It seems odd to say that the Cavaliers will get a chance to catch their breath playing their third game in four nights and on the back end of a back-to-back – and it’s certainly no disrespect to the Portland Trail Blazers, who’ve topped the Wine and Gold in seven of their last 10 meetings. But the massive expectations and media circus heading into their Christmas Day matchup with the Golden State Warriors had to weigh on the squad more than a little.
With that contest in the rearview mirror – (until the rematch just three weeks away at The Q) – the Cavaliers can focus on closing out the four-game West Coast trip against three sub-.500 foes, beginning with tonight’s meeting at the Moda Center.
In Cleveland’s Christmas Day loss, defense dominated the day – the high-octane Warriors shot just 41 percent, but they held the Cavaliers to just 32 percent from the floor, including 17 percent from beyond the arc, with the combination LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving going 1-for-16 from long-range. Despite their shooting woes, the Wine and Gold were in the game all afternoon and seemed to find a defensive blueprint for slowing down the league’s top-scoring squad.
The loss snapped Cleveland’s six-game win streak, and on Saturday night they’ll be going against a team headed in the opposite direction as the Blazers have dropped five straight, including a 26-point loss to the Pelicans on Wednesday night in New Orleans.
Portland’s Damian Lillard had started every game of his three-year NBA career until being sidelined over the last two with plantar fasciitis. The two-time All-Star will be looking to return to the lineup on Saturday night against a team he’s had excellent success against – including a December 8 matchup at The Q in which he dropped 33 points on the Cavaliers.
In seven career contests, Lillard has averaged 25.0 points against Cleveland, scoring at least 20 points in five of those seven games. He went 4-for-9 from beyond the arc in that loss, making it five straight in which he’s canned at least three, three-pointers against the Wine and Gold. Over the course of his career against Cleveland, the Oakland native is 30-for-63 from long-distance.
As good as Lillard’s been against the Cavs, he was easily the second-best point guard on the floor the last time these two squads faced off. In that game, Kyrie Irving set a Quicken Loans Arena record, exploding for 55 points in a dramatic 99-94 victory. After missing his first seven shots, Cleveland’s three-time All-Star went 17-for-36 from the floor, including 11-of-19 from long-distance.
Irving was still on the mend when the two clubs faced off earlier this month, but he’ll be ready to rumble on Saturday night. In his three games back, Kyrie’s still trying to shake off some rust – averaging just 10.0 points per and shooting less than 30 percent from the floor. But he’ll undoubtedly be geared up for tonight’s contest and another showdown with his Western Conference rival.
In the Cavaliers’ Christmas Day loss, LeBron James led all scorers with 25 points, going 10-for-26 from the floor, adding nine boards, two assists and a pair of blocks. But his three misses from the stripe in the closing moments will likely have him sufficiently surly for Saturday’s matchup in Portland.
In Cleveland’s last meeting with the Blazers, the four-time MVP doubled-up with 33 points and 10 boards (to go with three assists, three blocks and a pair of steals). He missed last year’s victory over Portland at The Q, but did suit up for Cleveland’s loss one season ago at the Moda Center and it was an uncharacteristically ugly performance for James – who posted a season-low 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting. That was an anomaly for LeBron in the Pacific Northwest. In 22 games against the Blazers, he’s gone 16-6 – averaging 28.7 points on 53 percent shooting against the Blazers. Over his career, he’s posted 10 points of 30 points plus as well as a pair of 40-point outbursts.
Not many teams have an answer for the King, and the rebuilding Blazers are certainly on that list. In Saturday’s meeting at the Moda Center, Terry Stotts will likely use a combination of Al-Farouq Aminu, Noah Vonleh and Maurice Harkless to slow down an All-Star looking to bounce back from a tough loss the previous evening.
In their Christmas Day loss to the Warriors, the only Cavalier with any success shooting the ball from beyond the arc was J.R. Smith, who went 4-for-8 from long-distance, finishing with 14 points.
After snapping out of an early-season funk, Smith has again struggled to find his stroke – netting double-figures in just six of his previous outings, averaging 9.0 points and shooting just over 41 percent from the floor over that span. Despite his offensive struggles, Smith has remained solidly committed on the defensive end, and he and fellow 2-guard Iman Shumpert were very good again in Friday’s loss in Golden State – holding Klay Thompson to 6-for-16 shooting.
Shumpert’s return has been a big reason the Cavaliers have excelled on the defensive end over the past six games – holding foes to just 39 percent shooting from the field, including 27 percent from beyond the arc.
That dynamic defensive duo will have its work cut out on Saturday night in Portland, going against the early leader for the league’s Most Improved Player award: Canton’s own C.J. McCollum. In Portland’s December 8 loss at The Q, McCollum – who’s improved his scoring average almost 14 points from his sophomore season – was outstanding, scoring 24 points on 10-for-19 shooting. This year, McCollum scored at least 15 points in each of the Blazers’ first 17 games (after recording 15+ in more than two consecutive contests over his first two seasons in the NBA).
C.J. McCollum was stellar in his homecoming earlier this season. Now it’s Kevin Love’s turn to have a big night in his annual return to the Pacific Northwest – where he starred at Lake Oswego before a prolific collegiate career at UCLA.
A normal trip to Portland would pit Love against LaMarcus Aldridge, but he’ll face less resistance from the Blazers’ young forward combination of Noah Vonleh and Ed Davis. If the Cavaliers are to rebound from a tough loss to start the trip, they’ll need Love to rediscover the shooting stroke that he displayed earlier this season.
