Cavaliers vs. Knicks (7:30 ET, TNT)
LeBron on the MSG stage
LeBron James has long been a fan of playing on one of the biggest stages in the NBA, Madison Square Garden in New York. He’s also given the crowds there plenty to remember, notching two of his 10 career games of 50 or more points at MSG. He’ll likely be licking his chops at both his individual matchup against New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony as well as the chance to impress the New York basketball faithful once again.
Anthony back on track
Carmelo Anthony missed more than half of the 2014-15 campaign to recover from left knee surgery, but he’s looking healthy this season. He hasn’t been afraid to test the injury, putting up 88 of his 180 shots around the basket and is off to a career best from the free throw line. He’s averaging a near career high for assists (3.7) in the young season and is dong all this whil averaging a career low in minutes (22.4 per game).
Get a body on Porzingis!
New York Knicks rookie forward Kristaps Porzingis has climbed to No. 3 in our latest Rookie Rankings and has become a must-see for his tip-in dunk abilities. Not surprisingly, he leads NBA rookies in total offensive rebounds, offensive rebounds per game and is second to Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns in rebounds per game. Porzingis is also second overall in offensive rebounds in the entire league (trailing only Detroit’s Andre Drummond) and 13th overall in total rebounds, too.
Love is (back) in the air
Kevin Love’s struggles to fully acclimate himself in 2014-15, his debut season with the Cavs, was just part of what made the season that was a disappointment for him. (There was that whole playoff-ending shoulder injury suffered in the first round against Boston, too.) Love has bounced back from whatever issues plagued him and is looking like that All-Star, double-double machine NBA fans knew well on the Minnesota Timberwolves. His scoring has perked up from 16.4 points last season to 17.6 and his rebounding is at a more Love-like 12.0 (after 9.7 rebounds in ’14-15).
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NBA.com staff reports
