Tip-off: Monday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Golden State -8.0, Total: 225.0

The Warriors will be looking for revenge when they host the rival Cavaliers on Monday night.

The Cavaliers will be finishing off a six-game road trip when they face the Warriors on Monday, but they will surely have plenty of energy for this one. The Cavaliers might be the defending champions, but most of the basketball world would consider them to be worse than the Warriors. That will allow Cleveland to play with a chip on its shoulder, and the team would love to improve to 2-0 (SU and ATS) versus Golden State on Monday. The Warriors, however, will be out for blood in this game. They blew a big lead in the first game against the Cavs this season, losing 109-108 as a 3.5-point favorite at Quicken Loans Arena on Christmas. The Warriors will not be able to live with a home loss to the Cavs, so expect them to come out with some fire in this game. Everything they did this offseason was fueled by the 3-1 series lead that they blew against this team in the Finals a year ago. Golden State will be the hotter team when these teams battle on Monday, as the Warriors have won 14 of their past 16 games. They also happen to be 15-5 ATS in home games when revenging a straight up loss versus an opponent as a favorite over the past three seasons. Cleveland will be without SG J.R. Smith (Thumb) indefinitely, and Golden State enters this game at full strength.

The Cavaliers will be hoping to make a statement on Monday, and SF LeBron James (25.8 PPG, 8.3 APG, 7.8 RPG, 1.5 SPG) is going to need to be ready to play at a high level in this one. James has struggled the past two games, averaging just 18.0 PPG on 12.0 shot attempts per game. He’ll need to be more aggressive on Monday, but that should not be an issue. When he faced Golden State earlier in the season, James had 31 points and 13 boards in 40 minutes of action. He’ll just need to make sure to use some of his energy on the defensive end, as he can’t afford to let Kevin Durant go off once again in this one. Durant had 36 points the last time these teams met, and Cleveland was fortunate to escape with that victory. The Cavaliers would probably have a much easier time winning if James were to hold Durant under 25. PG Kyrie Irving (23.8 PPG, 5.7 APG, 1.1 SPG) will be the guy helping James the most in this one. Irving has scored 25 or more points in three of the past five games, and he hit the game-winner when he last faced the Warriors. If Irving can outplay Stephen Curry in this game then it’s likely Cleveland will come out on top. PF Kevin Love (21.2 PPG, 11.0 RPG) could also help by shooting better than he did last time he faced Golden State. Love made only five of his 13 shots in that game, and it’d be big if he is more efficient this time around.

The last time the Warriors faced the Cavaliers, SF Kevin Durant (26.0 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.1 BPG) had 36 points and 15 rebounds. Durant did, however, struggle down the stretch, and he’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again in this one. Look for Durant to be extremely aggressive in this game, especially in the fourth quarter. He will not want to hear people criticizing him, and he also will be desperate to help his team earn a victory over Cleveland. PG Stephen Curry (24.7 PPG, 5.9 APG, 4.3 RPG, 1.7 SPG) might be the guy with the most to prove in this one, though. Curry had only 15 points the last time these teams met, and he will need to be a lot better this time around. Curry has, however, been hot recently. Over the past five games, Curry is averaging 30.6 PPG and has taken 22.4 shots per game. That is big for him, as he has only taken 17.5 shots per game on the season. The Warriors need him to be aggressive as a scorer in this one, and it appears he knows that. Golden State must also get some good performances out of both SG Klay Thompson (21.3 PPG) and PF Draymond Green (10.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 7.7 APG, 2.1 SPG, 1.2 BPG). Green got in foul trouble the last time these teams met, and Golden State will not win this one if that happens again.