The Cleveland Cavaliers have won seven of their last eight games, including a 108-90 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
The Memphis Grizzlies are also on a hot streak, winning five of their last six games.
Projected Starting Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers (46-26)
G Kyrie Irving – 21.8 ppg, 5.3 apg
G J.R. Smith – 13.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg
F LeBron James – 25.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 7.3 apg
F Kevin Love – 16.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg
C Timofey Mozgov– 10.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg
Memphis Grizzlies (50-21)
G Mike Conley –16.2 ppg, 5.3 apg
G Tony Allen – 8.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.1 spg
F Jeff Green – 12.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg
F Zach Randolph – 16.6 ppg, 10.9 rpg
C Marc Gasol – 17.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg
What to watch for:
Who will Tony Allen guard?
Tony Allen is one of the NBA's best lockdown defenders, and he has the versatility to shut down both Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. He'd usually be assigned to James, but with Irving's terrific play since the All-Star break and Jeff Green, who's also a good defender, on the roster, he may be guarding the Cavs point guard. Either way, whoever he guards needs to make sure they aren't completely taken out of the game, or the Cavs won't have a chance to win.
Can Mozgov & Love handle Gasol & Randolph down low?
Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph have been the building blocks for this Memphis team, and they're perhaps the big man combination in the league. They will bother both Timofey Mozgov and Kevin Love, but the level to which the Cavs' big men are able to handle the Grizzlies' duo will say a lot about Cleveland's playoff potential.
Prediction: Grizzlies win 98-96
These teams are equally matched, and if this game was in Cleveland, I'd pick the Cavs to win. However, it's in Memphis, meaning the Grizzlies have a better chance to control the tempo of this game and win a close one.
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