Preview/Live Thread: Cavs vs. Thunder (#CaughtOffGuard)

Not yet, Cavs fans… not quite yet. Just in case you haven’t seen Kyrie Irving’s tweet from yesterday, refuting the early report that he’d be suiting up (in something other than other than his swank designer duds on the sideline) for tonight’s eagerly anticipated contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder, be advised that KI will be a spectator for at least one more game. His return is tantalizingly close, and not just to the fans, but also to Uncle Drew himself, who has reportedly continued to lobby the Cavs’ front office and coaches to allow him to return to active duty. Understandably, there’s a bit of a letdown on all fronts about this delay, especially as the Thunder come to town representing maybe the toughest test of this still young season for the Cavaliers. Not to mention the fact that his presence could have buoyed a suddenly paper thin Cleveland back court.

Also sitting this one out for the wine & gold is the recently returned Iman Shumpert. Shump was officially ruled out after suffering a groin injury in only his second game back from his season-long absence with a wrist injury. The new issue is reportedly a mild one, but the Cavs likely want to take no chances that it could get exacerbated. Iman is listed as day-to-day, although even if he didn’t have this latest malady to deal with, he might still not have been available to the team tonight… especially after other amazing events unfolded in his life today…

On Dec 16th at 6:42am in our bathroom Junie decided she wanted to take her first breath into this world. She came out as a wonderful surprise to everyone! Not knowing I was in labor until I felt her head…it took two ten count pushes with my fiancé playing Dr and she entered this world into his bare hands! Eyes full of tears and barely able to speak to the emergency operator @imanshumpert tied a pair of red headphones around the umbilical cord and the ambulance made there grand entrance 5 min later. She opened her eyes right away, gazed into mine and never cried! He handed her to me wrapped in our bath towel and wiped her face for me to see what LOVE really is. She has blown Christmas away! Our family is complete. Her blueprint will be unmatched. Welcome Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr. Mommy carried you. Daddy delivered you. #MeetTheParents we love you baby girl?????

A photo posted by Jimmy Neutch (@teyanataylor) on Dec 17, 2015 at 10:15am PST

Congratulations to Iman and Teyana as they welcome baby Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr. into the world! (This is also the first female progeny I’ve ever heard of being named a Junior).

So, Kyrie and Shump are out, but hey, you might say… the Cavs have gone 14-7 without their starting back court so far, so why worry? Well… there’s more…

Mo Williams is also listed as questionable for this game with a right thumb sprain he sustained in the Celtics game. Odds are that Mo will give it a go, but given his near non-existent defense on most nights, the thumb will likely impact what he can do on the side of the court where he does most of his damage. Also, Matthew Dellavedova may be downplaying some injury issues as he was on the trainer’s table getting his back stretched after the Boston game. Delly also missed a practice while the team was in Orlando due to the sore back.

If you’re counting along at home, that’s two guards out and two more banged up, which leaves the Cavs perilously thin with only J.R. Smith and Jared Cunningham fully healthy to man the backcourt, and try and stop the dangerous Russell Westbrook. At least help is on the way…

Cavs recall Joe Harris from Canton. Charge currently in Calif. Cavs also announce G Iman Shumpert (groin) out tonight, questionable Sunday.

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) December 17, 2015

But seriously… Westbrook would present a daunting challenge to the Cavs’ guards even if everyone was healthy. And, since LeBron is likely to have his hands full matching up with Kevin Durant, the Cavs may need some additional minutes at guard from Richard Jefferson as well.

The Thunder (17-8) come in on a six game winning streak, where they’ve held their opponents under 100 points in every game. They are on the second night of a back-to-back, however, and have not fared well on the road against Eastern Conference teams thus far this season, going just 1-3. They are paced by Durant (third in the league in scoring at 27.3) and Westbrook (sixth at 25.6 with three triple doubles already this season) offensively, and feature big man and defensive specialist, Serge Ibaka (seven boards and 2.5 blocks per game).

This game also represents the first “homecoming” for former Cav, Dion Waiters. St. Weirdo has been his usual mercurial self for the Thunder, coming off the bench to average 10.8 ppg, while shooting 40% (36% from three point range). Dion’s been shooting it well of late, however, and had one of his better games of the season with 18 points on 6-10 shooting last night against Portland. It’s probably safe to assume he’s had tonight’s game circled on his calendar for some time now, as if the Cavs’ already thin guard rotation needed more on their plate…

The Cavs (16-7) have been on a modest three game win streak of their own, and have held their last two opponents to 76 and 77 points respectively. Cleveland’s front court will need to shine tonight to compensate for their back court deficit. It will be key for LeBron, Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson to come up big, and make the Thunder work hard on defense. Hopefully, Moz can continue his recent resurgence in the middle, and take advantage of Enes Kanter and Stephen Adams.

The probable starting lineups are… for the Cavaliers: C Timofey Mozgov; PF Kevin Love; SF LeBron James; SG J.R. Smith; PG Matthew Dellavedova. And for the Thunder: C Steven Adams; PF Serge Ibaka; SF Kevin Durant; SG Andre Roberson; PG Russell Westbrook.

Game time is 8 p.m. (EST) and it will be nationally televised on TNT.

This is likely to be a tough test for the Cavs, but even with their depleted guard situation, I still think the wine & gold will be able to defend their home turf against the potentially weary Thunder. Cavs win a close one 107-104…

GO CAVS!