Cavaliers at Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats and the Cleveland Cavaliers spent the past few seasons vying for the most ping pong balls in the draft lottery. The Cavaliers, who visit the Bobcats on Friday, may finally be ready to break out of that lottery cycle with a young, talented roster. Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters and No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett are all 22 or younger and are coming off a season-opening victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Cleveland brought in veteran point guard Jarrett Jack to take some of the pressure off Irving and boost the second unit, which includes Bennett and oft-injured center Andrew Bynum. Charlotte is trying to develop its own young nucleus, but the failure to land a No. 1 pick and constant turnover on the coaching staff are making the progress difficult. The Bobcats were manhandled in a 96-83 loss at Houston to open the season despite the presence of newcomer Al Jefferson.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), SportSouth (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (1-0): Bennett went 0-for-5 from the floor but grabbed five rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench for a mixed debut. Most of the conversation postgame centered around Bynum, who took the floor for the first time since 2011-12 and played eight minutes off the bench, blocking two shots while easing his way back into shape. “I thought he was good,” coach Mike Brown said of Bynum. “He kept asking me, ‘Coach, I can give you three more minutes here.’ He looked good. You can tell we’re different when he’s out there.”
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (0-1): Charlotte ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring average at 93.4 last season and did not show much improvement in that area against the Rockets. Jefferson missed the bulk of the preseason with an ankle injury and was held to 13 points and eight boards in 31 minutes. “I was a little rusty,” Jefferson said, “and I most definitely am not in game shape.” Bobcats first-round pick, No. 4 overall Cody Zeller, could not pick up the slack with two points on 1-of-6 shooting in 16 minutes.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bynum (knees) will continue to serve as the backup to Anderson Varejao at center while his minutes slowly tick up.
2. Cleveland took two of the three meetings last season but had difficulty in Charlotte, posting a 106-104 win on Jan. 4 and dropping a 105-98 decision on April 17.
3. Bobcats G Ben Gordon (knee) sat out the opener and is questionable for Friday.