Live Thread: Cavaliers @ Blazers

The Cavaliers look to get back into the win column against a fading Blazers squad. After watching Christmas Day jumpers continually clank off the rim in Oracle Arena, the Cavs assume the law of averages will balance things out in Portland. It’s hard to imagine a repeat performance from behind the arc. If shots fall for Cleveland, it will be bad news for Terry Stotts.

Despite featuring one of the highest scoring backcourts in the NBA, the Blazers have struggled to win games. C.J. McCollum has developed quickly into a deadly offensive player. The third year guard is playing 20 minutes more per game than he did last season. In his 35 minutes, McCollum is hitting 40% of his threes en route to a cool 20.1 ppg.

Though he works hard, he is undersized for a shooting guard. Combined with Damien Lillard, this is the worst defensive backcourt in the Association. Lillard continues to be Steph Curry Lite on the offensive end and Mo Williams Lite on the defensive end. To put it bluntly, Lillard is an abject travesty on that end of the floor. DRPM hates him. To be fair, poor defensive teams drag down DRPM numbers, but Lillard has been consistently awful throughout his career. (note: How is Wiggins so low on that list? There is some ammo for the Wiggins haters.)

Terry Stotts continues to baffle the NBA by bringing Ed Davis off the bench. I understand the desire to get Noah Vonleh some meaningful minutes, but wouldn’t it be more reasonable to let Vonleh compete against backups? Davis has been the Blazers’ best big man by a mile. Pairing Davis and Mason Plumlee can crowd the paint, but it still doesn’t make a lot of sense to throw Vonleh to the wolves. Meyers Leonard hasn’t helped Stotts space the floor as he has been a catastrophe for Portland this season. He was my dark horse for MIP this season. His 25% shooting from deep isn’t about to win him any awards.

Kyrie Irving seems to enjoy his battle with Lillard. Here’s hoping Uncle Drew starts to “get buckets”. Some pickup ballers put up more resistance than Lillard. Now is the time.

[Editor’s Note: Due to the time difference (middle of the night in Europe) Ben had to write this early and schedule it to run later, and was likely asleep before it was officially reported that both Kyrie (scheduled rest) and Damien Lillard (plantar fasciitis) will miss tonight’s game. Please adjust your expectations and wagering accordingly.]