Cavs vs. Suns preview and gamethread
The shorthanded Cavs face the uneven Phoenix Suns on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rebounded from their national stage dud with a gutsy win on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns come to town searching for some consistency.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (35-6) vs. Phoenix Suns (21-20)
Where: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse - Cleveland, OH
When: 3:30 PM, January 20th
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, NBA League Pass
Line: Cavs -7.5
Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Dean Wade, Jarrett Allen.
Cavs injury report: Evan Mobley - OUT (calf), Isaac Okoro - OUT (shoulder), Emoni Bates - OUT (G League), Luke Travers - OUT (G League)
Expected Suns starting lineup: Tyus Jones, Devin Booker, Ryan Dunn, Kevin Durant, Mason Plumlee
Suns injury report: Bradley Beal - QUESTIONABLE (ankle), TyTy Washington - OUT (G League), Jusuf Nurkic - OUT (conditioning), Jalen Bridges - OUT (G League)
What to watch for
Keeping up on offense
The Cavs will once again be without their best defensive player in Evan Mobley, who is nursing a calf injury, and dynamite wing defender Isaac Okoro. That proved to not be enough of a deterrent against Minnesota, but the Suns have a dangerous two-headed offensive monster of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. While the Suns are as disjointed as the Wolves, Durant and Booker are lethal at any moment from anywhere on the court. It is entirely reasonable to think Mobley and Okoro would have been given the defensive assignments for Durant and Booker respectively, so the Cavs will be missing their two best counters.
With Mobley on the court, the Cavs’ defense is a full nine points per 100 possessions better than with him off per Cleaning the Glass - good for the 97th percentile. Minnesota was not capable of taking advantage, but Durant and Booker certainly could.
Jarrett Allen’s advantage
There was some grumbling about the Cavs not focusing on Jarrett Allen enough against the center-deprived Oklahoma City Thunder last week, and somewhat deservedly. The Suns are also quite center-needy, recently trading for Nick Richards from the Charlotte Hornets. Richards is a passable big, but he is better as a backup to a capable center. Phoenix will only have Mason Plumlee available along with Richards, which means Allen will have a big advantage in the paint. The headline will be Durant and Booker against Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, but Allen could - and should - be a focal point against a bad Suns defense that is ill-equipped to handle him.