The good news for the Cavs is they will only have to play one of them in the playoffs.
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The last time Cleveland faced the Warriors was a Christmas Day loss in Oakland – where they held the high-octane Warriors to just 41 percent shooting from the floor.
Heading into tonight, another crack at the league’s best team that celebrated inside Quicken Loans Arena about seven months ago, Irving said he feels different, inching closer to his old form. The Cavs lost in San Antonio on this last road trip, so they are 0-2 vs. the Warriors and Spurs this season, although both losses were on the road.
“No need to panic or turn on each other or point the finger”, Green continued.
Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors shoots against Cory Joseph of the Toronto Raptors. The Wine and Gold, who’ve beaten 11 straight Western Conference teams in Cleveland, want to make sure the Dubs leave empty-handed on Monday night.
The Spurs play their only regular-season game against the Cavaliers at The Q on january 30.
His last appearance before that was overtime of Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Golden State, leaving early in the OT after fracturing his kneecap and eventually undergoing offseason surgery.
Of course, most of the hype will be centered around Curry, Thompson, James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love on Monday night, which could open the doors for Green to steal the show again.
Timberwolves 117, Suns 87: Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins had 18 points each to help host Minnesota end a nine-game losing streak.
“We’re the best two teams playing right now”, Irving said of the heavyweight matchup with the Warriors. And LeBron James is, as usual, in the thick of the MVP race. “At the same time, knowing their emotions are running high as well”.
Golden State Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton recently sat Draymond Green out of a game, so Thaddeus Young could prove even more valuable as a reliable rotation player. “We know it, certainly against a great team like Golden State”.
So to put it this way, the Cavs have a real chance at winning, but they will need to play a real crisp game for that to happen.
These three players are the pillars of the team many speculated that, if healthy, would have beaten the Warriors in The Finals.
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Since that Christmas Day showdown, an 89-83 loss, Irving has hypnotized defenses with his slick ball-handling and has given a boost to Cleveland’s offense, which is averaging 103.8 points in his 12 games. Iguodala is back in a reserve role for the Warriors, who still have one of the league’s deepest teams, with weapons like Leandro Barbosa, Livingston, Festus Ezeli and Mo Speights in reserve.
