Live Thread: Cavs @ Mavericks

Tonight the Cavs face off against the 2-10 Dallas Mavericks. This game screams trap game as Cleveland tends to not put any effort in against opponents of Dallas’s stature. Add to that this game is away in the middle of a tough road trip and coming off of a tough loss to Houston last Thursday and things could get dicey. Derrick Rose is still day-to-day with an ankle injury and may not go tonight. The Mavs will be missing Seth Curry and Josh McRoberts.

To win, the Cavs will need to put in at least 75% effort levels. Don’t expect an improvement on the defensive end, no matter how much effort they are putting in. The Cavs should be taking this game seriously, though as their performances against the dregs of the league have been abysmal thus far. I do expect a bit more than usual, however, and hope Cleveland can start to get things back on track. I expect a win tonight, maybe I’m being naive, hopefully not. LeBron says he is still in “improvement mode” as well as “championship mode” so we should still continue to give him the benefit of the doubt as they continue to improve. Despite their rocky start, no one in the organization is panicking quite yet. This one should be a gimme, so go Cavs!