed they could use additional size to add to a court staffed by 6-foot-2 Darius Garland and 6-foot-3 Darius Mitchell.
Hunter, 6-foot-8, averaged a career-high 19.0 points while shooting a personal-best 39.3 percent from deep through 37 games with the Hawks. He has also provided the kind of physical perimeter defense the Cavs have reportedly been looking for.
By swapping out LeVert for Hunter, the Cavs have addressed a roster weakness while potentially upping how much production they can get from their sixth man.
As the Western Conference executive told Bontemps, however, how much Hunter is able to impact the Cavaliers going forward will depend on his health and availability. Hunter has only played at least 60 games in a season twice in his six-year NBA career, and he's already missed time this season due to right knee injury management.
If he is able to stay in the lineup, however, Hunter could provide the Cavs with a boost off the bench as the team looks to finish the season on top of the conference standings.
NBA Trade Rumors: De'Andre Hunter Targeted by Cavs; Caris LeVert Linked to Hawks
Feb 5, 2025
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 22: De'Andre Hunter #12 of the Atlanta Hawks dribbles the ball during the game against the Detroit Pistons on January 22, 2025 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly shown interest in Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline.
According to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor, talks between the Cavs and Hawks regarding Hunter have been focused on veteran guard Caris LeVert going from Cleveland to Atlanta as part of the deal.
On Thursday, NBA insider Marc Stein reported the Cavs have "ramped up their interest and background work" on Hunter in advance of the 3 p.m. ET deadline.
From my understanding, there’s a pathway for Cleveland to both acquire De’Andre Hunter, and achieve another goal of dipping under the luxury tax. https://t.co/PbUIdAeV5H
The Cavaliers have the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second-best record in the NBA at 40-10, putting them in prime position to be deadline buyers.
Hunter, 27, was originally the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft out of Virginia, and he is finally starting to live up to that status.
Over his first five NBA seasons in Atlanta, Hunter was a fairly productive player, and he entered this season having averaged 15 points per game or better in three of the previous four campaigns.
Durability has always been an issue for Hunter, though, as he missed 25 or more games in three of the four seasons since his rookie campaign.
Injury concerns have persisted this season, as Hunter has missed 14 of the Hawks' 50 games, but he has put up career-best numbers when on the court.
After primarily being a starter his first five years in the league, Hunter was moved to the bench this season, and he has started only three of the 36 games he has appeared in.
Despite that, Hunter is averaging a career-high 18.9 points and 2.5 three-pointers made per game to go along with 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He is also shooting 45.9 percent from the field and a career-best 38.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Perhaps most impressively, Hunter's scoring numbers are way up despite the fact that his 28.5 minutes per game this season are a career low.
The Cavaliers have primarily been carried by their starting lineup this season, as Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are All-Stars, while Jarrett Allen is averaging a double-double with 13.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
Cleveland's top player off the bench this season has been guard Ty Jerome, putting LeVert in more of a seventh man position.
LeVert has been a solid contributor with 10.5 points, 3.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds per contest, but trading him would perhaps open up more playing time for Jerome, while also allowing the Cavs to improve their starting lineup.
The Cavs haven't gotten a ton of production out of their fifth starter this season with Dean Wade, Isaac Okoro and Max Strus all getting some run in that spot, but Hunter could be an ideal fit as a wing player in support of Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen.
Trading LeVert and another piece or two for Hunter would not only help the Cavs this season, but it would be a smart move for the future.
The 30-year-old LeVert is set to hit free agency this coming offseason whereas Hunter is signed through the 2026-27 campaign.
Cleveland has a roster that is young and talented enough to be a top contender this season and for years to come, and Hunter seems as though he would fit in perfectly with the Cavs' timeline.
