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The Cleveland Cavaliers haven't played since Monday, and with it being the heart of the regular season, most would think that three days off would be great for this team. Instead, LeBron James made everyone in Northeast Ohio panic with both his cryptic tweets and spending those off days in Miami with former teammate Dwyane Wade.
The only way for the Cavs to avoid this type of drama would be by simply playing a basketball game, which is exactly what they'll do tonight against a team they were blown out by over a week ago: the Washington Wizards. Will the Cavs re-right a drifting ship, or will another loss to meddling Wizards team cause only more drama?
Who: Washington Wizards (30-30) at Cleveland Cavaliers (42-17)
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Quicken Loans Arena - Cleveland, Ohio
Where to watch: ESPN, Fox Sports Ohio
Enemy Blog: Bullets Forever
Music: Alright - Kendrick Lamar
What to watch for:
- For all the talk between John Wall and Kyrie Irving, Wall has dominated the matchup so far this year and has been a nightmare for the Cavs. In three games, Wall is averaging 25.3 points and 11.6 assists per game on a super efficient 64.1 true shooting percentage, and has been able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants to. The Cavs have had some recent troubles in guarding top-tier point guards, and Wall has been at the forefront of creating this problem for Cleveland. Either this problem continues for Cleveland, or Lue and company find away to slow down Wall and hopefully stop the Wizards as a whole.
- If you're looking for what team chemistry should look like, don't look anywhere near what the Cavs are trying to do of late. There are rumors that Irving wants out, the team doesn't like each other and who knows what LeBron has been talking about of late. Not saying that this one game in the beginning of March will be the telltale sign of how this team will act going forward, but any positive signs for this team is a good sign. And with the Toronto Raptors on their heels, this would be an ideal for the Cavs to turn it on down the stretch.
- Speaking of LeBron and his recent trip to Miami, could this actually be a good thing? Besides the obvious "PANIC" reasons, the last time he went to Miami in the middle of the season, he came back playing better than he was before he went. Is it possible he found his jump shot in South Beach?
- Where does Channing Frye stand in the rotation? Here are his minute totals in his five games with the Cavs: nine, 17, 12, 24 and zero. Not only does Frye need to find a consistent set of minutes, Lue has to become better at setting a consistent rotation -- the same thing that David Blatt struggled with in his time in Cleveland.
Fear the Sword's fearless prediction:
Even with everything that's happened to the Cavs over the last week or so, I find it hard for LeBron not to play well after Top Dawg honored King James' request and got King Kendrick to release some untitled tracks. Cavs win 101-94 thanks to a big performance from LeBron.