The defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers opens their pre-season campaign against the Orlando Magic Wednesday 7 p.m US EST at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Preview:
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and the rest of the Cavs are back for more gold. After making history in last year's NBA finals, the Cavaliers are gunning for a two-peat in a season many analysts expected to be ultra competitive as ever.
Cleveland's first assignment in this preseason isn't going to be pushover, because they are dealing a far different Magic team under former Pacers head coach Frank Vogel, who is known for his defensive-oriented philosophy.
The Magic drooped their pre-season opener to the Memphis Grizzlies 97-102, but they nevertheless got impressive debuts from newly-signed big man Bismack Biyombo. After a breakout season in Toronto, the Congolese stalwart is poised to double his production this year as a potential starting power forward.
On the other hand, the Cavs remains the favorite in the East for a huge reason. James is still at his prime while Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love will enter the season as more matured players after relishing their first taste of success.
Prediction:
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love will all play under 20 minutes in this ball game. After a back-and-forth ball game, Irving will start lighting it up from deep to give the Cavs some breathing room down the stretch. Evan Fournier will lead the Magic with 20+ points but Cavs win their first preseason assignment.
Team News & Rumors:
Magic: Although Serge Ibaka expressed his desire to spend more years in Orlando. The idea of him resigning to a long term deal with the Magic isn't a slamdunk. Orlando Sentinel writer Brian Schmitz believes the Magic needs to prove they can be a playoff contender this year in order to lock in Ibaka.
Cavs: The signing of Toney Douglas is viewed by many NBA followers as Cleveland's insurance move in case they failed to lock in J.R Smith before the season starts. Douglas is a career 36 percent shooter from 3-point range.
Watch Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers game on NBA League Pass, while you can follow play-by-play, box score sheets and video highlights on NBA GameCenter.