Cavaliers at Hawks
The Cleveland Cavaliers revamped their roster at Thursday's trading deadline by sending away six players and adding four in a wild spree that follows a 7-13 stretch. The Cavaliers hope some of the new pieces are cleared to play before filing their lineup for Friday's road game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Cleveland shipped away guards Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert as well as forwards Jae Crowder and Channing Frye in four different deals for a return of shooting guards Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson, point guard George Hill and power forward Larry Nance Jr. The quartet will be asked to quickly mesh with star forward LeBron James in hopes that the roster transformation can prompt the team to make a run at reaching the NBA Finals for the fourth straight season. The urgency is being felt in Cleveland with James likely to opt out of his contract to become a free agent following the season. Atlanta was looking for its first three-game winning streak of the season on Thursday but fell 100-98 to the host Orlando Magic.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cleveland), FS Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (31-22): Cleveland's reworked roster is younger and the hope is players like Hood (acquired from Utah) and Clarkson (Los Angeles Lakers) will be much better fits than Thomas, who was a monumental disappointment for the club. Thomas arrived in the offseason deal that sent star guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics and had to finish rehabbing a hip injury before clashing with players and seemingly sealing his fate by publicly criticizing the lack of in-game adjustments by coach Tyronn Lue. Hill (Sacramento) provides stable point guard play while Nance (Lakers) was coveted for the future in case James leaves and the franchise goes into rebuilding mode.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (17-38): Atlanta's long season missed an opportunity for a high point but forward Taurean Prince took solace in the close call after scoring 19 points against Orlando. "We got a lot of stops and gave ourselves a chance to win," Prince told reporters. "These are the kind of games you want to be in. We just needed to make one more shot." Point guard Dennis Schroder was just 5-of-15 shooting but tallied 19 points to fall one shy of his third 20-point outing of the month.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Cavaliers are 2-1 against the Hawks this season -- Atlanta's win came on Nov. 5 when it grabbed a 16-point, first-quarter lead en route to a 117-115 victory.
2. The Hawks dealt F Luke Babbitt to the Miami Heat for F Okaro White, who was put on waivers later in the day.
3. James had 37 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 140-138 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves for his ninth triple-double of the season.