The Golden State Warriors continue to sit as the best team in the NBA. The Cleveland Cavaliers are simply trying to get to be the best team in the Eastern Conference. The two teams faced off last month with Golden State getting an easy win while Cleveland played without LeBron James in the mix. Now, the Cavaliers are much improved and healthy looking to make a fun at the NBA leaders in hopes this is a preview to the NBA Finals.
Cleveland's history against Golden State is not strong as the team has dropped their last seven of eight against the team. Their last meeting was out on the West Coast where the Cavaliers fell 112-94. Kyrie Irving led the team in that game with 23 points, but it was not enough to match the Warriors shooting 50 percent. James was not active in the game as it was during the stretch he sat out with knee soreness. However, now the two teams meet again at full strength.
Cleveland has found success lately, winning three straight road games, outscoring opponents by an average of 21.7 points. They beat the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday after coming back from a 14 point deficit. James put up 19 points and 11 assists while the defense held the Pistons to just 31 points in the second half. The Cavaliers will have the additions of JR Smith, Iman Shumpert and Kendrick Perkins they hope push them over Golden State this time around.
Golden State is in the middle of a six-game road trip that started with a loss to Indiana and a win over the Washington Wizards. Stephan Curry returned from right foot soreness to put up 32 points against the Wizards while going 11 for 18 shooting. The Warriors have split even in their last 14 road games while allowing an average of 104.7 points on the road. Meanwhile the Cavaliers have won their last 10 home games by an average of 15.2 points and will rely on that stat for the game against Golden State.
