Tipoff: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Records: Cavaliers 43-26; Nets 27-38.
TV: FOX Sports Ohio. Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega, AM 1590 WAKR (Akron)
Projected Starters
Nets: C Brook Lopez; PF Thaddeus Young; SF Joe Johnson; SG Markel Brown; PG Deron Williams.
Cavaliers: C Timofey Mozgov; PF Kevin Love; SF LeBron James; SG J.R. Smith; PG Kyrie Irving.
Injury Report
Cavaliers: C Anderson Varejao (Achilles) out.
Nets: Sergey Karasev (knee) out; Mirza Teletovic (blood clot) out.
Dribbles
1. Remember when the Nets landed Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and were supposed to be a big deal? Remember when everyone thought their billionaire Russian owner was such a renegade and would buy himself a winner? Remember when Jay-Z designed the team's uniforms and everyone insisted this was the team to beat?
2. Yeah, um, maybe not. Although Jay-Z's uniform design was pretty cool.
3. Prior to the start of last season, Sports Illustrated ran a cover photo of the Nets. It consisted of Garnett, Pierce, Williams, Johnson, Lopez and then-coach Jason Kidd. It read: "Brooklyn's New Look Nets." Then SI asked in bold letters: "Who Wants a Piece of Them?"
4. Kidd, of course, bolted after a season and has turned himself into a legit Coach of the Year candidate in Milwaukee. Pierce, after doing everything he could to convince Garnett to come to Brooklyn, left for Washington in free agency. Garnett waived his trade clause in February, all for the right to go play for the worst team in the NBA in Minnesota. Johnson and Williams (especially Williams) have seen better days. Lopez is injured and inconsistent.
4. If Sports Illustrated were to release a cover on the Nets now, it would probably feature current coach Lionel Hollins, Thaddeus Young and Markel Brown. And maybe Sergey Karasez, when healthy.
5. None of this is intended to pick on the Nets. It just goes to show how quickly things can change in sports, how quickly we forget how everything is all hyped up -- then quickly forgotten. That is especially the case in the NBA of recent seasons, where everyone wanted to form a "Super Friends" team. Thankfully, those days appear to be over.
6. Instead, now everyone want to play team basketball in the truest sense, a la the San Antonio Spurs (and now Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks). The Cavs are experiencing plenty of success in that area as well. The ball has been moving, and they have been winning -- a lot.
7. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Cavs have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Who wants a piece of them?
8. Love, by the way, returns after two games of rest. It was first suggested by me that his back was bugging him. Another national website reported the same three days later. Love denied he rested because of his back. I believe him. I believe his back spasms occasionally flare up, but that they don't keep him from playing when he wants to play through them. He's proven that.
9. Either way, I don't really care. Can we just get to the playoffs already?
10. Actually, I take that back. The last 10-15 games of playoff positioning, league-wide, are always interesting to me. I actually love March and April (then May and June) when it comes to the NBA. And NCAA, for that matter.
11. I know, I'm rambling today.
12. The Nets are 11-19 at home. But 16-19 on the road. That makes them the only team in the NBA with a better road record than home record. See? Told you things are upside-down in Brooklyn these days.
13. The Nets scored a franchise-record 78 points in the paint vs. the Timberwolves the other day. Seventy-eight points. In the paint. They also shot 57.8 from the floor. But Andrew Wiggins is awesome.
14. The Cavs have won 24 of 30. That's the best record in the NBA since Jan. 15. They have won 22 of 23 when scoring 100. No one comes close to touching that.
15. For the Cavs, it's important to get back on track after Monday's dismal performance in Miami. The Nets play hard and play as a team. They probably won't make the playoffs, but the Cavs still need to be careful. This is the wrong opponent to overlook.
