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Cup of Cavs for Feb. 10, 2019: The Pacers as a model for the Cavs

On what the Cavs can learn from their Central Division rival.

NBA: Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Well, Saturday’s Cavs game was not fun. At least we call get the day off. Be sure to leave your feedback below or send your comments to christopherwmanning@gmail.com.

Take of the day

As the Cavs look towards their future, the Pacers are model they should follow. It is not the same situation as Cleveland finds itself in, but Indiana moved on from a lost star (Paul George) as well as any franchise could hope to. A big part of that was Victor Oladipo blossoming with the Pacers and Domantas Sabonis being awesome. The Nate McMillan hiring also worked out better than expected.

But also look through their roster. Myles Turner was a late lottery pick. Bojan Bogdanovic was a smart, low-cost free agency signing. Thaddeus Young was acquired in a trade. This wasn’t a roster built around a star — they built up smartly and sustainably and, if Oladipo can come back after his injury, they should be good for a while.

Again, losing LeBron James has played out differently than the Pacers’ loss of George. But if Cleveland is smart, it’ll study Indiana’s success and find things to steal.

Draft watch

As of today, the Cavs have the third-worst record in the NBA. They have a 52.1 percent chance of landing a top-four pick and a 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick.

Today’s Tankathon sim gave the Cavs the second overall pick in June’s draft. If this happens, buy your R.J. Barrett jersey:

ICYMI — news and notes from yesterday

Pacers 105, Cavs 90

LeBron says his All-Star game picks are not about recruiting, but about winning the game

Kyrie left Celtics-Clippers with a knee sprain

Citing a personal issue, the Thunder released Alex Abrines

Chandler Parsons is going to play again for the Grizzlies after all

Luka Doncic says the bigger court and three-second rule make the NBA easier to score in than Europe

AD sat an entire fourth quarter as the league’s weirdest situation got weirder

Duke beat Virginia on Saturday

What to read today

The Ringer’s Dan Devine outlines the five biggest questions about the NBA after the deadline