Live Thread: Suns at Cavaliers

2015-03-07 Off By Ben Werth

The Wine and Gold return to balmy Cleveland looking for their 13th consecutive home win. After allowing 36 first quarter points in the road loss to the Hawks, the Cavaliers will likely come out ready for opening tip. Fresh off a dramatic overtime victory in Brooklyn, the Suns come into town only a game and a half back in the tight race for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

On January 13th, the Suns extended the Cavs’ losing streak to six. It was the first game that the current Cavalier starting five was intact. The Suns and Markieff Morris fought back a tough Cavalier rally to pull out the victory. Since then, the Cavs went bowling, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas were shipped out East, and Brandon Knight made his way to the desert. Knight has struggled with his shot since being acquired via trade. Still, a backcourt with Knight and Eric Bledsoe has the potential to be very good.

The Suns are a tough bunch. P.J. Tucker has traveled the hoops world and has come back with all sorts of international nasty. Both he and Bledsoe have been on a tear lately. They always bring it on the defensive end, but their offensive numbers have ticked up in recent games. The Suns are second in the league in pace. They might not be quite as quick as they once were with the Dragon, but the home team better be prepared to get back in transition.

LeBron and Kyrie combined for 13 turnovers the last time the two teams played. Look for that number to be much lower, especially after the turnover fest in Atlanta. One would hope the Cavs would make ball-security a point of emphasis going forward. Sound off.

Update: Alex Len is out with a sore ankle. Earl Barron will start.

Share