Live Thread: Cavs vs. Warriors (#SilverLinings)

Just when you thought it was safe to watch a Cavs game again… along comes the annual MLK matchup with the Golden State Warriors. Who could forget the last two occasions? Last season, the defending Champs got housed by 35 in an embarrassing loss in the Bay Area… yet, it didn’t seem quite as horrific as the MLK Massacre of 2016 that ultimately cost David Blatt his job. Still, losing by a combined 69 points on this particular holiday has inspired more nightmares than dreams for the Cavaliers and their faithful.

If that wasn’t depressing enough, this year’s tilt comes on the heels of one of the roughest rough patches the wine & gold has experienced in the LeBron 2.0 era. The Cavs have lost three straight (in spectacular fashion), five of their last seven and eight of their last 11. They’ve looked out of sync on offense, and almost non-existent on defense, struggling to work out their rotations on both ends of the floor. Ty Lue doesn’t seem to have answers, outside of the cryptic “agenda” narrative. LeBron seems at a loss. Even the ever positive Isaiah Thomas is a bit down… calling his first two decent games “fools gold” after going just 5-26 from the field in his last two games.

Okay… enough of the bad news. The good news is that the Cavs are returning home to the Q, where they still own a 13 game winning streak (easy enough to forget with 17 of the last 20 days spent on the road). Cleveland is 15-4 at home, third best record in the NBA, and LeBron is averaging nearly a triple double in games at the Q this season (29.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 9.9 apg). Yes, they’re facing a fully healthy Warriors team (Steph Curry missed the Christmas Day game at their place), which has been on a tear since Curry returned, winning 12 straight on the road. However, there’s something to be said for having your collective back against the wall… especially against a team you are desperate to beat.

The recipe for disaster is there for sure, and there’s every reason to believe this could be another crushing MLK blowout given how good the Dubs have been and how bad the Cavs have been lately. Yet, the Cavs have rarely done the expected thing this season… and pulling out a win against the defending Champs would be just the kind of weird end to this rough patch that nobody would see coming.

Prediction: The Cavs clear away the dark clouds and find a silver lining amongst the Golden onslaught… taking a close one 110-108.

Again, I have no idea if this will come to pass… although the last three games I covered (Bulls, Blazers, Magic) just happened to be the three games the Cavs won during this 11 game stretch… so there’s another silver lining.

Catch all the action starting at 8pm EST on TNT… and, as always… chime in here!