Mavs begin a tough stretch as LeBron James and the Cavaliers come to town

What has Cleveland done lately?

Well, if you didn't know, let me be the first to tell you: The Cleveland Cavaliers are good. Really good. They have a record of 26-9 and have rattled off seven consecutive wins. Only a few of those were relatively "close" wins. The smallest margin of victory they had came against the Phoenix Suns with the Cavs winning 101-97. There are a lot of lopsided affairs in their streak.

Which Cavs player might be due for a big game?

Hmm, let me think. What player on the Cavs might have a big game? Joe Harris? Nah. Former Mavs Richard Jefferson or Jared Cunningham? Maybe, but probably not. Who could it be then? Oh, that's right, LeBron James. How could I forget about him? He's supposed to be really good.

I'm not sure the Mavs have anyone on the roster who can physically match up with LeBron. I'd imagine that Carlisle will use a defense by committee strategy to try and slow him down. Wesley Matthews, the team's best perimeter defender, stands to see the most time guarding him. Wes is a good defender but LeBron is otherworldly. It's going to be tough to keep him from going off.

What do the Mavs need to do to be successful against the Cavs?

Dallas pretty much has to have everything go right for them. They can't play lazily like they did in Milwaukee and Minnesota. If they do they will get shredded. Even if they play perfect basketball they might get shredded. Like tossed into the wood chipper from Fargo shredded. If that doesn't happen it will because the Mavs came out from the start with the kind of energy the bench showed when four starters sat in the recent win against the New Orleans Pelicans. Let's hope that team shows up.

How to watch

Tune your idiot box to FSSW at 7:30pm Central Time. Or you can watch on League Pass like the cool kids who smoke behind the gym if you're not blacked out like a square.