The Cavs were blown out last night by the Portland Trail Blazers, and are looking to right the ship and get back to .500 in the second game of a back-to-back.
Utah has limped to a 1-3 record so far this season with their lone win coming over the Phoenix Suns, but their young roster is eager to prove they can compete with one of the best teams in the league.
Projected Starting Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers (1-2)
G Kyrie Irving - 18.0 ppg, 5.0 apg
G Dion Waiters – 8.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg
F LeBron James – 21.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 5.0 apg
F Kevin Love – 19.0 ppg, 13.3 rpg
C Anderson Varejao – 9.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Utah Jazz (1-3)
G Trey Burke - 11.0 ppg, 4.8 apg
G Alec Burks - 14.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
F Gordon Hayward – 18.8 ppg, 7.3 apg, 5.3 apg
F Derrick Favors - 17.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg
C Enes Kanter - 10.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg
What to watch for:
How assertive will LeBron James be?
Against the Knicks and the Blazers, LeBron tried to get his other teammates involved as much as possible, while against the Bulls, he took over. Can you guess which game the Cavs won?
James is the best player on the planet, so there's no reason for him to be deferring to Kyrie Irving as he did against Portland. He watched as Irving dribbled the air out of the ball and didn't assert himself. Cleveland needs him to be the alpha dog and have every else adjust their games to his, not the other way around.
Trey Burke vs. Dante Exum
Utah drafted these two point guards in the first round of the past two drafts, and they're looking for one of them to take over the position long-term. Burke has been starting over the rookie Exum, but hasn't done anything to win the job. However, it's also clear Exum is still adjusting to the NBA as he's gone through his share of struggles as well.
A strong performance against one of the top teams in the league will start to show who's more capable of leading Utah's team down the road.
Prediction: Cavs win 101-84
Cleveland looked terrible against Portland, but there's no better chance to rebound than against the Jazz, one of the worst teams in the league. Even if the Cavaliers play as sloppy as they have in their first three games of the season, they should win this one easily.
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