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Last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers came out completely flat in one of their biggest games of the season. It was kind of a bummer, but not the end of the world. For the Phoenix Suns, every game is a big one at this point as they currently sit a game and a half out of the eighth spot in the West. Tonight, the two teams will battle in Cleveland. It should be fun.
Who: Suns (33-30) at Cavs (39-25)
Where: Quicken Loans Arena
When: 7:30 pm Eastern
TV: Fox Sports Ohio and NBA TV
Enemy blog: Bright Side of the Sun
Music:
Both of these teams played last night. The Cavs, obviously, lost in Atlanta. The Suns needed overtime to win in Brooklyn against the Nets.
In that game against the Nets, Suns big man Alex Len sprained his ankle. It is unclear at this time if he will be able to play tonight.
Phoenix is a different team than they were at the beginning of the season, thanks to some deadline dealing. Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas, and Miles Plumlee are gone. Brandon Knight and Marcus Thornton were added. The team lost their first three games immediately following the trade deadline, but they've now won four of their last six.
Lately, the Cavs have been relying a lot more on the three-point shot. According to Jason Lloyd, they've attempted at least 36 threes in three of their last four games. They're 1-2 in those three games. For the season, they average about 27 attempts per game. I don't necessarily think that taking more threes is a bad thing. However, when Kevin Love is getting almost all of his looks from deep, that's not ideal. Ten of his 11 field goal attempts against the Hawks were from three.
The Cavs, of course, are still fighting for seeding in the East. They're currently a half game behind the Bulls for second place.
After this game, the Cavs will finally get a little bit of rest. They don't play again until Tuesday night in Dallas. That game will mark the beginning of a four-game road trip that will also include a visit to the Spurs.