Ahead of their biggest game of the season, Evan Mobley revealed how the Cleveland Cavaliers are approaching their play-in game versus the Atlanta Hawks.
The Cavaliers (44-38) will host the Hawks (43-39) on Friday in a win-or-go-home situation. The winner will secure the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and face the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. The loser will get a head start on their offseason plans.
Cleveland struggled down the stretch of the season to find itself in this position. The team was third in the standings on Feb. 11 but, because of several key injuries, went just 10-17 the rest of the way to drop to eighth, right in the play-in group.
They lost to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday for the seventh seed and will now have one more chance on Friday to keep their season alive. The Cavaliers, as Mobley explained on Thursday, will need to jump on the Hawks early.
Just go out there and go get it. It is going to be a tough game, win or go home for both teams. We just got to go out there and play with fierceness and really take it to your opponent. We’ve been a surprise but we’re definitely looking for more and want to get to the playoffs and even go far in the playoffs. That’s what we’re striving for and that’s what we’re going to try to do.
Darius Garland led the way for the Cavaliers against the Nets with 34 points, while Mobley had 19 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Despite Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant combining for 59 points, Cleveland was only down by a few possessions late in the game.
The Cavaliers will certainly use that as a positive heading into their matchup on Friday. They could also get Jarrett Allen back after missing the past month of action due to a finger injury. He is reportedly “50-50” to play versus the Hawks.
If the regular season is any indication, they will need all of the help they can get versus Atlanta. Of their four matchups, the Cavaliers won just one of them and will enter play on Friday as home underdogs, according to the Tipico Sportsbook.
With their season on the line, the Cavaliers will be looking to continue their strong run by posting a win over the Hawks. They have their work cut out for them, but appear to be ready to go.
The contest on Friday will tip off at 7:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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