The Cavaliers will be shorthanded for their national TV matchup on Thursday
The Cleveland Cavaliers have nothing left to play for in their final three regular-season games after locking up the one seed. Head coach Kenny Atkinson said after their win over the Chicago Bulls that he wasn’t sure how they would handle the balance between resting their starters and being ready for the playoffs during these last regular-season games. He wanted it to be a “collaborative thing” with the players.
If Thursday’s game against the Indiana Pacers is any indicator, it seems that the players are leaning towards being rested heading into round one.
Cleveland will be without Donovan Mitchell (ankle), Darius Garland (toe strain), Evan Mobley (rest), and Max Strus (knee).
Jarrett Allen is in the lineup, but probably won’t play the full game. He has said numerous times that he wants to play all 82 games this season. The Cavs may pull him early, like they did last week against the San Antonio Spurs, to give him rest while allowing him to still participate in every game.
There is, however, a downside to this plan.
Under the player participation policy, no more than one star player is allowed to rest in the same game, and teams must ensure that star players are available for national TV games. That second part is worth monitoring here since Thursday’s game will be nationally broadcast on TNT.
There’s also the fact that the Cavs play the Pacers twice in their last three games and could also face them in the playoffs. That’s another complication factoring into how the Cavaliers handle these final few games.
The Pacers do still have something to play for. They’re currently the fourth seed, but there’s still a small chance they could move up to three or fall to five. As such, all of their regular starters are available for Thursday’s game.