Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. PST
Where: Oracle Arena - Oakland, CA
Blog Buddy: Fear the Sword
This past summer I had the good fortune of witnessing some of the Team USA intrasquad scrimmages in Las Vegas, while reporting for Interbasket.net. That is when it dawned on me that Kyrie Irving has a very good chance of becoming the next great NBA superstar.
Meanwhile, Dion Waiters has been playing well. I got a chance to see him live and up close at NBA Summer League and came way unimpressed. However, even the Cavaliers' announcers have said that they have noticed, Waiters has an extra gear when he's under the bright lights. NBA.com just did an article on his rising stock up the rookie charts.
For tonight's game, Stephen Curry will have his hands full on defense. I think Klay Thompson with his longer reach can probably contain Waiters, although Waiters' unorthodox release allows him to get off shots despite the length of his defenders. Down low will be an interesting battle between Anderson Varejao and Andrew Bogut, but with Bogut and his twenty-minute limit, can Varejao be stopped on the boards?
The Warriors will try to bounce back from the disappointing loss up in Sacramento, while the Cavs are so far on a California high, in the middle of a long road trip.
But take a look at Kyrie and his moves. You don't see a guy with his toolbox come along very often, and that includes the "And-One" guys you've seen even in pickup games around town.