As the NBA regular season winds down, the Cavaliers will finish off their three-game road trip in Charlotte against the Hornets on Wednesday night.
The Cavs were riding a five-game winning streak heading into Tuesday night's matchup against the Heat, but proceeded to get blown out in Miami. LeBron James was limited to 18 points — his lowest total since Feb. 23. Before Tuesday, James had been on a tear in March, averaging 30.5 points per game on 55.7 percent shooting from the field to go with 9.6 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game in that span.
The Cavs did suffer another blow as Kevin Love had a tooth knocked loose and had to leave the game with concussion-like symptoms. In his return from a broken hand that sidelined him for six weeks, Love had also been on a roll. In the four games since coming back, he was averaging 20.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. With eight games left on the schedule and 6.5 games of separation between the Cavs and Celtics, Cleveland is the likely three seed. The Cavs will have to fend off the 76ers and the Pacers, who are both charging up the standings.
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The 2017-18 season hasn't gone the way the Hornets would've liked. At 34-41, the Hornets are 5.5 games back of the eighth-seeded Heat with seven games to go, so they are essentially eliminated from playoff contention despite being mathematically alive.
Regardless, Charlotte hasn't given up and is currently on a four-game winning streak of its own, including a 61-point win over the Grizzlies — the sixth-highest margin of victory in NBA history. In that span of games, All-Star Kemba Walker has been stellar, averaging 31.3 points per game. The Hornets' most recent victory came in overtime against the Knicks on Monday with Walker scoring 31 points and Dwight Howard notching a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
The Cavs' tumultuous season could use some stability to end the year, but they shouldn't expect the Hornets to simply roll over on Wednesday night.
Cavs vs. Hornets
Time: 7 p.m. ET, Wednesday
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte
TV: NBA TV
Streaming: fuboTV (sign up for a 7-day free trial)