Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Phoenix Suns Preview: Nobody is Healthy

Sighhhh.

Who? Cleveland Cavaliers (2-3) at Phoenix Suns (2-3)

When? 9:00 PM Eastern

Where? US Airways Center -- Phoenix, Arizona

Where on my eyeballs? Fox Sports Ohio/ League Pass

Can I still get tickets? Yes -- Cleveland Cavaliers Tickets

Da Suns Blog: Bright Side Of The Sun

Song.

Song.

Why would you do that to us?

Because I can.

This is awfully late for a game preview, are you sure you aren't rushing through this so you can go out on a Friday night?

Guilty. I've been busy and won't be around for roughly the first half of tonight's game. Anyway, I'll catch you up with what's going on and what you need to know.

C.J. Miles and Kyrie Irving had food poisoning last game against the Warriors. Both played despite feeling like they wanted to puke. Neither Kyrie nor CJ participated in shootaround this afternoon, so it's questionable if either one of them can play tonight. From what Byron Scott said, it seems as though Kyrie has a better chance of playing than CJ.

Anderson Varejao missed the last game with a knee bruise but did practice on Thursday and was at shootaround today. I think it's safe to assume that Andy will be back in the starting lineup against the Suns.

Dion Waiters suffered a deep thigh bruise against the Warriors and did not practice on Thursday. Byron Scott didn't seem optimistic about his availability tonight.

Tyler Zeller is still out with a cheekbone fracture and concussion. Byron Scott isn't sure when he'll be ready, but I assume he will rejoin the team in Oklahoma City or Brooklyn.

Yeesh. Suddenly I don't feel so bad about missing the first half tonight.

This road trip really can't end soon enough. We saw a nice win against the Clippers, but now everybody is getting sick and getting hit in the face and the knees and such. It needs to end. Unfortunately, the Cavs have three more road games, including tonight. In Phoenix tonight, the Cavaliers get a look at the 2-3 Suns, a team that we really don't know a whole lot about. The loss of Steve Nash obviously kicked off their rebuilding process and I'm sure you won't blame me for admitting that I haven't gotten a chance to see a Suns game so far this season.

Goran Dragic and Marcin Gortat are probably the two players that the Cavs should be most concerned with. Dragic is a pretty balanced point guard, who is solid at both scoring and distributing. The Cavs would obviously have the advantage at the point guard slot, but that all depends on how healthy Kyrie is feeling.

Lots of people are freaking out about Tristan Thompson. It'd be nice if Tristan could have a good game tonight, if only to make y'all chill out just a little bit longer. The Suns aren't particularly stout in the paint, so Tristan should have an opportunity to play well.

Michael Beasley is hilarious. He's incredibly talented, but somehow manages to use roughly 4% of that talent on the basketball court. Sometimes he uses his brain and can take over a game, but that's quite rare. If nothing else, he should be entertaining to watch.

The Cavs' keys to victory are pretty much that same as they have been for the first five games this year: play defense, get offensive rebounds, let Kyrie go crazy. If they do those things, they should be able to come away with a win, even with all the injuries and sickness.

Fear The Sword's Fearless Prediction

The Cavaliers do those things that I just mentioned and eke out a 99-96 victory, CJ Miles pukes only once and Kyrie Irving has himself a night. I'll join y'all for the second half, hopefully.