The Cavaliers were already going to have a rough season without opening things up with at least four players sitting out with injuries. Kevin Love being sidelined and he was averaging 17.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season.

There’s plenty of talk about Ball’s shooting not being good enough, but he is capable of making a big difference even if he isn’t scoring 20-plus points in games. His vision and ability to draw the eyes of defenders long enough to feed the open man is impressive for a rookie. The Hornets have a great group of young players that are out to prove themselves, including Terry Rozier, Cody Zeller, Cody Martin, Malik Monk and LaMelo Ball.



Cleveland was an absolute mess defensively last season giving up a ton of pts. Also, Hornets Hayward will prove he’s the real star in this one. He’ll be able to play a bit more freely outside of a loaded Celtics team, like he did when he got the All-Star nod in Utah.

Cleveland will simply be too banged up and unprepared for this challenge. Take the Hornets to get the win on the road.