On Wednesday night, the Cavaliers play their final road game of the season’s first half, taking on a Hornets team they’ve had their way with over the last couple years – winning four straight games over Charlotte by an average of 14.2 points per.
The Wine and Gold have been excellent away from home since before the new year – winning 10 of 11 since December 28 (the best road record in the league over that span), beating opponents by an average of 8.3 points per. Cleveland is coming off a dramatic overtime victory in Indiana on Monday night – a first for Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson – with the Big Three providing all the offense in the extra-session.
The Hornets – who’ve won five of their last eight – are no stranger to working overtime: over a five-game stretch from January 20-25, they won three games in overtime or double-overtime. In the Cavs first meeting with Charlotte this season on November 27, they overcame a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit to get the 95-90 win, holding the Hornets to 41 percent shooting, including 20 percent from long-distance and closing the contest out on a 20-8 run.
Whether they’re called the Hornets or the Bobcats, LeBron James has completely figured out the Charlotte franchise.
The last time LeBron lost to Charlotte was February 19, 2010 – sporting a career record of 37-5. On Monday night, James tallied his 16th double-double of the season, finishing with 24 points, 12 boards, six assists, two steals and a block. One of those 16 double-doubles came back in Cleveland’s victory in Charlotte in late November.
James will match up primarily with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte’s second-leading scorer who recently returned from right shoulder surgery that forced him to miss the first 46 games of the season. Since his return, he’s averaging 16.0 ppg on 73 percent shooting – doubling-up with 19 points and 12 boards in the Hornets’ recent win over the Lakers in L.A.
It’s not yet clear whether Charlotte’s top scorer Kemba Walker will be available for Wednesday night’s matchup as he nurses a sore left knee. The fifth-year guard from UConn is having his best season as a pro and recently won Eastern Conference Player of the Week after going on a scorching run in which he averaged nearly 35 points over a four-game span, dropping 52 points on the Jazz and 40 more on the Magic four nights later. In his last meeting with the Wine and Gold, Walker finished with 18 points, going 6-for-16 from the floor and leading both teams with three steals.
If he’s able to go, Walker will have to contend with Kyrie Irving – who’s been heating up heading towards the Break. Irving has topped the 20-point mark in each of his last three games, including Monday night’s win in Indy – scoring 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
It’s always an entertaining matchup when two of the best pure points from the excellent 2011 Draft class square off.
No Cavalier has benefitted more since Tyronn Lue has taken over as head coach than Kevin Love, who’s been outstanding over the past four games – averaging 22.5 points per contest, shooting an even 50 percent from the floor, including 50 percent from beyond the arc.
Love will match up with Marvin Williams, who’s having one of his better seasons as a pro. In Sunday’s win over the Lakers, the former Tar Heel tallied his eighth double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Before that, he topped the 20-point plateau in two of his previous three contests during Charlotte’s five-game West Coast trip.
Before moving into the starting lineup, Jeremy Lin combined with Jeremy Lamb to form the highest-scoring reserve duo in the Eastern Conference. But even with Lin off the second unit, the Hornets have some solid firepower off the bench – averaging 38.0 points per game, good for 8th in the league and 3rd in the East. Brian Roberts is averaging nearly 13 points per game over his last three, sophomore swingman P.J. Hairston is always a threat and Tyler Hansbrough recently registered 12 points and 14 boards against the Blazers.
The Cavaliers bench was quiet in Monday’s win over Indiana, although Matthew Dellavedova led the team with a +10 mark despite not scoring a single point. The Big Three has been doing most of the heavy lifting for the Wine and Gold over the course of their five-game run, but as they prepare for a stretch of three games in four nights, the bench crew of Delly, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov and Richard Jefferson will need to step up.
