The Cavaliers head to Miami on Tuesday to take on the Heat, the first match-up of the two teams this season.
Cleveland rookie Kyrie Irving will look to continue a month-long hot streak. He is averaging 18.4 points per game in January and leads all rookies in scoring on the year 17.4. Irving is shooting 53.3 percent from the floor this month – bolstered by Saturday’s eight-for-10 showing against Atlanta – and is second only to Ricky Rubio in assists among rookies.
Antawn Jamison is the only other Cav currently averaging double-figures, but lately he’s been as cold as Irving’s been hot. Friday against Chicago he was one-for-10 from the floor with four points, and he followed that up with a 10-point outing the next night out against Atlanta.
For the Heat, LeBron James has gone for at least 30 points in three of the last five games. In Sunday’s loss to Milwaukee he had 28 points and 13 assists.
Miami, which is 11-5 overall, has lost four of its last seven. The Cavs, meanwhile, have dropped three straight and are at 6-9.
In the "LeBron Vs Cavs" department, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal has an article discussing how this is the first time for "LeBron’s protégés" – Irving and Tristan Thompson – to go up against James.