OPENING TIP
Well, that wasn't so bad. Mike Brown officially started his second stint as Cavaliers coach, Andrew Bynum got in the game, Kyrie Irving struggled (for Kyrie Irving) and the Cavs won their opener anyway. That came Wednesday, a 98-94 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The Bobcats are considerably less, um, celebrated. But they feel like they’re on the rise and they’re at home. So we can safely say Game No. 2 won’t be a cakewalk for the Cavs. The key, in Brown’s eyes, will be consistent effort, particularly on defense.
Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, N.C.
TV/Radio: 7 p.m. EST, FOX Sports Ohio/WTAM
PROJECTED STARTERS
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (1-0)
C Anderson Varejao
PF Tristan Thompson
SF Earl Clark
SG Dion Waiters
PG Kyrie Irving
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS (0-1)
C Al Jefferson
PF Josh McRoberts
SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
SG Gerald Henderson
PG Kemba Walkers
Pregame notes:
• Well, here’s a first: No key injuries have been reported for either team. As of early Friday morning, every major player on both sides is a go.
• No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett scored one point and grabbed five rebounds in his Cavs debut (15 minutes). Fourth overall pick Cody Zeller scored two points with four rebounds for the Bobcats (16 minutes). Both are reserve power forwards, so they could be matched up Friday.
• The Bobcats are coming off a 96-83 road loss to the Houston Rockets in the opener. Rockets center Dwight Howard grabbed 26 rebounds in that game. Overall, the Bobcats were out-rebounded by a 54-37 margin.
• The Bobcats’ 83 points were also the second-fewest of the league’s 30 teams in opening-night games. McRoberts scored a team-high 15 vs. the Rockets.
• Jefferson signed a three-year, $41 million deal with the Bobcats in July. He missed most of the preseason with a sprained ankle, scoring 13 points on 6-for-19 shooting (with eight rebounds) in the opener. “I most definitely am not in game shape,” he said.
• The game marks the front end of the Cavs’ first back-to-back of the season. They’re at Indiana on Saturday.
