The Cleveland Cavaliers will play host to the visiting New York Knicks Tuesday night as they look to win their fourth consecutive game.
The Cleveland Cavalierss are 3-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 when they won their first six games. The current incarnation could get one step closer to that mark when they take on the New York Knicks Tuesday. New York is 1-2 on the year coming off a 130-110 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks while Cleveland enjoyed a fairly comfortable 118-94 win over the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday.
If the Cavs are going to extend their winning streak they will have do so without a few key players. Matthew Dellavedova, Kevin Love, Isaac Okoro, Kevin Porter Jr., and Dylan Windler will all miss Tuesday’s game.
Luckily the Cavaliers did play well without these players in their previous win so there is hope that they can channel that again on Tuesday.
Players to watch
The Cavaliers will be looking for their dynamic backcourt duo of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland to continue their impressive start to the season. Sexton leads the team in scoring with 27 points per game while Garland leads in assists with 8.3 per game. Sexton ranks ninth in scoring and Garland is tied for eight in assists among the NBA leaders.
The Cavs leading rebounder is Andre Drummond who grabs 14.7 boards per game, an impressive 3.7 of them coming on the offense side of the court. Drummond ranks second behind Utah’s Rudy Gobert in rebounding who averages 17 per game.
There is one player who leads the Knicks in all categories, Julius Randle. Randle averages 23.7 points, 10 rebounds (2.3 offensive), and 6.3 assists per game. Alec Burks ranks second in scoring (20.7), and R.J. Barrett is second in rebounds (7.3) and assists (4.3). Barrett is also third in scoring for the Knicks with 17.7 points per game.
In order to come out on top at home against the Knicks the Cavaliers need to keep doing what they have been doing so far. Good ball movement with decisive passes and make their open shots. The Cavs have been able to find open shooters and are third in field goal percentage (51.3) and first in three-point percentage (43.4). If they can accomplish that a fourth consecutive win could be in the cards for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
