Houston Rockets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers game preview

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Fear The Sword

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Interesting fact of the day: the Cavs are dead-last in assists per game. It's a meaningless stat in a one-game scenario (just like all stats), but I'll be on the lookout for why that is. It's also worth noting that the Cavs' schedule so far has been road-heavy.

I'll be on the road to Lubbock all day, so if there's some stupid glaring error it would very nice of one of the other writers to fix that for me. Thanks guys.

Also, teams in the West need to start losing. It's ridiculous. We're trying to overachieve over here and a ton of teams are also winning. As has been pointed out, the top 8 teams in the West are 6-4 or better over their last 10 games.

Tip off is at 6:30pm CST.

Matchups:

Point Guard: Jeremy Lin vs. Kyrie Irving

Irving had 33 points last night against the Bobcats on 21 shots. He got to the free throw line 10 times and converted all 10 times. He's the closest the Rockets have come to playing a superstar since Oklahoma City, so it will be interesting to see how they deal with a player that can get the star calls.

Yes, you can tell me about the six turnovers against the Bucks for Lin. You can point out the poor 3-point shooting, or how the offense really exploded when Toney Douglas entered the game after Lin got his head busted open.

I don't care. That performance by Lin in the fourth quarter was brilliant. If you watched him, you saw a point guard in complete control. He was confident, aggressive, and made the right passes. I'm starting to come around.

Advantage: Cavs

Shooting Guard: James Harden vs. C.J. Miles

Harden was +28 against the Bucks, but the thing I liked the most was his defense. He was a ball hawk and had four steals that I believe all led to points.

Miles was a Jazz once. You know what that means.

Advantage: Rockets

Small Forward: Chandler Parsons vs. Alonzo Gee

Parsons went 5/7/7 last night. You'd see that and think, "Man, what a good game from our fourth option on offense," and that's fair. But something isn't right with Parsons. It might be that wall that he was supposed to hit as a rookie. Maybe it's a sophomore slump (though I don't think so yet).

Mostly, he's just...not himself. There are flashes of the old Parsons, but it seems he's too passive or trying to do much. He needs to find that zone once again.

Advantage: Rockets

Power Forward: Marcus Morris vs. Tristan Thompson

Marcus Morris couldn't throw a rock in the ocean against the Bucks, a trend that's starting to become worrisome. However, it doesn't seem like it's a full-on slump. A lot of his shots are going in them coming out. It's not like they're off target or really short or long. That's good news. And he's playing defense very well right now.

Thompson went 19/13 on 8-10 shooting against the Bobcats. He's averaging 9/9 on the season, but that's bound to go up with Anderson Varejao out with a bruised knee.

Advantage: Even

Center: Omer Asik vs. Tyler Zeller

Come on.

Advantage: Rockets

Bench

Rockets: Toney Douglas, Carlos Delfino, Greg Smith, Patrick Patterson

Bucks: Luke Walton, Shaun Livingston, Dion Waiters

Advantage: Rockets

Prediction: Rockets win 111-102