The Cleveland Cavaliers (30-12) and New Orleans Pelicans (17-27) will meet at the Smoothie King Center on Jan. 23, Monday as the 2016-2017 NBA regular season moves forward.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 8:00 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
Cleveland has been struggling in their last six matches, losing four and winning two. The team managed to stay on top of the Eastern Conference standings, though, with second-place team Toronto Raptors still three games behind the defending champions.
The Cavs were nipped by the San Antonio Spurs, 118-115, in overtime during their most recent game last Saturday held at the Quicken Loans Arena, as per Sports Illustrated.
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving scored 29 points each in the hotly-contested match, which is said to be a preview of a potential Cavs-Spurs Finals match. James also had six rebounds, seven assists, and two steals while Irving contributed three boards, nine assists, and two steals as well.
Kevin Love had a poor shooting night, going 4-for-15 from the field including a 3-for-11 stint from the three-point line, but still finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds with three assists.
Tristan Thompson also had a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards while Iman Shumpert fired 11 points as all five starters of head coach Tyronn Lue scored in double digits.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans are still struggling this season, losing three of their last four games. The team is 10th in the West at the moment, one-and-a-half games behind eighth-seeded team Denver Nuggets.
New Orleans is coming off an embarrassing 143-114 loss to Eastern Conference cellar-dwellers Brooklyn Nets on Friday night also at their home court of Smoothie King Center, the Times-Picayune reported.
Anthony Davis had 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks to lead head coach Alvin Gentry's squad in a losing effort. However, what was worse for the Pelicans was the quad injury Davis had during the game, which made him leave in the third quarter.
Davis is reportedly expected to play for New Orleans in this match against Cleveland.
Prediction
The Cavaliers are 11-8 on the road so far this season while the Pelicans are 11-12 at home. Even if Davis could suit up in this game, Cleveland is still the overwhelming favorite to win.