Cleveland Cavaliers(18-14) vs. Charlotte Hornets(10-23)
Time Warner Cable Arena
Friday, 7:00 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Last meeting: Cleveland 97, Charlotte 88(December 15th at Cleveland)
Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): CLE leads series 53-40 all-time
The Charlotte Hornets hope to get their 2015 off to a good start, as they welcome in the Cleveland Cavaliers to Time Warner Cable Arena for tonight's Eastern Conference match-up. The last time the two teams met was back on December 15, in which the Cavs came away with a 97-88 win over the Hornets, and tonight, the Hornets look to get some payback from that game back in December.
Scouting the Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost their last three games recently, and the biggest blow to the team came yesterday on New Year's Day, when they announced that LeBron James will miss the next 2 weeks. Now, with a Cavs team marred by injuries(Anderson Varejao will miss the rest of the season), head coach David Blatt knows that he needs everyone else on the roster to step up their game in LeBron's absence, as Cleveland looks to end their three-game losing streak tonight, as they visit Charlotte to battle the Hornets.
Scouting the Hornets
Like the Cavaliers, the Charlotte Hornets enter tonight on a 4-game losing streak, and they too are marred by injuries too, with Lance Stephenson and Al Jefferson both out of the lineup. For fans hoping to see LeBron on the floor tonight, well it ain't gonna happen as he will miss the next 2 weeks for the Cavaliers, but fans hope that the Hornets can get this huge sports weekend in Charlotte off on a positive note this evening, as the square off against Cleveland at "The Hive" tonight.
Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Saturday: Charlotte @ Orlando Magic*(7:00 p.m.)
Monday: Charlotte @ Boston Celtics(7:30 p.m.)
Wednesday: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Thursday: Charlotte @ Toronto Raptors(7:30 p.m.)
*-Southeast Division game
NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.
88
97
The Charlotte Hornets went up to Cleveland for the first of their three confrontations with LeBron James on Monday night, but a early start for Cleveland would doom Charlotte, as the Cavaliers handed Charlotte it's third straight loss with a 97-88 win over the Hornets. Charlotte is now 6-18 on the season, while the Cavs improved to 14-9 with the win on Monday.
Of course, when you face Cleveland, you have one major assignment: Trying to stop "King James", but LeBron had some other plans, he helped Cleveland get out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, and that would lead to him finishing up with 27 points and 13 assists, while Kevin Love got into the act to finish with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with 18 rebounds. Kyrie Irving was just 6-of-14 from the field, but he did end up with 16 points and rounding out the long list of double-figure scorers for the Cavs was Tristan Thompson with 10 points off the bench.
The Charlotte Hornets were led in the loss by Kemba Walker, who had 24 in the loss. Charlotte is back home at Time Warner Cable Arena this evening, as they battle the Phoenix Suns at 7:00 p.m., before they travel to Philadelphia on Friday night to face one of the worst teams in the NBA, the Philadelphia 76ers for a 7:00 p.m. start.
Charlotte Hornets(6-17) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers(13-9)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland
Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): CLE leads series 52-40
It's the rematch we've been all waiting for, as Lance Stephenson will lead the Charlotte Hornets into battle tonight on the road in Cleveland against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The last time that the Hornets were in action was back on Saturday night, when they got blown out by 27 points at the hands of Joe Johnson and the Brooklyn Nets, while the Cavaliers on the other hand are coming off a 5-point loss back on Friday night to Anthony Davis and the Pelicans in New Orleans.
Scouting the Hornets
On Saturday night, the Charlotte Hornets knew that they ran out of gas after playing a double-overtime game back on Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, and the game was over before it got started, as Joe Johnson and the Brooklyn Nets ran up the score and ran out of Charlotte with a 114-87 win over the Hornets. The Hornets have one thing in mind tonight, and that thing is heading into Cleveland to upset their arch nemesis LeBron James and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers to get back into the win column after losing the last 2 games.
Scouting the Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers meanwhile, are still trying to find their way around in their first season back with LeBron James at the helm. On Friday night, Cleveland did made a late rally in the 4th quarter, but it wasn't enough to bring down the Pelicans in New Orleans. Along with LeBron, the Cavs also have two star players to add on with their equation in Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. This will be an entertaining game to watch this evening, as LeBron squares off with Lance for the first time since last season's Eastern Conference Finals.
Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Wednesday: Phoenix Suns vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Friday: Charlotte @ Philadelphia 76ers(7:00 p.m.)
Saturday: Utah Jazz vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Next Monday: Denver Nuggets vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.
Our continuing series of previewing all 30 NBA team in 30 Days is nearing the homestretch, as we are less than one week away from the start of the 2014-15 NBA regular season, and we continue the series in Cleveland, where we will preview the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that could possibly contend for a NBA title with the return of "The King" and a new arsenal behind him.
Last season's record: 33-49(3rd in Central Division/10th in Eastern Conference)
Head Coach: David Blatt(1st season)
Arena: Quicken Loans Arena(20,562)
Website: Cavs.com
Here's a brief summary of the 2013-14 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers: It was somewhat a season of questions and answers in Cleveland, but the lone bright spot Cleveland had in last season's lineup was Kyrie Irving. His performance was absolutely stellar for the Cavs to have a bright spot, but it was not good enough for Cleveland, as they would miss the playoffs again, finishing up with a 33-49 mark and ending up third in the Central Division standings, as the makeover would start with the firing of Mike Brown as head coach, and of course, winning the NBA Draft Lottery, securing the number one pick, which was used to get Andrew Wiggins.
Later in the off-season, a major cloud of white smoke came from the chimney of "The Q", as many of the Cavalier faithful were anxiously waiting to hear from one of the biggest names in the NBA today if he would return home or not. And in the end, LeBron James decided that the time was indeed right for him to return home to Cleveland, and to hopefully finish his career there in a Cavaliers uniform. Another key part to the makeover was hiring David Blatt as it's new head coach, before wrapping it up with a trade that would send Wiggins to Minnesota in exchange for Kevin Love.
The expectations have never been higher for the Cleveland Cavaliers in this upcoming season, now that LeBron has decided to come back into the fold wearing the Wine and Gold, and some may think the Cavaliers could go all the way, while others are saying that the return of Mr. James could give Cleveland something to talk about down the road, and we'll see it come together in action this season.
Upcoming team previews in the "30 Teams in 30 Days" series:
- Wednesday: Toronto Raptors
- Thursday: Boston Celtics
- Friday: New York Knicks
- Saturday: Brooklyn Nets
- Sunday: Philadelphia 76ers
- Monday: Washington Wizards
- Next Tuesday: Charlotte Hornets
