Tuesday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers will be the sixth of the Los Angeles Lakers’ six away games. With a 10-12 record and a historically poor start to the season, the Lakers are now sitting in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. The Lake Show, however, has improved significantly as seen by their recent streak of three victories and eight victories in ten games.
With a record of 15-9 and a strong start to the season, the Cavaliers enter this contest in third place in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland just suffered a discouraging loss to the Knicks, a game in which it showed some fragility. Will the Cavaliers be able to overcome a hot Lakers squad and avoid suffering their second straight defeat, or will they learn from their mistakes and triumph?
Lakers Turning Things Around
After their success, last season and at the start of this one, the Lakers suddenly seem to be an unstoppable force. The Lakers started off incredibly slowly, dropping 10 of their first 12 games. The Lakers’ performance in those 12 games saw them finish dead last in the NBA in terms of offensive rating (104.2), and their defensive rating (111.6) during that same span didn’t help matters either.
But in a surprising reversal of events, the Lakers have won eight of their past ten games. L.A. is averaging 122.6 points per game in those ten games, which is second in the NBA only behind the Kings. The Lakers are shooting 50.5% from the field at that time, which is the outcome of their extremely effective shooting.
Los Angeles has significantly improved their performance from behind the arc. The Lakers were shooting a league-worst 30% from outside the arc in their first 12 games of the season, but in their final 10 games, they have found their shooting touch and are shooting 37.1%.
Anthony Davis has clearly thrust himself into the early MVP debate, so the Lakers can also credit him for their current momentum. In his previous nine games, Davis has averaged 35.3 points and 15.6 rebounds while shooting 64.8% from the field. On Sunday against Washington, Davis scored 55 points and pulled down 17 rebounds.
Cavaliers Looking to Rebound
Although the Cavaliers have started the season as one of the NBA’s top teams, their most recent performance against the Knicks offers cause for concern. The Cavaliers’ 81 total points in the contest set a new season low for the squad. In a dismal showing, they shot 23% from outside the arc and 35% from the field overall.
The fact that Cleveland played some solid defence in that game, as has been the case for this club lately, is the one positive to take away from it. The Cavaliers’ Defensive Rating in their most recent four games was 99.2, the highest in the NBA during that time period.
Additionally, they are preventing their opponents from shooting better than 43.9% from the field overall and 29.2% from three during that time period. However, Cleveland hasn’t really complemented that defence with much offensive production, as shown by the fact that in those same four games, they averaged just 97.3 points per contest. If the Cavaliers want to compete with Los Angeles, that average needs to increase in this game.