Coming off a stirring win over the defense-free Mavericks, New York (2-7) heads home to face Cleveland (3-5). The Cavs just bumped off the Wizards and have been pretty solid with Kevin Love taking a benevolent leadership role. These same Cavs also just got bent up by the Mavs, coincidentally enough.
Both teams sport a 109 defensive rating on the season which means a semi-productive offense won’t struggle to find their spots. New head coach John Beilein will certainly find ways to pick on mismatches and deficiencies. Luckily the Cavs play a somewhat lopsidedly big team, with Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love leading the way in minutes and Larry Nance as sixth man.