After winning their first six games of the season, the Wine and Gold finally fell on Tuesday night at The Q, with the Atlanta Hawks snapping both Cleveland’s early-season run and an 11-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.
Tyronn Lue’s squad came into that contest leading the NBA with 80 treys, but couldn’t get on track from beyond the arc, going just 11-of-42 from deep in their first defeat of the season.
On Thursday afternoon, the Cavaliers were honored by President Barack Obama at the White House and on Friday night they’ll take on the Wizards for the first time this season. Washington and the Cavaliers have split the season series in two of the past three seasons, with the road team winning 12 of the last 22 games.
After dropping four of their first five games, Scott Brooks’ squad comes into tonight’s matchup off a convincing 118-93 over the Celtics two nights ago at the Verizon Center.
When you talk about the Wizards, you have to start with their electric All-Star point guard, John Wall – who recently set the Washington franchise record for assists, handing out helper No. 3,827 against Houston and passing Wes Unseld on the all-time list.
The former Kentucky standout is coming off another stellar season that saw him reach career highs in scoring (19.9 ppg) and assists (an Eastern Conference-best 10.2 apg) – handing out double-digit dimes in an NBA-best 52 games last year. The three-time All-Star is back at it this year, including a 19-point, 7-assist effort in Wednesday’s win over the Celtics.
Kyrie Irving bounced back from his first subpar outing since Game 2 of the 2016 Finals last Saturday in Philly to lead both teams with 29 points against Atlanta, going 11-for-27 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the stripe.
If you’re a fan of outstanding point guard play, you’ll be watching two of the best in the business on Friday night in D.C.
The season is two weeks old and LeBron James has been the East’s top performer in both – leading the Wine and Gold to a tie (with Charlotte) for the best mark in the Conference.
James, who ranks 2nd in the NBA at 9.9 assists per contest, is coming off a 23-point, nine-rebound, five-assist effort in Tuesday night’s loss against Atlanta at The Q. The four-time MVP is 4-2 against the Wizards since his return to Cleveland – doubling-up in four of those previous five meetings, including a 19-point, 13-rebound, nine-assist effort in their last meeting, a 25-point win over Washington last March at The Q.
He’ll be matched up for much of the night against Otto Porter, Jr. – who’s coming off the best game of his young career. In Washington’s Wednesday night win over Boston, the 23-year-old forward went 14-for-19 from the floor for 34 points, adding 14 boards, four assists, three steals and three blocks.
Porter will come into tonight’s game brimming with confidence. The King would like to diminish that feeling from the opening tip.
In Thursday’s Championship celebration at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., J.R. Smith took a little ribbing from the Commander-in-Chief, who thanked J.R.’s shirt for making an appearance during the South Lawn ceremony.
After holding out during Training Camp, Swish is still shaking off some rust – struggling from beyond the arc over the past three games in which he’s gone a combined 6-for-21 from deep.
Even with Smith’s struggles, the Cavaliers are still shooting the three-ball as well as anyone in the league – having drilled at least 11 triples in every game this season and averaged 13.0 treys per contest so far, tied for the top mark in the Association.
Swish will be locked up with Bradley Beal on Friday night, and the fifth-year guard from Florida is off to another strong start this season, despite struggling mightily in Washington’s win over Boston on Wednesday – finishing with three points on 1-for-10 shooting. The odds of Beal having another stinker are not good -and he and Smith will both have to be on their games to keep the other from going off on Friday night.
At last year’s trade deadline, the Wizards beefed up their frontcourt – dealing DaJuan Blair, Kris Humphries and an unprotected first rounder in exchange for Markieff Morris, who averaged 12.4 points and 5.9 boards in 27 games with Washington last year.
Morris, who’s had some big games against the Wine and Gold – including a 35-point outing and a 27-point, 12-reobund outburst when he was still with the Suns – is right around his average again this season, and he’ll square off against Kevin Love, who’s having his best season since arriving in an offseason deal before the 2014-15 campaign.
The three-time All-Star, fresh off presenting Barack Obama with a Cavaliers Championship jersey, has scored at least 20 points in four straight contests, netting his 4th double-double of the season on Tuesday night against Atlanta – finishing with 24 points and 12 boards in the loss. But Love has struggled against Washington in a Cavaliers uniform, averaging just 11.0 points and 6.2 rebounds over his last five matchups with the Wizards.
