The Cleveland Cavaliers might be coming off a victory, but there are still plenty of questions over the state of the team. They will attempt to answer some of them when they take on the Phoenix Suns who are struggling badly. Join The Roar for live scores from 11am (AEDT).
The Cavaliers, two games into a new era after the sacking of coach David Blatt now must try and push on with their season and get back to the form they were in early on in the season. They made a solid start at that on Tuesday (AEDT) when they recorded an important seven-point win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While the Timberwolves have been far from the best side in the NBA this season, they gave the Cavaliers a real fight, taking them down to the death in the last quarter of action. For the Cavaliers, it took a 25 point haul from LeBron James to win them the game as well as 19 points and 12 rebounds from Tristan Thompson.
It gave Blatt his first win as coach of the Cavaliers, and elevated them to a record of 31 wins and 12 losses, even though they have lost three of their last six. The Cavaliers, though, still lead the Eastern Conference.
The Suns meanwhile, are down the other end of the spectrum. Out in the West, they sit in 12th position only ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the hapless Los Angeles Lakers with a record of 14 wins and 32 losses. The Suns have only recorded two wins in their last 18 games and have slumped down the table at record speed.
Their big guns just simply haven’t fired, and it is going to take a complete team effort on both ends of the floor just to complete with the all-star Cavaliers line-up. Injuries are also hurting the Suns, but can’t be an excuse for the amount of lost games.
In their one meeting so far this year, the Cavaliers, as expected, were able to win but at the same time it was not nearly as comfortable as they would have expected, only doing so by four points.
Prediction
The Cavaliers have been a class act throughout the season, but it has all seemed to unravel recently. They looked committed against the Timberwolves, even if it only was a small victory. They should get the job done against the Suns, but none the less it could be an interesting game if the Suns big players can stand up.
Cavaliers by 4.
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