Cavaliers at Suns
THE STORY: Following their loss to the Lakers on Tuesday, Suns coach Alvin Gentry called his team “a work in progress.” The same goes for the Cavaliers as the two teams meet Thursday at U.S. Airways Arena. The Suns are learning new defensive concepts under first-year assistant coach Elston Turner. They’re going to have to reshuffle the rotation with the return of Michael Redd and they’re still searching for their trademark fast-paced tempo on offense. Yet the Suns enter the game having won two of their last three. The Cavs look vastly improved over last season, remaining competitive in most of their games behind a nice mix of veterans and youngsters - but they still enter Thursday’s game having dropped three of four on this trip. While the Suns like to get out and run, the Cavs are allowing just 8.6 points on fast breaks per game, the best mark in the NBA.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Ohio, FSAZ Plus
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (4-5): Top overall pick Kyrie Irving is second on the team in scoring and in shots attempted, leads the team in assists and leads the guards in shooting percentage. The Cavs are asking him to carry a heavy load as a 19-year-old rookie, but have few scoring options besides him and Antawn Jamison. Irving is averaging 15.6 points this season and is averaging 14 shots through the first four games of this lengthy road trip.
ABOUT THE SUNS (4-5): Redd should make his debut tonight for the Suns, but finding minutes for him will be tricky. Redd has played just 61 games over the last three seasons because of two tears of the ACL in his left knee. He signed a one-year contract with the Suns after the lockout ended, but the former All-Star and gold-medal Olympian will have to be squeezed into a tight rotation that already runs 10 deep.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Cavs’ Anderson Varejao has double-digit rebounds in four consecutive games, the longest such streak of his career.
2. The Suns have won 10 of the last 12 games against the Cavs at home.
3. Phoenix is allowing just 92.3 points per game this season, the second-fewest in franchise history.