The beauty of the NBA is that with games coming in rapid-fire fashion, it’s easy to bounce back from a funk.
The Cavaliers – who came into last Saturday’s meeting in Milwaukee on an eight-game win streak and face the Bucks on Thursday trying to snap a two game losing streak – are in that situation. On Saturday night, the Cavaliers fell in double-overtime at the BMO Harris Bradley Center – with LeBron James netting 21 of his season-high 37 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Of course, topping the Wine and Gold on the road and coming into their gym to do so are two different things. And the Cavaliers have been all-but-unbeatable at The Q throughout this season and over the past 26 regular season games – winning all but one of those contests. Cleveland, which starts a three-game homestand with tonight’s nationally-televised affair, has topped the Bucks in four of their last five visits.
With Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving still on the shelf as they work their way back to the floor, the Cavaliers have needed their remaining backcourt players to pick up some of the slack.
Mo Williams has been very good all year, but J.R. Smith has struggled to find his shot. But on Tuesday night, we started seeing signs of the player who canned more three-pointers than anyone in the Eastern Conference since arriving in Cleveland last January. Against the Pistons, Smith got off to another strong start – (he tallied the first six points of Saturday’s game in Milwaukee) – and had his best shooting night of the season, finishing with 15 points, going 6-for-10 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from long-distance.
Smith hasn’t let his offensive struggles affect him on the defensive end – where he’s been rock-solid all season. But the Wine and Gold will need the Swish from last season to emerge if they’re going to knock off their next two foes: a tough rematch with the up-and-coming Bucks on Thursday and an Eastern Conference Finals rematch with the Hawks on Saturday.
Through the first 11 games of the season, the Cavaliers’ four-time MVP last looked every bit like he’s primed for his fifth.
On Tuesday night in Detroit, LeBron James continued his climb up the NBA’s all-time scoring list – passing Jerry West for No. 19 – (and now just 67 points behind Reggie Miller). LeBron has been excellent of late – topping the 30-point mark in four straight games, including five of his last six. In those six contests, James is averaging 31.5 points on 52 percent shooting, including 42 percent from beyond the arc, to go with 6.5 assists and 6.3 boards over that span. LeBron was 5-for-11 in last Saturday’s loss to the Bucks, adding 12 boards and three blocked shots in the loss.
On Tuesday night, LeBron raced out to a 23-point first half against the Pistons – going 4-for-6 from deep – but he eased off the throttle after intermission, attempting just eight field goals in the second stanza. He talked postgame about his squad needing to have more of an edge than they’ve had, meaning it’s time to look for an extra-intense LeBron in Thursday’s matchup.
So far this season, the Cavaliers big men – Timofey Mozgov and Anderson Varejao – have been the international men of mystery.
Despite a 10-point performance on Tuesday, Mozgov’s numbers have been down this season. He especially struggled last Saturday night in Milwaukee, finishing with eight points on 1-for-5 scoring in just 16 minutes. After returning healthy from a season-ending Achilles’ injury, Varejao has struggled to get minutes in 2015-16. He hasn’t played double-digit minutes in November, including a pair of DNP-CDs in two of Cleveland’s previous five contests.
They’ll both need to be at their best on Thursday – going up against Milwaukee’s Greg Monroe, who posted three straight double-doubles (including last Saturday’s 16-point, 17-rebound performance against the Cavs) before struggling against Washington on Tuesday night.
After being originally drafted by Utah in 2003, Mo Williams would go on to play 272 games for the Bucks from 2004 until he was dealt to Cleveland before the 2008-09 season. And after stints with the Clippers, Jazz, Blazers, T-Wolves and Hornets, Mo is back on the North Coast, where he’s posting numbers every bit as good as his first go-round.
This season, Williams is averaging 15.5 points and 5.2 assists – starting all 11 games. Other than last Saturday’s loss in Milwaukee, Mo’s been very good over the last two weeks. Other than that four-point effort against the Bucks, Williams has notched double-digits in seven of the Wine and Gold’s last eight contests. On Tuesday night in Motown, the 12-year veteran tallied 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting to go with a team-high seven assists.
On Thursday night he’ll go up against Jerryd Bayless, who’s been just as hot – registering double-digit scoring in each of his last five games – including 17 points off the bench in the Bucks’ double-OT win over Cleveland on Saturday. It should be another interesting point guard matchup again in Thursday’s rematch at The Q.
