The Cleveland Cavs are looking to bounce back from a 103-94 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday in the second game of a back-to-back when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans in the Big Easy on Friday night.
New Orleans had a short two-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday in Dallas, falling to the Mavericks 112-107. New Orleans currently sits virtually tied with the Sacramento Kings for 9th in the West, one game behind the Phoenix Suns for the magic 8th spot 1/4 of the way through the 2014-15 NBA season.
Projected Starting Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers (13-8)
G Kyrie Irving – 20.8 ppg, 5.1 apg
G Shawn Marion – 5.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg
F LeBron James – 24.8 ppg, 7.7 apg, 5.5 rpg
F Kevin Love – 17.4 ppg, 10.3 rpg
C Anderson Varejao – 10.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg
New Orleans Pelicans (10-11)
G Jrue Holiday – 15.8 ppg, 6.8 apg
G Tyreke Evans – 15.4 ppg, 5.6 apg, 5.4 rpg
F Luke Babbitt – 3.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg
F Anthony Davis - 25.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg
C Omer Asik - 8.2 ppg, 10.9 rpg
Cavs attempt to reconnect with their shooting touch (hopefully with LeBron)
LeBron James missed his first game of the season on Thursday due to left knee soreness, and the Cavs offense struggled mightily without their leader on the floor. Cleveland shot 36.5 percent from the field against the Thunder to tie for their second-worst shooting night of the season so far. Now with their previous eight-game winning streak snapped, the Cavs hope to have LeBron back on the floor (he's currently day-to-day) in hopes of a starting a new hot streak in New Orleans.
Will New Orleans' defense finally step up against top competition?
The secret to the Pelicans' inconsistency this season? New Orleans hasn't found a formula to limit top-tier offenses either at home or away. The Pelicans have sandwiched wins over the lowly New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers with brutal defensive performances in losses to the Los Angeles Clippers (who shot 55.1% from the floor) and the Dallas Mavericks (53%).
For New Orleans to take the next step, they'll have to tighten up their defensive rotations when the competition gets tougher.
Prediction: Cavs win 107-103
If LeBron's in, the Cleveland Cavs have a chance to win this one going away? Without him? This will be a grinder. Anthony Davis will get his buckets and the New Orleans Pelicans will put up a fight, but don't be surprised if the Cavs drain ever last drop of energy to facilitate a split of this current back-to-back.
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