LeBron James, James Harden highlight star-studded game on Channel 2

CLEVELAND — The first month of basketball in 2018 has been completed. January has 31 days, but it always seems as if the month gets longer and longer as it comes to an end. If there is one team that could surely appreciate the start of a new month and new slate of basketball games, it would be the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Between Cleveland’s never-ending cycle of injuries to the trade rumors of LeBron James potentially taking his talents to the West Coast to join forces with the Golden State Warriors, the nucleus of the Cavaliers is anything but centralized in the belief of having team chemistry.

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Cleveland (30-20) finished January 6-8, went 4-6 in its last 10 games and currently sits in third place in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics (37-15) and the Toronto Raptors (34-16).

With the start of a new month, King James and the Cavaliers have a chance to redeem themselves with six games before the All-Star break to potentially get in rhythm as the season continues to unfold. Their first opportunity for a win begins Saturday night as the Cavaliers host the Houston Rockets at Quicken Loans Arena.

Houston (37-13) enters Saturday’s game coming off a 102-91 win over the Spurs Thursday night. The Rockets have won eight of their last 10 games and are currently on a three-game winning streak.

The Cavaliers will be tasked with slowing down the NBA’s leading scorer, James Harden, who is coming off the first-ever 60-point triple double in NBA history Tuesday night and a 28-point, 11 assists performance in the Spurs victory.

After Harden, the Rockets' remaining starters and bench players will be a challenge for the Cavaliers, much like they were when the two played each other in November.

Houston has seven players averaging double figures in points. Chris Paul is second in scoring, averaging 19 points and 8.4 assists per game.

Eric Gordon is averaging 19 points per game, followed by Clint Capella with 14, Gerald Green with nearly 14, Trevor Ariza with 12 and Ryan Anderson with 10.

As a team, they rank second in total points per game (113.8), behind only the Warriors.

Cleveland enters Saturday’s matchup ranked fifth in scoring per game, averaging nearly 110 points. James led the team in scoring with nearly 27 points per game, assists (8.7), steals (1.6) and blocks per game (1.1)

Against the Rockets, the Cavaliers’ offensive production will need to be excellent despite being without their second-leading scorer in Kevin Love, who will miss eight weeks with a broken hand. Love was averaging 17 points and just over nine rebounds per game.

To not start the month of February with a loss, contributions from Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Jeff Green, Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder and J.R. Smith will be very important. In the Cavs' recent win over the Heat, Thomas, Crowder and Channing Frye finished in double-figure point totals. Korver and Wade combined for 18 points off the bench.

In the first meeting between the two teams, the Rockets defeated the Cavaliers 117-113. Harden finished with his second triple double of 35 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. He also recorded five steals and a block to his stat line.

The game went down to the wire, and free throws made the difference down the stretch that helped the Rockets win. James finished with 33 points, followed by Jeff Green, with 27, and two other Cavaliers players in double figures.

Playing Houston means Cleveland must defend the perimeter, contest all 3-point shooting opportunities – the fuel to the Rockets’ offense – and find a way to win the battle on the boards.

The Rockets shot 47 percent from the floor and only 35 percent from 3-point range, while the Cavaliers shot 56 percent from the floor and 44 percent from beyond the arc.

Houston, however, outrebounded Cleveland 45-26, leading to additional second-chance points for the Rockets. Capella, Harden and P.J. Tucker combined for 38 of Houston’s 45 rebounds.

Without Love, their leading rebounder (9.4 per game), the Cavaliers will rely on James and Tristan Thompson to get the job done on the glass.

Harden and the Rockets’ guards will look to earn consistent trips to the free-throw line, as they earned 29 of their 117 points from the charity stripe and finished the game against the Cavs shooting 81 percent.

In what will be a tall task for Cleveland, a win at home would be the perfect way for the Cavaliers to start off the new month but also potentially begin the start to a solid run before the second half of the season begins.

Cox Media Group