Game Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors

If the Cavs win two games in a row after my bedtime, does anybody notice? The Cavaliers are trying to make it a sweep of their brief west coast swing as they take on the Warriors Friday night.

Who? Cleveland Cavaliers (25-40) vs Golden State Warriors (41-25)

When? 10:30 pm EST

Where? Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

Where on my eyeballs? Fox Sports Ohio, NBA League Pass

Music?

The Warriors will be without half of their "splash brother" tandem as Klay Thompson is missing tonight's game to attend a funeral. The Warriors are basically the PI.E to the Cavs 3.14, their win loss record is basically ours inverted and they are an absolute juggernaut at home.

Keys to the game:

• Spencer Hawes will need to be a big part of a potential Cavs upset tonight. While the Warriors are a tough team to contend with offensively, they are almost as devastating on the defensive end. A big part of the is due to having Andrew Bogut providing protection at the rim. Hawes will need to try and pull him away from the basket and create driving lanes/ spacing for Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. If the Warriors switch David Lee on to Hawes, the Cavs would be wise to look to him to try and torch the defensively deficient Lee.
• Kyrie Irving and Steph Curry are fantastic, dynamic, young point guards. They have two of the best handles in the league, and they pair it with an absolutely devastating shooting touch. If you can't enjoy these two going head to head, you probably hate puppies, freedom, and sunshine.
• Andre Iguodala has tailed off in almost all categories since returning from his injury. His rebounds and assists are down, and he's taking four shots a game fewer than he was prior to the injury. With Klay Thompson out he likely will be asked to shoulder a heavier load than he has recently, it'll be up to Luol Deng to contain him and try and limit his impact on the game.
• Harrison Barnes will be starting in place of Klay Thompson tonight, which probably means Iguodala will be playing SG which means Jarrett Jack is going to need to cover either Barnes or Iggy at the start of the night. I don't like to watch horror movies before going to bed, so if Mike Brown could rectify this potential problem before my eyes bleed I'm sure everyone would appreciate it.

Fear the Sword's Fearless Prediction

Cavs are undefeated when I predict they will lose. Cavs lose tonight 110-104.