Phoenix Suns vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Preview

The Cavs and Suns met 53 days ago in a Suns win, but things have changed since then. In a game that brought the Cavs losing streak to 6, they would respond by going 20-5 since. For the Suns it's been the opposite trend, as they were still looking like threats for the 8 seed but have since gone 10-12. They meet tonight in Cleveland at 4:30 pm AZ time.

The Suns

Alex Len left last night's game with an ankle sprain and he is questionable for tonight.

The story of the Suns season has been inexperience and being unable to win close games, but that's changed in the past two games.

The Suns were able to come back from an extremely sluggish start against Orlando and even fended off late attempts at a rally from the Magic. There isn't even a way to describe how bad the Suns shot against Brooklyn last night and how lethargic they were at times, but they decided to take the momentum of making a slight run in a truly awful game and make it a win.

These were two inferior teams, but it's a big step forward for this team to battle back from slow starts and actually steal a game. In my opinion, last night was the first game where the Suns weren't the better team and still managed to get a win. Great teams do this all the time and it's something the Suns really don't do, but they arguably did it two games in a row.

It's way too early to call this two game winning streak a revival for the playoff chase. There is still the aftershock of the two humiliating losses to the Spurs and Heat to even start that thought. However, these two wins do give the Suns a good boost of momentum heading into a tumultuous remaining schedule.

The Cavs

The Cavaliers are coming off of a loss last night to the Hawks in Atlanta. Because of the big game, LeBron James played 42 minutes and Kyrie Irving played 40 minutes. If there's anything the Suns want to take advantage of this is it.

As their record indicates since the last time these two teams met, the Cavs have figured it out and are playing much better basketball. Len's health tonight is important because of the way Timofey Mozgov has been playing for Cleveland. It's going to be a long day on the glass for the Suns if Len is out.

Prediction

Oddly enough a game against a better opponent is the hardest game to predict for the Suns. While this game is not on national TV, the Suns tend to play their best on a big stage and LeBron's squad certainly qualifies. Both teams being on a back-to-back adds even more randomness. The Suns should have a good bit of momentum after two wins, but the Cavs are just too good right now.

Cavs 117, Suns 109