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Who: Charlotte Hornets at Cleveland Cavaliers
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio.
When: 3:30 E.T.
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Southeast-Charlotte/WFNZ 610 AM.
The Cavaliers barely squeaked out a 110-108 victory over the Atlanta Hawks Friday after blowing a sizable 19 point lead. The game was noticeable for LeBron James screaming at Kyrie Irving on the bench in what was certainly a Vine-worthy moment. Cleveland is a hard team to figure out. They like to push the pace, attack out of isolation, and kick to shooters. The team is built as an offensive powerhouse with the ability to play small or big with five shooters on the court at once. Coach Tyronn Lue has improved the teams defense to the eighth best in the league. Kevin Love looks like less than afterthought in the offense. Love's passing and work at the elbows has allowed him to get more integration in the offense.
At the same time the Cavaliers remain dysfunctional. Tyronn Lue does not have the respect of his players. Iman Shumpert threw a towel on Lue like he was some kind of ball boy. Lebron James frequently takes over timeouts leaving Lue in the background. It doesn't appear that Lue has the respect of his players, and it doesn't really matter. The franchise has to always please Lebron. I doubt Lebron James would leave Cleveland for another city but the possibilities always there.
The Hornets continue their smooth sailing with five victories in their last six games. Kemba Walker continues his excellent play including hanging 27 points on the 76ers during Friday's victory. Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams continue their march towards huge offseason paydays. Al Jefferson continues to tear up other team's second unit bigs, and he'll most certainly get some easy buckets on Channing Frye. Jeremy Lamb and Courtney Lee are a solid if inconsistent set of two guards. Charlotte has a good chance this time to beat Cleveland with a healthy squad that's playing some of the best basketball of the season.