Cavaliers at Suns
The defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers made themselves better on Saturday, when a deal with the Atlanta Hawks was completed bringing veteran shooting guard Kyle Korver to the team. Korver is expected to make his debut when the Cavaliers visit the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
Cleveland made adjustments prior to the trade deadline in each of the previous two seasons - bringing in J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert in 2015 and getting Channing Frye in 2016 - and added another sharpshooter in Korver, who is a career 42.9 percent 3-point shooter. "We are extremely pleased to be able to add a player and person the caliber of Kyle Korver to our Cavs family," Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said in a statement. "Among the most prolific and dynamic 3-point shooters in NBA history, a selfless and team-first competitor, Kyle brings all of the elements of Cavs DNA that we covet on and off the floor." The Suns are winners of two straight but are taking a big step up in competition with Cleveland after knocking off Miami and Dallas in the last two contests. Phoenix is 29th in the NBA in scoring defense (111.7 points) but is making strides in that area and limited opponents to an average of 95.2 points in the last five games.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio, FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (27-8): Cleveland sent Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams and a protected first-round pick to Atlanta in exchange for Korver, who could slot into the starting spot vacated by J.R. Smith (thumb) and is averaging 9.5 points on 44.1 percent shooting this season. "It adds another dynamic piece to our team," Cavaliers star LeBron James told reporters. "Hell of a sharpshooter and just a great guy. Great professional, as you've seen over his career -- a guy that's played at a high level for a long time, has championship aspirations. And he has another rocket launcher." James put up 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting on Friday as Cleveland bounced back from a rare loss by knocking off the Brooklyn Nets 116-108.
ABOUT THE SUNS (12-25): Phoenix is dealing with some inconsistency on offense, but coach Earl Watson believes the way to the win column is through defense and sharing the ball. "The we-team is, ‘I have to give everything I have defensively. When we get to offense, I have to move the ball and share the ball to regain some wind and some stamina,'" Watson told Arizona Sports 98.7 while explaining his desire to turn his "me-team" into a "we-team." The Suns are last in the NBA in assists (18.3) and handed out 15 in a 102-95 win at Dallas on Thursday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cavaliers PG Kyrie Irving (hamstring) scored 32 points on Friday in his return from a three-game absence.
2. Phoenix C Tyson Chandler averaged 19 rebounds in the last two games.
3. Cleveland took the last three in the series by an average of 12 points.