What’s up with the Cleveland Cavaliers?
The new-look Cavs have been on an absolute tear to start the season. Outside of the still-undefeated Milwaukee Bucks who are 9-0, the Cavs own the second-longest active win streak with seven straight victories. After losing their season opener, newly acquired Donovan Mitchell and the rest of the crew have kept their record clean, including a pair of impressive wins over last season’s runner-up Boston Celtics.
The Cavaliers will face an early season test as they are currently on a five-game road trip. They toppled the Detroit Pistons, 112-88, even without their explosive backcourt of Mitchell (ankle) and Darius Garland (knee) due to injuries. Both are questionable to face the Lakers.
But the Cavs have been more than their 1-2 punch at the guard position as their frontline remains as elite as ever. Against the Pistons, Jarrett Allen led the way with 23 points while Kevin Love filled the stat sheet with 21 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. Sophomore Evan Mobley had his own version of a near triple-double, putting up 11 points, eight boards, and a personal-best eight blocks. Mobley is currently in the top 10 in blocks, averaging 1.9 per contest.
What’s up with the Los Angeles Lakers?
After losing their first five games, signs of life emerged from Los Angeles as the Lakers earned a brief two-game win streak. They finally got into the win column by triumphing over the New Orleans Pelicans and Denver Nuggets`before getting humbled by the Utah Jazz, 130-116.
The lack of shooting has been the talk of the town in LA and the numbers back it up. The Lakers’ 28.3 percentage from 3-point land is currently the worst in the league while their 43.8 clip from the field is ranked 28th.
Another hot topic has been the revelation of Russell Westbrook coming off the bench. Lakers fans have been in a love-hate relationship with the former MVP and trade talks have swirled around since the offseason. But Russ seems to be enjoying his new role, showing flashes of his former self. He’s been able to excel given the limited time on the floor. It remains to be seen how the Westbrook experiment will turn out in the long run, but so far so good. He’s currently averaging 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists.
There’s one more storyline with the Cavs-Lakers matchup and that of course is LeBron James visiting his former team. The King played a total of 11 seasons in Cleveland, highlighted by the 2016 championship run. Interestingly, the James-led Lakers have not lost against the Cavs since the 2018-2019 season.
James, who is in Year 20, has been subpar (by his lofty standards) as he’s putting up just 24.0 points. The last time he averaged less than at least 25 points was his rookie year in Cleveland when he put up just 20.9 a game. It’s still early and James can easily increase his numbers but the wins will be harder to come by if the Lakers continue to struggle to shoot the basketball.
