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The Cleveland Cavaliers look to continue their preparation for the post-season with a home match against the struggling, and just about out of contention, Denver Nuggets. Join The Roar for live scores from 10am (AEDT).
Despite the Cavaliers’ dominance over the Eastern Conference for much of the season, there have always been questions during inopportune moments.
Cleveland have actually lost two of their last four matches, against the Utah Jazz and Miami Heat, and given their position, those matches – particularly the Jazz one – were expected to have been comfortable wins.
Generally, the Cavs’ biggest problem has been settling for poor shots on offence. However, in their last match against the Heat, they went down due to a failure to rebound. They were beaten by 20 in that department, and it made it incredibly hard to get into the contest.
The Nuggets meanwhile, lost three of their last four, albeit against all away from home and against the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks, before bouncing back with a win over the Charlotte Hornets.
The biggest problem Denver face is a lack of effort, and unwillingness to play basketball at a high level. It’s simply not been good enough from Denver, who know sit 10th in the Western Conference with a record of 29 wins and 41 losses, a full six wins outside the top eight.
When the teams last met, LeBron James scored 34 point in one of his man-of-the-match performances this season, guiding Cleveland to a six-point victory.
Being inter-conference rivals, this will be the second and final meeting between the sides this season.
Clearly the Nuggets have to find ways to shut down LeBron, and ensure Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love don’t find good form.
Prediction
Despite the Cavaliers’ big stars being likely to play limited miutes, this could still get ugly.
Cleveland by 16.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this match from 10am (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below as the action unfolds.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde