Key: Back to Cali
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The Wine & Gold’s West Coast trip rolls on with the squad in desperate need of a win. That’ll be a tall order when they walk into Staples Center for a Sunday night matchup against the heavyweight Clippers in the first of a back-to-back to wrap up the roadie.
The Cavaliers dropped their sixth straight when they fell to the Blazers on Friday night – with Portland jumping out to a huge lead and barely looking back from there in a familiar storyline from Cleveland’s previous defeat in Denver. J.B. Bickerstaff’s banged-up and road-weary squad has now dropped eight of nine and fell to 3-10 on the road.
After dropping two straight after Paul George’s injury, the Clippers have bounced back to win their last two – dropping the T-Wolves and Bulls on the road before returning to L.A. where they tip off a six-game homestand against the Cavs on Sunday night.
The Clippers have taken eight of the last nine against Cleveland – including a one-sided win on February 3 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Tyronn Lue’s return as a visiting head coach.
The Cavs wrap up the trip tomorrow night against the Warriors in their first-ever visit to the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Key: Klaw v. CLE
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In the Clip’s 121-99 win over the Cavs earlier this month, Paul George was almost unstoppable, going 8-of-9 from long-distance and 13-of-20 from the floor overall to finish with 36 points in 34 minutes.
But George has been sidelined with a foot injury, leaving Kawhi Leonard – who’s not a bad guy for the job – to pick up the slack.
Leonard, who added 24 points on an efficient 9-of-14 shooting from the floor in the win over Cleveland, comes in on a tear, too – averaging 34.5 points per over his last two, shooting 59 percent and an even 50 percent from long-range.
The Cavs aren’t alone, but the Klaw certainly has feasted on Cleveland over the years – winning 15 of 18 with eight 20-point games, two 30-point games and a pair of 40-point showings in the mix.
Rookie Isaac Okoro has taken his lumps throughout the year, including that night earlier this month against Leonard – who also held the 20-year-old to just two points on 1-for-5 shooting.
After notching double-figure scoring in the first two games of the trip, the No. 5 overall pick this past November took one on the chin on Friday night in Portland, missing his single shot attempt in 27 minutes of work.
Key: Middle Men
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With the free agent acquisition of Serge Ibaka, last year’s starter Ivica Zubac was moved to the bench – a move that’s paid off handsomely for the Clippers.
The duo’s been good all year, and L.A.’s win in Cleveland on February 3 was a perfect microcosm.
In that win, Ibaka was 6-of-8 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from long-distance, to go with four boards, three assists and a pair of blocks. Zubac came off the bench to double-up with 10 points, a game-high 16 rebounds and three swats of his own.
Andre Drummond struggled in that contest – finishing with 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting to go with five boards; Jarrett Allen came off the bench - chipping in with seven points, nine boards, five assists and a pair of blocks.
Allen has been very good on the trip, netting double-figure scoring in all three games – including an 18-point, 10-rebound effort in Denver and a 22-point night on Friday in Portland.
Drummond doubled-up with 15 points and 14 boards in the roadie opener last week in Phoenix, but he’s been in a funk over the last two – averaging 6.0 points and 5.5 boards against Denver and Portland.