The Cleveland Cavaliers have won six of their last eight games, and are coming off of a disappointing loss to the Miami Heat on Monday.
The Brooklyn Nets have won two games in a row, and are fighting to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Projected Starting Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers (43-26)
G Kyrie Irving – 22.2 ppg, 5.2 apg
G J.R. Smith – 12.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg
F LeBron James – 26.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 7.4 apg
F Kevin Love – 16.8 ppg, 10.1 rpg
C Timofey Mozgov– 10.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg
Brooklyn Nets (27-38)
G Deron Williams –13.0 ppg, 6.1 apg
G Markel Brown – 4.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg
F Joe Johnson – 15.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg
F Thaddeus Young – 14.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg
C Brook Lopez – 15.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg
What to watch for:
How much intensity will Brooklyn play with?
The Nets have the ability to compete with anyone in the Eastern Conference when they're playing focused basketball, but they don't do that consistently enough. The Cavaliers are the more talented team, so Brooklyn is going to have to play with more intensity than Cleveland if they're going to win.
Can Kyrie Irving continue his hot streak?
Irving scored a NBA season-high 57 points against the Spurs on Thursday night, and followed that performance with a 33-point outburst against the Magic on Sunday. He did struggle from the field (5/15 shooting) against the Heat, but that was in the second night of a back-to-back. If he can get back to the way he was playing last week, Cleveland will win easily.
Prediction: Cavs win 108-97
Brooklyn needs to win every game they can coming down the stretch, but Cleveland's talent will eventually overpower the Nets and carry them to a win.
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