After dropping two straight on the road over the weekend, a four-game homestand is exactly what the Wine and Gold need – and that starts on Monday night when they try to get right against the Pacers.
On Friday night, Kyle Lowry shredded Cleveland’s defense, scoring a career-high 43 points, including the game winner with 3.9 to play to cap a 15-6 Raptors rally in the game’s final 4:45. On Sunday, Cleveland never got that close – turning in a lethargic effort at the Verizon Center in which they trailed by as many as 30 points.
Like the Cavs, the Pacers have also dropped three of their last four, including a home loss to the Blazers on Sunday night.
Despite the rough weekend, the Wine and Gold still have a two-game lead over Toronto for the East’s top spot. The Pacers sit in the sixth spot, but they’re only a half-game ahead of two teams getting their players healthy (Charlotte, Chicago) and two teams on the outside that have played well after the Break (Detroit, Washington).
The playoff picture is starting to shape up, and this evening’s bissextus matchup at The Q between two teams that badly need a win will continue to shape it.
After playing the entire fourth quarter in Friday night’s loss in Toronto and with the Cavaliers playing three games in four nights, Head Coach Tyronn Lue went with his gut and gave LeBron James the afternoon off in Washington.
Lue obviously didn’t get the reaction he was hoping for from the rest of his starters, benching most of them midway through the lopsided loss in Washington. Tonight, the Cavaliers expect to have the four-time MVP back in action. James has been typically outstanding against Indy so far this season – averaging 26.5 points, 9.0 boards and 5.0 assists in Cleveland’s two victories. And as long as he’s been in the lineup, the Cavs have won 13 straight against Indy at The Q, dating back to James’ second season in the league.
He’ll face off against fellow All-Star Paul George, who followed up a 32-point performance on Friday night against Charlotte with an 11-point outing in Sunday’s loss to the Blazers. Both superstars know their team needs a win as we turn the calendar, so we could be in for a show between two of the game’s best on Monday night at The Q.
The Cavaliers will begin and end the month of February against the Pacers and in their overtime victory to start the month, Kyrie Irving led both teams with 25 points. Since then, Kyrie’s had an up-and-down month that saw him start to play at an All-Star level as he got healthy following offseason knee surgery.
He’s had an interesting past few games – a mixed bag of big performances and underwhelming outings, some not entirely his fault. On Sunday afternoon, Irving led the Cavaliers with 28 points – returning to the blowout even after Coach Lue had cleaned out his bench in frustration.
The Pacers’ backcourt is almost interchangeable, so Irving will face off against both Monta Ellis and George Hill on Monday night. Ellis – who’s having his worst offensive season since his rookie campaign – led the Pacers with 18 points in Sunday’s loss to Portland. Hill chipped in with 14 points in Sunday’s loss, but he led Indy with 23 points in the overtime game against Cleveland earlier this month.
Kevin Love comes into Monday night’s contest ready to make history, looking to become the first player in NBA history to average at least 10.0 rebounds per game and have hit 700 or more treys. He needs three bombs to reach that milestone, but the three-time All-Star has already posted 18 games this season of three or more triples.
In Love’s last outing against Indiana, he finished with 19 points and eight boards. But it might have been his play on the defensive end that preserved the win for the Wine and Gold – taking a huge charge early in the extra-session and swatting Paul George’s shot to protect Cleveland’s precarious lead.
As the 2015-16 season moves into its final month-and-a-half, players will have to ward off the fatigue that comes with the most difficult schedule – including travel – among the four major professional sports. Both teams come into Monday night’s contest on the second night of a back-to-back, and it’ll be interesting to see how each performs.
Last Monday night, after a huge win over the Thunder the day before, the Cavaliers game into Monday’s matchup with the Pistons admittedly flat. The Pistons, who fell to the Pelicans the day before, came to Cleveland ready to rumble.
Tonight, both teams are in the second game of a back-to-back and both need a victory.
The good news for the home squad on Monday night, however, is that there will be one player who’s well-rested and ready to take his team into the homestretch on Monday night. He wears No. 23.
