No official word has been released on whether Kyrie Irving (hamstring) and Kevin Love (food poisoning) are cleared to play. For now, they’re deemed questionable, and if that ends up being the case, expect LeBron James to put on a one-man show again in Brooklyn.
James, who was battling through a cold, finished with 31 points, eight boards and seven assists against Chicago on Wednesday. But the Cavs lost there, particularly thanks to a huge fourth-quarter run by the Bulls.
This time though, another big game from James should be enough to get the W. The Nets, after all, are dead last in the league in scoring defense and 28th overall in defensive efficiency. Plus, they’re also the worst in turning the ball over—something that the Cavs capitalized on in their first encounter on Christmas Eve.
The defending champs forced their Eastern Conference rival to 19 turnovers, which resulted into 19 Cleveland points and eventually a 119-109 victory. James, however, had a relatively quiet night, gathering just 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
The Cavs are 5-5 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 road games.
Brooklyn had no answers against the hot-shooting Pacers on Thursday night, suffering its ninth loss in 10 games and fourth-consecutive one (1-3 ATS).
The Nets’ defense, which has been mostly invisible this season, allowed Indiana to shoot 51.6 from the floor, including 10 three-pointers. Offensively, they just couldn’t produce enough firepower to keep up, as their leading scorer this season—Brook Lopez (20.3 PPG)—finished with just 12 points and went 5-of-14 from the field.
Five other Brooklyn players came up with 10 or more points, though. That’s one positive thing, besides playing at home, that the Nets can take into this game. On the season, their bench is averaging 41.4 points per contest, the third-highest in the league.
Justin Hamilton, Spencer Dinwiddie and Sean Kilpatrick combined for 42 points off the bench, while starters Joe Harris and Trevor Booker had 16 and 10, respectively. Brooklyn desperately needs every bucket it can get later as long as its defense doesn’t show any signs of improvement.
Writer’s Prediction
Cleveland wins, but likely fails to cover if both Irving and Love are out.
