Whether or not Irving’s absence continues a pattern of Cleveland Tank-O-Rama remains to be seen.  The Cavaliers established a new record for NBA home futility, losing two consecutive games at home by 35 or more points.  That type of is a special sort of unabashed hunger for failure.

Carlos Delfino (groin) and Beno Udrih (left hand) are listed as day-to-day for the game.  For Monday’s game in Washington, both players traveled with the team and dressed for the pregame warmups — and Carlos took some shooting practice. While this game is a must-win for the Bucks, so are the other four games in this homestand.  Don’t expect to see either rushed back tonight.

The Knicks collapse versus the Pacers last night brought the Bucks within 1.5 games of New York for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference.  New York blew a 17-point second-half lead, and the Pacers outscored the Knicks by an astounding 40-17 margin in the fourth quarter.  In addition to scoring 14 points in the final period, Danny Granger took a moment to mock Steve Novak’s homage to the discount double-check.

One last thought: Here’s a link to an article by Neil Paine on tanking and building a title team. While getting stuck in mediocrity hasn’t led to any titles (see the 2002-2004 Bucks), overt tanking rarely breeds success, either.