Game 38 | Cavaliers @ LA Lakers | Tuesday, January 14th, 10:30 PM

[stick]

I hope everyone has spit the last game into their cup.

Game Notes​

• 
  CAVALIERS LAST 5 GAMES:
  (2-5)
  Points Scored: 82, 78, 111, 113, 80 (Avg: 92.8)
  Points Allowed: 89, 82, 93, 102, 124 (Avg: 98.0)
  -5.2 Diff.

• 
  LAKERS LAST 5 GAMES:
  (1-4)
  Points Scored: 110, 115, 97, 99, 87 (Avg: 101.6)
  Points Allowed: 99, 137, 110, 113, 123 (Avg: 116.4)
  -14.8 Diff.

• 
  Today marks the glorious return of former Lakers greats, Earl Clark and Mike Brown, to Staples Center. Expect flowers to rain on the court with a standing ovation.

• 
  The Lakers are 6-13 (31.6 W%) against the Top 15 Defensive Teams, while the Cavs are 9-10 (47.4 W%) against the Bottom 15 Defensive Teams. (though after the other night, Cavs may have slipped out of the 15th spot *according to Hollinger)

• 
  Irving, Waiters, Jack in the win against Utah: 54 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds, on 54.1 FG%
  Irving, Waiters, Jack in the loss against Sacramento: 20 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, on 18.5 FG%

• 
  The Lakers have had three days of rest since their 36 point blowout loss against the Clippers. They are 1-0 in the one game with at least that much rest. (W vs Golden State 102-95).

• 
  Flyer Miles: Over his last three games, C.J. is averaging 21.7 PPG, on 67.7% FG% and 78% 3P% in 26.7 minutes.

• 
  The game after Kyrie scored zero against Atlanta, he came back with 20 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds... with 7 turnovers... in a win against the Clippers.

• 
  The Lakers are coming off a 36 point loss, the Cavs a 44 point loss. Someones got to win tonight, right?

Some Keys​

• Control the paint.

• Limit Nick Young and Pau Gasol (If he even plays...)

• Don't overlook their injury depleted roster. Their starters will play a lot of minutes.

• Make shots.

• Forget the last "game".

*** I apologize for any glitches in the layout. I haven't polished it as much as I would have liked! Now excuse me as I go pass out. ***
Also, some credits:
Photos by NBA photographers: (NBA.com) (ESPN.com) (Google Image Search) (LA Times)
LA Skyline: Instant Chalkboard (amazon.com)

 

[Tornicade]

Theres no such things as cupcakes for this team especially on the road. the sooner the team gets that through their thick skulls the better.

 

[Fuggles]

That being said.... we really need to beat these cupcakes.

 

[Cavsfan1985]

I have a feeling we revenge the loss to Sacramento with a win tonight. Which will quite the Brown and Grant haters until the next loss.

 

[ajz20]

For me this is a must win for many reasons.
One you have two tough road games coming up and going back 14 games under 500 this late into the season is a huge hole to climb.
Two, right now the Lakers are playing like one the two worst teams in the NBA, and a team the Cavs have to be able to beat to eventually climb back near or around 500.

Whether Gasol plays or not, this should be a win!
Ultimate dream is to win tonight, and find a way to split the last 2. Going back only 10 games under 500 with 5 straight home games could be a huge opportunity to make up some ground.

 

[Dr. Claw]

I have a feeling we revenge the loss to Sacramento with a win tonight. Which will quite the Brown and Grant haters until the next loss.

I really don't think a win is gonna silence the Brown haters. The doubts that he can succeed are higher than ever.

 

[AuxiliaryPie]

Excellent game thread!

LETS GO CANS

 

[Kouki]

10:30, damn...why do they have to make the west coast games so late. Can't we meet somewhere in the middle and at least make them like...9:30


I would imagine they lose a ton of viewers with a 10:30 start time...

 

[stick]

Yeah, I feel for the first shift people! If you can hold out til tomorrow and have access to the game, one could watch it via League Pass/recording. The only problem is accidentally seeing the score, but who knows, that could save a headache during the game...

But yes, I agree, while it is on at 7:30 PM in LA, I think the scheduling committee could change the game time for when East teams play in the West, to make it a little easier on the fans of the East team. I mean on Sunday we played at 6:00 PM in Sacramento, so it should be possible...

 

[Kouki]

I sometimes record games with the intent of watching later, which I may do tonight (or take a nap before the game)...but every time I do that I end up just not watching the game after reading the box score, and instead I'll just read the game log and skip through to the highlights (like Anthony Bennett scoring).

 

[wuck]

From the Lakers beat writers:

Pau Gasol did not practice with the Lakers either Sunday or Monday, did participate in Tuesday's shootaround.

Pau on toe: "I still haven’t jumped much or tried any explosive moves." Feels OK when he runs.

Pau Gasol participated in shootaround and is a game-time decision, but D'Antoni thinks he'll play.

 

[Pyro]

Love late-night games in basketball and baseball. Especially if they go to extra innings or multiple overtimes.

 

[Kouki]

From the Lakers beat writers:

Pau Gasol did not practice with the Lakers either Sunday or Monday, did participate in Tuesday's shootaround.

Pau on toe: "I still haven’t jumped much or tried any explosive moves." Feels OK when he runs.

Pau Gasol participated in shootaround and is a game-time decision, but D'Antoni thinks he'll play.

Obviously the Lakers have not yet learned the subtleties of the tank.

 

[CornerThree]

Figured how to get the Cavs with direcTV finally. excited to watch the game, figured that now that we aren't tanking I can watch more often.

 

[Soar]

Big game tonight. Really interested to see how they bounce back.