The Los Angeles Lakers are back home for a quick two-game homestand before they head out on another long trip, starting Monday night against one of LeBron James’ former teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, in their second season, since James departed to Los Angeles, are still in a transitory phase of their franchise. They have invested through the draft in two guards Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, while also having a couple of remaining holdovers from their 2016 NBA Championship team in Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.
The odd mix has proven difficult at times for head coach John Beilein, who had to clean up a mess of his own creation last week. Love has had several on-court temper tantrums that have put into focus his place on the team and his unstated but understood desire to be traded. But as the old saying goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. The Cavs have rebounded nicely from a couple of negative stories to win their last two games.
Tristan Thompson had a career-high 30 points on the road in an overtime win over the Detroit Pistons and then the Cavaliers stunned the Denver Nuggets at home on Saturday night. It’s just the first time since early November that the Cavs have won two road games in a row.
The Lakers are rolling right now, riding high off a huge road win at Oklahoma City without their two stars. But the Cavs have an interesting mix of youth and experience that could allow them to keep things close against a bigger and better Lakers squad.
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