The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers give it another go as they play each other for the second time this season. The Warriors will look to build another win streak after beating the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, while the Cavaliers will attempt to even their season series with Golden State.
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[sc:NBAArticles ]Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Preview
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland
When: Monday, February 26, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers — view all NBA lines
Betting on the Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry is back in action and so are the Warriors in the win column. After sitting out one game to recover from a sore right foot, Curry scored 32 points and added eight assists to guide Golden State to a 114-107 road win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. The victory came after the Warriors’ 104-98 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Curry’s return helped the Warriors improve on some of the things they struggled with against Indiana on the offensive end. With Curry running the point again, the Warriors had more assists against the Wizards than in the Pacers game (27-19), more three-pointers (12-9), and shot way better from the field (50 FG%-38.2 FG%).
Curry, who scored 23 points in Golden State’s 112-94 win over the Cavs on January 9, is the team’s leader in points (23.8 PPG), assists (7.9APG), and steals (2.2 SPG). Together with Klay Thompson (22.3 PPG), Curry will lead the Warriors’ deadly backcourt that paces the league in points with 58.5 per game against the Cavs.
Other than their excellent outside sniping (10.5 threes per game), expect the Warriors to use their speed against the Cavs. The Warriors top the league in fast break points with 21 per game. They torched Cleveland’s transition defense in the January game for 36 fast break points.
The Warriors are 8-2 in their last 10 games overall.
Betting on the Cleveland Cavaliers
There’s a world of difference between a Cavs team with and without LeBron James. Cleveland will add another proof why the latter is better when it hooks up with the Warriors again.
The earlier loss to the Warriors was part of a string of six defeats suffered by Cleveland back in January. During that rotten stretch, James played in just one game (vs. Phoenix) as he battled knee and back ailments. The Cavs were only able to turn things around when James returned to the lineup as he helped Cleveland win 18 of its next 21 games.
With James not playing in the previous meeting with Golden State, coach David Blatt was forced to insert Mike Miller into the starting lineup. Miller, however, barely looked like an NBA player, as he finished with zero points in 20 minutes of action. Now that James is back in the fold, offense won’t be that hard to come by from the wings. James leads the Cavs in points (26.4 PPG) and assists (6.9 APG) since his return on January 19.
Not only will James be a big boost on offense for the Cavs against Golden State, he’ll also be an added asset on defense. As a versatile defender who can guard positions one to four, James may be assigned to shadow Curry or Thompson at some points in the ball game.
That being said, the Curry-Thompson stopper role may apply more to Iman Shumpert, whose perimeter defense is the primary reason why the Cavs pried him away from New York in a trade back in January. In 15 games in a Cavs uniform, Shumpert has averaged 3.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.7 SPG.
In nine games this February, the Cavs are allowing opponents to score just 95.2 PPG on 41.8 FG%.
The Cavs are 10-0 SU and 9-1 ATS in their last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Cleveland wins, 105-103.
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