The Wine & Gold will tip off the 2014-15 regular season against the New York Knicks tonight at Quicken Loans Arena. Tipoff is at 8:00 p.m. ET.
After losing to the Chicago Bulls last night, the Knicks will look to bounce back against the Cavaliers. Back to backs are never easy, but the Knicks will have to give it their all against a Cleveland team that is filled with two All-Star players and arguable the best player in the league right now.
The Cavaliers had a solid 2014 Preseason, finishing with a 5-2 record and having five players average double figures in scoring (Irving-20.8, James-15.0, Waiters-14.4, Love-14.0, Thompson-12.3).
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The projected starting lineup for the Cavaliers is Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Anderson Varejao. As for the Knicks, they could go with Shane Larkin, Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Samuel Dalembert. Recently acquired point guard Jose Calderon is doubtful to play due to calf injury.
This game will be Cleveland's season opener. The Knicks will need to give their 110 percent effort in this one. This game will have much focus, mainly due to the return of LeBron James to Cleveland. The crowd will be in full effect mode as this is a return many have been waiting for. The Knicks will have to play it out in a very hostile environment.
No doubt James will be a problem for the Knicks, but also their inside bigs such as Love and Varejao should cause trouble for New York. Wednesday night, we saw the Bulls bigs Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson have their way against the Knicks. New York will have to put in much effort on the defensive side of the floor.
If New York decides to stick Shumpert on James, who will guard Irving? Shumpert is the Knicks' best perimeter defender, and it would be no surprise if they do have him guarding James. Pablo Prigioni and Larkin will have to stay active on the defensive side if one of these two point guards are the ones guarding Irving.
Two rookie coaches will lead each team - Derek Fisher, who already made his debut last night, and David Blatt for Cleveland.
Anthony is no doubt needed very much on the offensive side. But with James most likely to guard him, shooting guards Tim Hardaway Jr. and former sixth man of the year J.R. Smith will have to contribute big as well. Stoudemire put up solid number on Wednesday in the loss to the Bulls, but it will be interesting to see how many minutes coach Fisher will play him.
James and Anthony are known to be good friends off the court. But in this matchup, look for them to give it their all against each other. Both players will look to play to their full potential and lead their team to victory.
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Joe G's Three Keys
1. Home sweet home – The Cavaliers will be feeding off the full-house’s massive energy when Cleveland becomes the center of the sports universe for Thursday’s opener. That’s bad news for the Knicks, who haven’t played well at The Q, regardless. The Cavs are 11-3 over their last 14 games against the Cavs in Cleveland.
2. Defend the Triangle – Derek Fisher brought Phil Jackson’s Triangle Offense to the Big Apple, but it was a mess in their opener against Chicago. The Bulls ran two or three guys at Carmelo Anthony when he settled in the pinch-post. The Cavs will need to minimize Anthony as a threat.
3. Guard the Arc – J.R. Smith has had some huge games against the Cavs in Cleveland lately. And Dion Waiters knows exactly what Hardaway Jr. can do from long-distance. The Cavs can’t allow either one to go off from three-point range tonight.
Head-to-Head Matchup
The Cavs have won 23 of the last 30 home games over New York since March 14, 1998.
The last time the two teams met this past March, Dion Waiters finished with 22 points on 9-17 (.529) shooting, five rebounds and two assists in 41 minutes. For the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony had game-highs of 32 points and eight rebounds in 40 minutes. Cleveland overcame a 17-point deficit to snap the Knicks eight-game win streak after shoting a season-high .609 (42-69) from the field.
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