featured-image

Five Keys: Cavaliers vs. Wizards

var opponent = "wizards"; //used in image formatting opponent-dateCode-page.jpg var dateCode = "151201"; var pageSelectorTag = "div" var pageSelectorClass = "article-section" var pageTitleTag = "h4"; var pageTitleClass = "key";

Key: Home Sweet Home

The Cavaliers look to extend their home winning streak to start the 2015-16 season to double-digits when they welcome the Washington Wizards to The Q for a Tuesday night matchup.

Tonight’s meeting is a battle of teams headed in different directions. Although the Wine and Gold dropped last Wednesday’s road contest in Toronto, they bounced back to beat Charlotte on Friday night and won a thriller against Brooklyn on Saturday at The Q when LeBron James scored on a running jump-hook with 1.9 to play to keep Cleveland undefeated at home. With Saturday’s victory, the Cavaliers won their fifth out of six and improved to an Eastern Conference-best 13-4.

Washington comes in having lost four straight, including Saturday’s 84-82 home defeat – with Toronto’s Cory Joseph drilling a trey at the buzzer. That loss was a welcome relief to their previous three in which they fell by an average of 21.3 points per. It doesn’t get easier for John Wall and Co. on Wednesday, as they take on a Cavs team that’s beaten them 12 of the last 16 at The Q.

Key: The Beal Thing

Any discussion about the Wizards usually begins with point guard John Wall, but his backcourt mate, Bradley Beal, is actually the squad’s leading scorer this year at 19.6 ppg. Beal started out the season on fire, scoring at least 24 points in each of his first five – and he’s dropped 20 points in two of his last four outings, but those have (mostly) come in blowout losses.

The sharpshooter from Florida will be up against a player whose season has been the exact opposite, with J.R. Smith getting out of the gates slowly and coming on of late – on both ends of the floor. After notching double-figures in his previous seven games – including Friday night, when he scored seven of Cleveland’s final eight points in Friday’s win – Smith struggled from the floor on Saturday. But as he’s done all season, he didn’t let offensive struggles affect his defensive intensity and finished with a career-high four blocks to go with three steals in the win.

Key: On Point

Because Bradley Beal leads the squad in scoring doesn’t mean that John Wall isn’t still the engine that makes the Wizards go. The two-time All-Star once again leads the Wizards (and the Eastern Conference) in assists at 7.6 per contest. Wall’s been dangerous scoring the ball as usual this season, but like the rest of his squad, his shooting percentage has dipped of late – hitting on just 34 percent of his shots over the past five outings.

Wall has had some big games against the Wine and Gold, posting six double-doubles in 14 career contests – including a 28-point outburst just over a year ago in Washington.

Wall will match up with the Cavaliers’ point guard tandem of Mo Williams and Matthew Dellavedova. Williams has been doing his offensive work early – and that was the case on Saturday night, notching 14 points on 7-for-13 shooting against the Nets. Delly has been somewhat of the closer at the point, and he did so again over the weekend – clamping down on Kemba Walker in the win over Charlotte and Jarrett Jack in the victory against Brooklyn – leading the squad with six assists.

It’ll be an interesting battle between the heads of the snake on Tuesday night.

Key: Go Fourth

LeBron James isn’t about to break any records on Wednesday night – (that we know of) – but he is coming off his sixth double-digit fourth quarter of the season on Saturday night, capped by his game-winner in the closing seconds. It was the 35th time in his future Hall of Fame career that the 11-time All-Star has hit the go-ahead field goal in the final five seconds of regulation or overtime.

The Wizards organization knows all about what No. 23 can do – having knocked their previous incarnation out of the playoffs in three straight seasons. After throttling back on the offensive end in the two games before the Wine and Gold’s recent road trip – still managing to double-up in each contest – the King has scored at least 24 points in each of his last three.

Third-year forward Otto Porter – who’s struggled against the Cavaliers over the course of his brief career – will draw the assignment on Tuesday night, with Jared Dudley trying to provide some muscle as well.

Key: Middle Men

Like he has with the point guard position, Coach Blatt has gone with a two-headed monster in the middle so far this season.

Timofey Mozgov, who recently returned to the lineup after missing three games with a sore shoulder, has gotten the start while Tristan Thompson has been taking over down the stretch. On Tuesday night, they’ll both have to be on their game as they take on one of the better bigs in the Eastern Conference in Marcin Gortat. The 10-year veteran has been solid all season and leads the Wizards in rebounding – notching double-doubles in two of his last three outings. The Cavaliers have managed to keep Gortat in check; last year, he averaged only 8.0 points and 5.0 boards against the Wine and Gold.

Cleveland would love to continue that trend on Tuesday night. Mozgov is still looking to rediscover his rhythm from one season ago. Tristan Thompson, on the other hand, has been cooking the entire time – posting his sixth straight game of double-digit boards in Saturday night’s win over Brooklyn. Over that stretch, Thompson has been averaging 12.5 boards to go with 9.0 points per game – shooting an even 50 percent from the floor.