Cleveland saw their winning streak snapped by the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, and will look to rebound against the Los Angeles Lakers. LA has lost three games in a row, including two straight overtime losses.
The Cavs won the first matchup between these two teams 109-102 on January 15.
Projected Starting Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers (31-21)
G Kyrie Irving – 21.8 ppg, 5.2 apg
G J.R. Smith – 13.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg
F LeBron James – 26.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 7.4 apg
F Kevin Love – 16.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg
C Timofey Mozgov– 10.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg
Los Angeles Lakers (13-37)
G Jordan Clarkson –6.9 ppg, 1.4 apg
G Wayne Ellington – 8.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg
F Ryan Kelly – 4.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg
F Tarik Black – 6.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg
C Robert Sacre – 4.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg
What to watch for:
How will the Lakers make up for the talent gap?
This Lakers team looks nothing like the ones we're accustomed to seeing or what we thought they'd look like before the season started. They're playing a bunch of young players to see who they want to stick around through this rebuilding process, which means Los Angeles is at a supreme talent disadvantage in this one. Look for head coach Byron Scott to mix in some zone defense and other unconventional methods to try and give his team a chance.
Prediction: Cavs win 118-89
This game won't be a fair fight. Cleveland was the superior team in their first matchup, and now that Kobe Bryant is out for the season, the Cavs should have an easy time and turn this into a blowout early.
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