NBA Schedule: Struggling Portland Trail Blazers Facing Dominant Cleveland Cavaliers

After a summer where the team spent millions of dollars to retain and upgrade their roster, the Portland Trail Blazers were supposed to become a bigger threat in the NBA. Unfortunately, that has not been the case thus far, as the team has struggled early on in the regular season. On Wednesday, the Trail Blazers will attempt to turn things around when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers, as reported by ESPN.

.@RealTristan13 discusses his development and putting an emphasis on defending the paint.

Practice ?: https://t.co/cdkXk8597C https://t.co/sv0c64tnqq

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 22, 2016

Winning the NBA Championship and conquering the Golden State Warriors have not caused the Cleveland Cavaliers to sit back and relax. LeBron James is making sure that he and his teammates stay as hungry as they were before bringing a title to a town that was desperately in need of one. By winning 10 games and losing just two thus far, the team is proving that they are going to be a force to reckoned with once again this season.

One of the big reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers have been doing so well is the continued improvement of Tristan Thompson. Some were concerned that he was going to become content after signing a huge contract last summer worth approximately $82 million. Instead, the 6-foot-11 center has now added shot blocking skills to his already tremendous rebounding skills.

Tristan Thompson is a gem in the NBA because he is one of the rare big men that can switch on pick and rolls to defend quick guards on the perimeter. That skill is going to be especially needed because the Portland Trail Blazers have one of the best back-courts in the NBA. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are going to put Thompson to the test when the two teams meet. His defensive performance against them is going to have a big effect on the final results of the game.

While he has shown some improvements on the defensive end, Kevin Love is not all that great when it comes to defending guards on the perimeter. Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts is aware of that, so he will focus some of his attack by forcing Love to play against Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. That means that Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue might need to make some adjustments to his rotation.

Kevin Love has been a monster on the boards so far this season, averaging 11 rebounds a game. That means that Mason Plumlee is going to need to work extra hard to keep the 6-foot-10 power forward off of the glass. Ed Davis, an undersized power forward, might need to help out as well.

The battle between Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard should be a fun one for fans to watch. Both guys are capable of putting up huge numbers. The final result of the game could be determined by which of these All-Star guards has a better night.

LeBron James was forced to miss practice on Tuesday because he was needed in court by the NBA Players Association. However, that should not prevent him from being in the starting lineup for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. Maurice Harkless is going to have his hands full. The Portland Trail Blazers might be forced to use a lot of double teams if they are hoping to contain James.

J.R. Smith proved last season that he could be a solid defender whenever he puts his mind to it. Those skills are going to be needed because CJ McCollum can go on scoring sprees. On the flip side, McCollum is going to need to put in some work as well because Smith is still one of those NBA players who are not afraid to take big shots.

[Featured Image by Jason Miller/Getty Images]