It wasn’t pretty, but the Cleveland Cavaliers still managed to take care of the lowly Brooklyn Nets on Friday, 116-108.
That win in Brooklyn was relatively important for the Cavs, who will continue their six-game road trip with five-consecutive games against teams from the West Coast, beginning with the Suns this Sunday. LeBron James had to do most of the heavy lifting, as he finished with 36 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead his team past the Nets.
James was glad to have his two trusted teammates in Kyrie Irving (hamstring) and Kevin Love (food poisoning) back in the lineup on Friday, with both coming back from their respective injuries and putting up nice numbers. But neither of them was entirely back up to speed that evening, as Irving scored 32 points and Love 17, but both of them combined for just 15-of-42 shooting from the field (35.7 percent).
Still, the Cavs just made a monster deal on Saturday to acquire sharpshooter Kyle Korver from the Atlanta Hawks for Mike Dunleavy and Mo Williams, and would love nothing more than to showcase their new weapon against Phoenix on Sunday.
Korver, a 42.9-percent career three-point shooter, further strengthens Cleveland’s already potent attack from deep, one that already has the second-most made three’s this season (448). The team had even set a couple of new NBA records from deep already, one for most threes made in a single game (22 against the Knicks), and another for consecutive games with 10 three-pointers or more with 16-straight earlier this season.
With eight wins in their past 10 games, the Cavs look to continue their tear through the league as the best team from the East indeed. Although, their 5-4-1 record against the spread during that span isn’t doing us bettors any favors, so you may want to hold back on betting on the Cavaliers against the spread until Korver’s addition to the team does prove to be extremely fruitful.
The 102-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday was a landmark moment for the Phoenix Suns, who secured back-to-back wins for just the second time this season since winning two straight in the first week of November.
Eric Bledsoe powered the Suns past the Mavs with 26 points, and his involvement in the offense has been a welcome sight. He has now scored at least 22 points in nine of his last 15 starts, and will relish the opportunity to pull a massive upset at home over the Cavs this Sunday.
Beyond Bledsoe, though, Phoenix has gotten inconsistent output from the rest of its lineup. Case in point: T.J. Warren, who outscored LeBron James 22-14 the last time the Suns faced the Cavs, scored just nine point on 4-of-11 shooting on Thursday and has not registered a double-digit scoring night in four of his last five outings. By the way, the Cavaliers still won that contest from January 27 of last season by 18 points.
Then again, the Suns actually have a decent 3-3 record in their last six meetings versus Cleveland. However, they’re just 2-4 against the spread in those six contests, and having the second-to-the-worst three-point defense in the league this season – 38-percent three-point shooting allowed to the opposition – isn’t a good sign heading into Sunday’s showdown with the Cavs’ revamped arsenal from downtown.
Writer’s Prediction
The Cavaliers (-9) exhibit even more firepower with Korver’s debut as they beat the Suns, 116-102.
