A battle of the heavyweights is on the cards on Sunday night when the Boston Celtics travel to the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA.
The Cavs are 17-3 for the season and lead the Eastern Conference standings, while the Celts are 16-3 and in second place heading into this box-office matchup.
Match preview
The Cleveland Cavaliers made their best start to an NBA season this year, rattling off 15 wins without defeat, which saw them surge to the top of the standings in the East as the hottest team in the league.
However, last week, they ran into none other than the Celtics in the NBA Emirates Cup and were reminded that the road to the Eastern Conference top spot still runs through Boston, as the Celts handed them their first defeat of the season 120-117.
Since then, the Cavs notched up wins over the Pelicans and Raptors but were dealt their first home loss of the season 135-124 by the Hawks in midweek before losing in Atlanta 117-101 on Friday night.
While Kenny Atkinson's side has been riding an offensive hot-streak this year - still the highest-scoring team in the NBA - the back-to-back defeat was a sobering reminder of just how vital their defence is to their success.
Indeed, a lack of defensive discipline was evident against the Hawks, especially in transition, and the team seems to be developing an unwanted tendency to over-help and over-foul, which leaves perimeter shooters wide open - something Atlanta exploited to the tee.
That said, it is still premature to suggest that the Cavs are falling off, since they are still in the top half of the league's defensive charts, holding opponents to 112.6 points per game, and if Donovan Mitchell, who has been playing MVP-level ball can bounce back here after a couple of poor outings to lead them to victory, it could easily spark another run heading into the festive season.
Meanwhile, after handing Cleveland their first defeat of the season, the Celtics racked up wins over the Wizards, Timberwolves, Clippers, and most recently, the Bulls on Saturday, taking them to a seven-match win streak - the longest active unbeaten run in the NBA.
Jayson Tatum's 35-point performance, along with 14 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block, combined with Payton Pritchard's season-high 29 points - 19 of which came in the fourth quarter - led Boston to victory on Friday.
The result over the Bulls also meant that the Celtics stayed alive in the NBA Cup, now 3-1 in the group stage with a +23 point differential, and needing the Magic to defeat the Knicks on Tuesday night to advance via the wild card.
When the C's and Cavs last met, Joe Mazzulla's side led 65-48 by half time, making nine three-pointers on 11 attempts in the second quarter alone, and their 51.1 three-point attempts lead the league by almost six per game - despite a moderate conversion rate, they consistently make nearly 20 from beyond the arc per game.
Heading into Sunday's matchup, this game is widely being considered a measuring stick of the Cavs' seriousness as a title contender, as the Celts are starting to remind sceptics just how good they really are after going under the radar early in the season.
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Team News
After missing four games with a left knee injury, Cleveland's key reserve player Caris LeVert returned to the team against the Hawks and got 20 minutes on the court. He is expected to be available again on Sunday.
Dean Wade remains out after suffering an ankle sprain two weeks ago, and he will be joined in a watching brief by the trio of Emoni Bates, JT Thor, and Luke Travers, who are on G-League assignments.
The Celtics were handed a major blow in the victory over the Bulls, with Derrick White rushed to the locker room during the third quarter with an injury, and coach Mazzulla confirmed after the match that the veteran guard will miss the trip to Cleveland.
Aside from White, the reigning champs will also be without JD Davison, Anton Watson and Luke Kornet, with the former two out on their two-way G-League contracts, while the latter is suffering from a right hamstring strain.
Cleveland Cavaliers possible starting five:
Mobley, Okoro, Allen, Mitchell, Garland
Boston Celtics possible starting five:
Brown, Tatum, Porzingis, Holiday, Pritchard
We say: Boston Celtics to win by 2+ points
After an incredible start to the season, the Cavaliers have been brought back down to earth in the last couple of weeks, as teams have begun to figure out how to exploit their minor weaknesses.
The Celtics, on the other hand, are now (once again) the side that nobody wants to come up against, and we feel they will be able to outlast Cleveland to tie up the Eastern Conference standings in this one.
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