Cavaliers Earn Praise For Trade, But It's Not Reflected in Power Rankings

The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting some reinforcements with Darius Garland on the sidelines with an injury.

Garland's injury is part of the reason why the team traded De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade that helped them get Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder into the backcourt rotation. The trade looks positive for the Cavs, but the team remained at No. 10 in NBA.com writer John Schuhmann's power rankings.

"The Cavs remain shorthanded. Darius Garland has missed the last nine games and they lost Evan Mobley to a calf strain early last week. But they have the league’s third best record (13-5) over the last five weeks and reinforcements are on their way via a trade," Schuhmann wrote.

"The Cavs’ five-game trip is spread out over 11 days, with a pair of two-day breaks this week. They had a rest advantage when they lost in Phoenix last week and they’ll have another one in Sacramento on Saturday. They’re just 2-3 (0-1 on the road) in rest-advantage games thus far."

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell talks to center Jarrett Allen. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Cavaliers Stay in Top 10 For Power Rankings

The only teams that were ahead of the Cavs in the power rankings were the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons.

This week, the Cavs are expected to have Ellis and Schroder debut for the team, and it should help them on both ends of the floor in the backcourt.

"Over the 90 games (including playoffs) for which he was on the Cavs’ roster, De’Andre Hunter played a total of 96 minutes as the fifth guy alongside Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The Cavs were great (plus-19 points per 100 possessions) in those minutes, but Hunter’s overall production was not. Time will tell if the trade that brings Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder (for now) makes the Cavs better, but it definitely makes them cheaper and smaller," Schuhmann wrote.

It remains to be seen if the Cavs will make more moves at the deadline, but if they do, the team has until Thursday at 2 p.m. ET to get it done.

In the meantime, the Cavs return to the court on Wednesday to take on the red-hot Los Angeles Clippers. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET inside the Intuit Dome. Fans can watch the game on FanDuel Sports Network or stream it on NBA League Pass.