Fear the Newsletter: Cavs set to finish road trip in Charlotte

Here's today's Fear the Newsletter, where we will always try to set you up like Kyrie passing to LeBron off the glass.

TALK TO ME: The Cavs had yesterday off, but the team did recall Larry Sanders from the Canton Charge. And speaking of the Charge, Kay Felder had 26 points and 9 assists on assignment. He also had a really fun dunk. Canton won 110-99 against the Maine Red Claws.

LEGEND HAS IT: The Cavs play the Charlotte Hornets tonight in the final game of their road trip. At this time, it's not know if any players will rest. But it seems possible considering the Cavs play the Wizards at home on Saturday. Cavs-Hornets tips off at 7 p.m.

ALL DUE RESPECT: Raptors 101, Heat 84. Mavericks 97, Clippers 95. Spurs 97, Grizzlies 90. The Celtics, Wizards, Warriors, Rockets and Jazz had the night off.

The Cavs enter Tuesday one game up on the Celtics, 3.5 games up on the Wizards and and four games up on the Raptors.

JOB WELL DONE: Mike Zavagno wrote about Tristan Thompson's recent play. And Michael Drapcho noted that the Cavs' deep roster gives Tyronn Lue options. The NBA also celebrated Kyrie's birthday with a video of his game winners.

Also: Subscribe to the Locked on Cavaliers podcast. Today's show covers Saturday's Cavs-Wizards game.

CROWN: CBS Sports' Matt Moore has a detailed look at the Cavs' defense. FiveThirtyEight's Chris Herring has a great look at how James Harden draws a ton of fouls. USA Today's Andrew Joseph has a bonkers story on LaVar Ball's interaction with his kid's high school team. FanRag Sports' Zach Harper has a fun feature up on Jordan Crawford's revival in New Orleans. And the NYT's Scott Cacciola has a interesting look at Chris Paul's mangled hands. As a bonus, watch SB Nation NBA Editor Mike Prada's video on Nikola Jokic.

That's it for today. Drop your questions, comments and concerns to christopherwmanning@gmail.com and we'll talk again tomorrow.

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