Usually the adjective “high-octane” is reserved for Western Conference teams. But following the Cavaliers first game of the Tyronn Lue Era – a loss to the Bulls that seems like a long time ago – the Wine and Gold have been scoring in bunches.
The most recent (and convincing) example was Saturday night’s drubbing of the Spurs at The Q. San Antonio came into the contest as the league’s stingiest scoring defense – allowing 90.6 ppg per game. The Cavaliers had 92 points at the end of the third quarter and went on to notch the 117-103 win, their fourth straight, averaging 115.3 points per over that stretch.
The Cavs come to Indiana trying to snap a 10-game losing streak at the Pacers’ gym – having last won here in late January 2010. Frank Vogel’s team had lost six of seven before winning two straight – including Saturday night’s overtime win over the Nuggets. The Cavs have the best road record in the league since December 28 – going 9-1 over that stretch – but they’re rolling into the toughest arena in the East for them over the past five years. Something’s gotta give on Monday night.
Monday night’s meeting features two of the best forwards in the Conference – Paul George and LeBron James – who’ve have some classic matchups both in the regular and postseason. The two will line up next to each other when the 2016 All-Star Game tips off in Toronto in less than two weeks, but tonight they’ll square off for the second time this season.
In Cleveland’s November 8 win, George led all scorers with 32 points, going 11-for-21 from the floor and adding 11 boards and six assists. LeBron was right with him, finishing with 29 points and eight rebounds. After missing the majority of last season after suffering a gruesome knee injury, the sixth-year star from Fresno State is currently eighth in the league in scoring (23.5) and fourth in three-pointers made (131).
LeBron, the league’s fifth-ranked scorer (24.9) is coming off a strong performance against San Antonio and is shooting nearly 63 percent from the floor over the course of Cleveland’s four-game run. In terms of frontcourt fireworks, it doesn’t get any better than Monday’s matchup in Indy.
Fans of the Wine and Gold know who the “Cavs Killers” are out there in the league. In fact, a former member of that nefarious club is Cleveland’s head coach right now.
A current member is Pacers’ point guard Monta Ellis, who’s posted five 30-plus point games against the Cavs over the course of his career and is averaging an even 25.0 ppg over his 10 meetings. In the first meeting of the season, Ellis was right on par – netting 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting as his Pacers fell just short at The Q. He was outstanding in Indy’s OT win over Denver on Saturday night – finishing with 32 points, nine boards and six assists. As Ellis goes, so goes the Pacers; they’re 6-1 this season when the former second-rounder leads the team in scoring.
He’ll be matched up with another star who can light up the scoring column, taking on Kyrie Irving – who’s been excellent over the last two games. On Friday night, Kyrie exploded for 28 points against the Pistons and in Saturday’s win over San Antonio, he saved his best for last – notching 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.
As good as the LeBron-Paul George duel should be, this backcourt battle might be just as intriguing.
Earlier this month, it seemed like Kevin Love had lost his way after starting the season strong. But since Tyronn Lue’s offense has taken shape, getting Love more touches at the elbow and working rotations around him, Love has looked like a new man.
On Friday night, one day after getting snubbed from the Eastern Conference All-Star team, Love went off for 29 points – netting 19 of those in the first half – as the Wine and Gold went wire-to-wire over the Pistons. The following night, he went to work early again, notching 14 of his 21 points in the first quarter, playing aggressively on both ends of the floor in the signature win over the Spurs.
On Monday night, he’ll have to go against one of the better young bigs (from an outstanding 2015 draft class that’s been loaded with them) in Myles Turner, who’s forced his way in Frank Vogel’s starting lineup. Earlier this season, the Pacers tried to play small, but the recent emergence of Turner – who finished with 20 points and six boards in his first NBA start – has called for a change of plans. The 19-year-old from Kentucky has netted double-figures in each of the last seven games – averaging 18.3 ppg and shooting 61 percent from the floor over that span.
Despite the fact that blondes have more fun, George Hill decided to go back to his normal hair color. But the local Indiana product has still been having fun lately – especially from beyond the arc, where he’s shot nearly 52 percent over his last 12 games. This season, Hill ranks 7th in the league from long-range, shooting a career-best 43 percent.
On the Cavaliers side, J.R. Smith has been incrementally climbing the Association’s all-time list in three-pointers and he’ll be eyeing up a former teammate when he takes the floor on Monday night – needing just two triples to pass Mike Miller (1,577) for 18th place. Swish is shooting 42 percent from deep over the course of Cleveland’s four-game streak and the Cavaliers as a team have been stellar from long-range all season – ranking fifth in the NBA, averaging an even 10.0 treys per contest. The Wine and Gold have canned double-digit three-pointers in 24 games this season and have hit 15 or more on four occasions.
Tyronn Lue spoke at morning shootaround that running opponents off the arc is one of his defensive points of emphasis. It’ll be interesting to see how the long-distance game plays out for both sides on Monday night.
