Trail Blazers at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers expect to have LeBron James back in the lineup when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. James, who logs the fourth-most minutes in the NBA at an average of 36.9, got the night off to rest at Miami on Saturday and watched his teammates suffer a 99-84 setback.
James logged 45 minutes in an overtime loss at New Orleans on Friday and at least 31 minutes in each of the first 19 games before getting a rest. "We want him to play as much as he can and as much as is manageable," Cavaliers coach David Blatt told reporters of his superstar. "He's in good shape and he came into this season in great shape. Again, we'll be monitoring and we'll be keeping a close eye on how the best way to go through the season is with him." The Trail Blazers have their own star logging big minutes in guard Damian Lillard but are starting to find him more help on the offensive end. Six players scored in double figures at Minnesota on Saturday but only four reached double figures and Portland shot 38.4 percent from the field in a 90-88 loss at the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (9-13): Portland was on the verge of its third straight win before giving up the go-ahead basket in the lane with 5.4 seconds left on Monday. Meyers Leonard had a good look to put the Trail Blazers ahead at the other end but got his shot blocked to provide a bitter end to a 3-of-10 shooting performance from the big man. Lillard led the team with 23 points but also logged a team-high 38 minutes and has played at least 35 minutes in all but two of the Trail Blazers’ first 22 games.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (13-7): Cleveland is expecting to get point guard Kyrie Irving (knee) back soon to take some pressure off James and could use more from Kevin Love, who went 2-of-11 from the floor in Saturday’s loss. The Cavaliers are enduring a three-game losing streak and averaging 93.5 points in the last six – down from a season mark of 101.4. "We just got to get back to the basics. We got to watch film, we got to get back in the gym together as a team and just find an identity," forward Tristan Thompson told reporters. "I think we're going to get every team's best game, and we got to understand that.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams split two meetings last season, with the home team winning each.
2. Portland G C.J. McCollum is shooting 28.7 percent from the field in his last five games.
3. Love is 10-of-36 from the field in the last three games.