The whole city of Cleveland is ready for this season to get underway, as the return of LeBron James and the addition of Kevin Love has created championship expectations for the Cavaliers. The city is buzzing and rallying behind the Cavs, which should make for an absolutely electric atmosphere in Quicken Loans Arena tonight.
The New York Knicks have started a new era of their own, and it did not get off to a good start in their opener last night. New head coach Derek Fisher lost his debut 104-80 to the Chicago Bulls, and Carmelo Anthony only scored 14 points. They'll look to turn things around tonight in Cleveland.
Projected Starting Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers (0-0)
G Kyrie Irving - 20.8 ppg, 6.1 apg in 2013-14
G Dion Waiters - 15.9 ppg, 3.0 apg in 2013-14
F LeBron James - 27.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 6.3 apg in 2013-14 with MIA
F Kevin Love - 26.1 ppg, 12.4 rpg in 2013-14 with MIN
C Anderson Varejao - 8.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg in 2013-14
New York Knicks (0-1)
G Jose Calderon - 11.4 ppg, 4.7 apg in 2013-14 with DAL (missed opener with injury)
G Iman Shumpert - 5.0 ppg, 3.0 spg
F Carmelo Anthony - 14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F Amare Stoudemire - 12.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg
C Samuel Dalembert - 6.0 ppg, 3.0 bpg
What to watch for:
How will the Cavs share the ball on offense?
Head coach David Blatt is making his debut in the NBA, and Cleveland has given him a multitude of offensive weapons to play with. Irving, James, and Love were all the primary offense options for their respective teams next year, and they're going to have to figure out how they're going to play together.
When Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron paired up in Miami in 2013, it took them a whole season to adjust their games and play up to their potential. However, Cleveland's 'Big 3' are better basketball fits for each other than the Heat's 'Big 3".
Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving are already great in the pick-and-roll/pop, while Love's basketball IQ and superb passing ability should lead to a lot of fast-breaks for LeBron. The biggest issue facing them will be James and Irving figuring out how to share the ball, since they've both been primary ball-handlers in the past.
It's still going to take time for the Cavs to develop the chemistry and rhythm on offense necessary to reach their full potential, but they're already going to be really, really good on that end of the floor.
Knicks offense vs. Cavaliers defense
New York has offensive problems of their own they need to figure out. Fisher is trying to implement the Triangle offense he played in under Phil Jackson as a member of the Lakers, and it didn't go well for the Knicks in their opener. They were totally dysfunctional and looked really bad at times, scoring only 80 points.
Part of the issue was starting point guard Jose Calderon not playing due to injury. He's a good passer and a stabilizing veteran that would've made a difference, but the Knicks were forced to start second-year point guard Shane Larkin. Calderon is questionable to play tonight, and would make a big difference for New York if he's able to play.
While Cleveland's offense should be really good, their defense in the preseason left much to be desired. Given, it was only the preseason, so we'll get our first look at their 'real' defense tonight. If they haven't addressed those issues already, Carmelo Anthony will be able to exploit them and have a big night.
Prediction: Cavs win 115-93
Even with their defensive struggles and lack of chemistry, Cleveland is expected to have one of the best offenses in NBA history. They're going to be able to simply outscore teams, which is what will happen tonight. I expect the Cavaliers to come out on fire, feed off the crowd's energy, and jump out to a huge lead early. The Knicks still have a lot of things they need to figure out, and they're not good enough to challenge a team with Cleveland's talent level.
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