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Key: All the Way to Memphis
The Wine and Gold will look to tie their longest win streak of the season when they travel to Memphis for the second half of their home-and-home back-to-back with the Grizzlies. (Cleveland plays its second such series next week – taking on the Bucks in Milwaukee on Tuesday before traveling back to The Q the following night.)
The Cavs closed out their three-game homestand with a convincing 103-86 win over the Grizzlies last night in Cleveland – using a late first-half run to pull away and hold off Memphis, a team they’ve topped in four of the last five meetings.
The Grizzlies, who had won six straight coming in, were already shorthanded – playing without Chandler Parsons and Mike Conley – before they decided to give Marc Gasol a rest.
Tonight, the All-Star center will be in action, but Cleveland’s Big Three will not – with Kyrie Irving (who didn’t play in Tuesday’s win), Kevin Love and LeBron James back at home.
Tyronn Lue’s squad will have an uphill battle at the Grindhouse, but he’ll also see how they’ll perform on the road without their superstar trifecta.
Key: Iron it Out
On a nightly basis, Coach Lue fields a pregame question about who will and won’t be in the lineup. One name he doesn’t even bother mentioning is Tristan Thompson – who will assume his starting center spot surrounded by a starting lineup of Iman Shumpert, James Jones, J.R. Smith and DeAndre Liggins on Wednesday night.
Thompson – who posted his sixth double-double of the season in Saturday night’s win over Charlotte – will suit up for his 393rd consecutive game on Wednesday night. The NBA’s iron man has grabbed double-digit boards in 14 games this season, just one fewer than team-leader, Kevin Love.
Tristan will have his work cut out for him in the Bluff City in the second half of the back-to-back when he takes on Marc Gasol, one of the most skilled two-way bigs in either Conference.
Gasol is having one of his best seasons as a pro and has been almost unstoppable of late – averaging 27.3 points, 10.0 boards and 5.3 assists over his last four games, including a 28-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist outing against New Orleans, his second career triple-double.
Key: Swishin' and Dishin'
The Cavaliers didn’t play a perfect game in winning their fifth straight on Tuesday night, but one of the highlights of the win was the play of J.R. Smith, who had his best offensive game of the young season – finishing with 23 points – drilling four of his first five three-pointers before cooling off after intermission.
Overall, Swish went 6-of-10 from long-range, 8-for-17 overall – posting his first 20-point game of the year.
Swish moved past Dale Ellis for 14th place on the NBA’s all-time three-pointers list with his third triple of the night (and he’ll eclipse Craig Ehlo for 8th on the Cavaliers’ all-time list after hitting his next three). Including Cleveland’s Tuesday night win at The Q, over the course of his career, Smith’s teams have gone 46-8 in games in which he’s hit at least six triples.
The shorthanded Grizzlies have been starting a pair of rookies – Andrew Harrison and Troy Williams – in the backcourt, and they’ll likely roll that way again tonight. Both managed double-figures in Tuesday’s loss, but did so shooting a combined 10-for-27 from the floor, including 2-for-9 from beyond the arc.
Key: ShumpShots
Since his arrival in Cleveland in January 2015, Iman Shumpert has been viewed almost exclusively as a defensive specialist – and he definitely excels on that end of the floor. But this season, one in which he came to Camp healthy and void of distractions, he’s been outstanding offensively.
Despite a quiet night on Tuesday, Shump has notched double-figure scoring in three of his last four outings, averaging 11.3 points on 58 percent shooting from long-distance (11-for-19) to go with 4.3 boards off the bench.
So far this year, the former Georgia Tech standout, ranks 5th in the NBA in three-point percentage at .468.
If he starts heating up on Wednesday, he’ll get a look at Tony Allen – one of the league’s most tenacious defenders. Actually, without LeBron in the lineup, Allen will likely check several Cavaliers in the inter-Conference affair.
The 13-year veteran struggled on Tuesday night at The Q, but has been very good on the offensive end lately – averaging 15.5 points on 60 percent shooting in the previous four games before cooling off in Cleveland.
Key: Super-Subs
With the Big Three watching Wednesday’s affair from Cleveland, the Cavaliers will depend on their reserves if they hope to extend their recent win streak.
James Jones will be in the starting lineup and, as usual, the savvy veteran has been the model of consistency this year. In terms of cashing in on opportunity, the man aptly-nicknamed “Champ” has gone 11-for-14 (.786) from the three-point range so far this season.
Channing Frye has gotten more opportunities from long-range, and he’s been deadly as well – currently second in the Eastern Conference at .467. The 12-year veteran returned to action to finish with eight points in Tuesday night’s win, and his production will be key on Wednesday at the Grindhouse.
Richard Jefferson, who’s shot 53 percent from deep over the last eight games, will be called to contribute a little more, as will youngsters Jordan McRae and Kay Felder.
With Gasol back in the starting lineup for Memphis, that likely means Zach Randolph – now the Grizzlies’ top reserve – will come off the bench. Z-Bo was very good in his first start of the season on Tuesday, finishing with 18 points on 9-for-15 shooting to go with five boards, two steals and a blocked shot.