Tonight’s contest in Phoenix features a pair of teams both trying to snap out of an early season funk.
The Cavaliers have dropped two straight – including a Saturday night drubbing in Portland that LeBron James hopes the team will “throw in the trash.” But aside from that one-sided loss, the Wine and Gold have struggled offensively over the last three games, including last Wednesday’s win over New York, and are shooting just over 35 percent from the floor, including just 25 percent from beyond the arc.
If the Cavaliers are looking to get well out West, they picked the right team on Monday night. As bad as Cleveland’s loss in Portland was on Saturday night, the Suns are coming off an equally-painful defeat, falling to the one-win Sixers at Talking Stick Resort Arena. As if the loss wasn’t bad enough, the Suns also lost one of their best players, Eric Bledsoe, who left the game in the second quarter with a sprained left knee and could be out until after the All-Star Break. With all that swirling, Suns also fired two of Jeff Hornacek’s assistants. Less than 30 games into the season, an otherwise normal game has suddenly taken on some serious importance for both squads.
After being the feel-good story of the Western Conference two seasons ago, the Suns have become team turmoil here in 2015-16.
Part of that drama comes in the form of disgruntled forward Markieff Morris – who’s serving he second game of a two-game suspension after throwing a towel at his coach in frustration. Last year, the Cavaliers turned their season around following a 107-100 loss in Phoenix, with Morris leading Phoenix with a game-high 35 points. With Morris out of the lineup, the Suns turn to former Cavalier, Jon Leuer, who finished one rebound shy of his first career back-to-back double-double against Philadelphia.
He’ll match up primarily with Kevin Love, who’s trying to shake out of a funk as well – notching more than 13 points in just one of his last five outings and shooting 41 percent from the floor over that span. Despite Saturday’s loss, Love did shoot the ball well from long-distance in his return to the Pacific Northwest – going 4-for-7 from deep. And he’s regularly done well against the Suns – averaging 23.0 points, 13.1 rebounds in his last 11 meetings.
Last year, LeBron made his return to the lineup in Phoenix after missing the previous eight games with a cranky left knee and sore back. James led the Wine and Gold with 33 points in that seven-point loss, but their season turned around two nights later in Los Angeles–and they rode that wave into the NBA Finals.
In 23 career games against Phoenix, LeBron is averaging 28.7 points on .504 shooting, to go with 7.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.9 steals per. And he’s netted at least 33 points in three of the last four meetings. The Suns will match up with the rugged P.J. Tucker, who isn’t an offensive force, but will definitely get physical with the King on Monday night.
James and the Cavaliers used the Phoenix game to get themselves right last January; they’ll look to do so again on Monday night.
The Cavaliers starters were admittedly ineffective in Saturday night’s blowout in Portland, but the bench actually salvaged the second half, tying Portland after intermission (although, by then, it was too late).
As the Cavaliers try to wrap up one of their more difficult stretches – playing five games in seven nights, four on the West Coast, they’ll need to go deep to do so. Coach David Blatt has the entire roster at his disposal, and he’ll have to mix and match to keep the team fresh enough to split the trip. Richard Jefferson notched double-figures off the bench and Tristan Thompson did his usual blue collar work off the glass.
The Cavs would love to see Iman Shumpert get going again, after going just 5-for-26 from the floor over his last five games. Mo Williams returned to the lineup this week, but like most of the squad, struggled to find his shot in Saturday’s return to Portland. And Anderson Varejao, who’s played sparingly this season, would love to get some extended floor time, especially if Timofey Mozgov continues to be ineffective in the starting lineup.
Kyrie Irving returned from missing the first 24 games of the season two Sundays ago against the Sixers and he’s been gradually shaking off the rust over that span. As he continues to round back into shape, the Cavaliers are being precautious with their three-time All-Star guard, giving him Saturday’s second-half of the back-to-back off in Portland.
In his three games back, Irving has yet to find his stroke, shooting just 29 percent from the floor and averaging 10.0 points. He’ll be back in action on Monday night in Phoenix. Traditionally, Irving had solid success against the Suns, but struggled last season, averaging just 8.8 points on 28 percent shooting as Cleveland split the season series. He’ll match up with an old foe in Brandon Knight on Monday.
Dating back to his Eastern Conference days, Knight has always played the Wine and Gold tough and brings it big time when facing off against Irving. Knight has notched at least 20 points in each of his last three games and, with Bledsoe out of the lineup, will need to be on his best again tonight if Phoenix is to right the ship.
