Game Preview: Road trip begins with Suns first meeting against the Cavs

WHO: Phoenix Suns (37-27) @ Cleveland Cavaliers (41-23)

When: 4:30 p.m. AZ, time

Or: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio

Watch: 3TV and Arizona Family Sports

Listen: KMVP 98.7

The Suns, who are I just lost to the top seed in the Eastern Conference, now hit the road. The first one up? The third-best seed in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are playing the second game of a back-to-back, a situation in which they are 4-7 this season. Cleveland lost to the Brooklyn nets last night, 120-101.

The Cavs are a surprising team in the East, and part of that is due to their injuries this season. By Spotrac, the Cavs have lost 170 games due to injuries this season, which puts them in the top ten. For reference, the Suns have missed 193 games, which ranks them 7th. Donovan Mitchell has missed the last three games with a knee injury – and 17 games total this season – and early indicators indicate he won’t be available for this game.

Even with the injury bug, Cleveland put together an impressive stretch in January in which they went 17-1. It may have been “lesser” competition, but they left out the teams they should have had. The Cavs have the second-best defensive rating in the NBA (111.1) and the sixth-best net rating (+4.7). They defend the perimeter well and rebound on both ends of the court.

The Suns are hoping All-Star guard Devin Booker’s ankle responds before the game. He is listed as probable after missing Phoenix’s last four games.

The Suns find themselves in the midst of the toughest stretch of their schedule, and with the tight Western Conference standings changing by the hour, every game is important. Losing streaks can cost teams a chance at a deep playoff run, so even against high competition, Phoenix needs to lock down and treat every game like it’s a playoff brawl.

Probable entries

Injury report

Suns:

• Devin Booker — PROBABLE (Ankle)
• Eric Gordon — OUT (left knee contusion)
• Nassir Little — OUT (left knee inflammation)
• Damion Lee — OUT (right meniscus surgery)

Riders:

• Donovan Mitchell — QUESTIONABLE (knee)
• Evan Mobley — OUT (Ankle)
• Max Strus — OUT (knee)
• Tristan Thompson — OUT (suspension)
• Ty Jérôme — OUT (Ankle)
• Dean Wade — OUT (Staff)

Uniform match

What to watch out for

The return of Devin Booker! Hopefully.

If he does indeed make his return tonight, we’ll be eagerly watching how he responds against one of the best defenses in the league. What will his lateral quickness look like? How high does it go up on his sweater? How many minutes does Frank Vogel play him?

Other than that, we’ll be monitoring the Suns’ rotations and how Vogel approaches backup minutes. If Booker is back…nice. No Saben Lee. If Booker misses another game, finding the right combination is a challenge. The injury report is just long enough that the Suns have to play someone they shouldn’t.

The key to a Suns victory

The Suns are 9-8 this season against current teams with a top-10 defensive rating. Given their offensive capabilities, even the best defensive teams struggle to defend them.

Seeing how the Cavs defend the perimeter will be a point of interest in this one. THE Celtics took away Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, although Royce missed numerous three-point attempts in the Suns’ loss on Saturday. This made the Suns one-dimensional, and that dimension was Kevin Durant.

Prediction

I feel like a win for the Suns tonight. Yes, it’s hard to predict these Suns, but with an embarrassed Cavaliers team playing the second night of a back-to-back, I like Phoenix’s luck.

Suns 110, Cavs 105