Chansky's Notebook: Can The King Rally Cavs?

Tavares, who played one game for Atlanta this season and 11 in 2015-16, is from Cape Verde, an island off the coast of Africa, and has a 7-9 wingspan.

The Cleveland Cavaliers released forward Larry Sanders less than a month after signing him, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.

They trail the Boston Celtics by one game for top spot in the Eastern Conference, but hold the tiebreaker, meaning a win over the Raps and a Celtics loss to the Bucks would give the Cavs the first seed.

James knows the Cavs have as good of a chance as anyone to win it all again, but he declined to get too specific as to why he feels that way about a team that sputtered down the stretch and are 10-14 since March 1. Or the one that frittered away the No. 1 seed and played defence worse than any team in the National Basketball Association save the tanking Los Angeles Lakers in the season's final third?

The Cavs' roster management could affect not only their chance at the No. 1 seed, but Miami's chance of slipping into the postseason at all.

"I think we're ready", Lue said Sunday.

Heat stay alive, rally to top Cavaliers 124-121 in OT

Wednesday's game matters only to the Cavs in the standings, but they have announced that LeBron James will not play against the Raptors.

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the second seed in the East heading into the 2017 NBA Playoffs. Jonas Valanciunas hitting his first career triple was the high point other than the fact that neither Kyle Lowry nor any other rotation piece got hurt. He was a big part of what we did in the playoffs (last year) because there was never any slippage. "This is a heck of a time". The injury report also lists Tristan Thompson as out for a fourth straight game with a sprained thumb and Kevin Love as questionable to play because of an illness. Toronto played without Serge Ibaka and DeMar DeRozan, sidelined with flu-like symptoms. However, Wednesday's game will not be an indicator of what to expect in a seven-game series between the two teams. But...the 40 percent shooter bricked the long attempt. He backpedaled on defense and raised his arms in triumph as his teammates celebrated as if he had just hit a game-winner.

"We had a tough season, but if we had went 82-0 and lost in the first round, you'd write about that", Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said, adding, "It's going to be a bigger challenge for us this year". "We put good runs together, and now we just keep reaping the benefits". "It's just time to get it rolling". It would have gotten Miami within eight going into the fourth.

"It will be a fight, very similar to that last game", Nate McMillan recalled of their double overtime loss to the Cavs.

The duo of James and Irving should certainly be able to outduel the Pacers tandem of George and point guard Jeff Teague. While the Pacers are 15th in the league averaging 105.1 points a game. If they capitalize on their success the Pacers can take game one while Cleveland is still trying to figure out how to overcome their recent issues. He came in tied with Vince Carter and Jamal Crawford. Toronto finished 23-18 on the road, matching Cleveland's away mark.

Walter "Edy" Tavares and Dahntay Jones, both signed earlier in the day, saw action. Jones was with the Cavs during the 2016 post-season, and the 12-year veteran provided toughness, experience and quality minutes in the Finals.