Defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers (26-8) is set to visit struggling squad Brooklyn Nets (8-26) at the Barclays Center on Friday, Jan. 6 as the 2016-2017 NBA regular season moves forward.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
The Cavs are sitting on top of the Eastern Conference at the moment after winning eight of their last ten matches. They are two-and-a-half games in front of their closest pursuers, the Toronto Raptors, last season's East runners-up.
However, Cleveland dropped a 106-94 game to the Chicago Bulls in their most recent game last Wednesday at their home court of Quicken Loans Arena, as per Cleveland.com.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were both unavailable during the said game with separate injuries as LeBron James was left single-handedly carry the offensive load for the champs.
James had 31 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists to lead head coach Tyronn Lue's squad. Shooting guard Jordan McRae, who filled-in for Irving, had a strong showing with 21 points, three boards, and two assists in a losing effort.
Channing Frye, who replaced Love in the starting lineup, fired 15 points and grabbed five rebounds as well.
Meanwhile, the Nets continued to struggle with a four-game losing streak. The team has lost nine of their last 10 assignments as they are now settled in the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
In their most recent match, Brooklyn was routed by the Indiana Pacers, 121-109, on the road at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday night, SB Nation reported.
Trevor Booker top-scored for the Nets' starters with 16 points and six rebounds while All-Star center Brook Lopez had 12 points, six boards, and three assists. Joe Harris chipped in 10 points, two rebounds, and two assists as the third starter in double figures.
Off the bench, Justin Hamilton, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Sean Kilpatrick scored 16, 13, and 13 points respectively.
Jeremy Lin and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson are still out with injuries for head coach Kenny Atkinson's side.
Prediction
The Cavs are 8-5 on the road so far this season while the Nets are 7-9 at home. Cleveland is a slight favorite to win over the lowly Nets even if they are on the road playing without Irving and Love.