Tip-off: Tuesday, 10:05 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -2.5, Total: 202

The new-look Cavaliers head out west for the first time with a matchup against the slumping Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

Cleveland certainly had the most press over the offseason with LeBron James returning to the city and a wealth of talent joining him. The club started off the year with a 95-90 home loss against the 13-point underdog Knicks, but things came together much better in the second contest though, defeating the talented Bulls in overtime by a score of 114-108 despite being 4.5-point underdogs. The Cavs defense has not done too well so far, allowing over 45% shooting from the field to each of their first two opponents, but they did force 19 turnovers in the victory over Chicago. Portland started out the season with a 17-point romp over the Thunder, but suffered consecutive losses (both SU and ATS) as favorites versus Sacramento and Golden State. During the two-game slide, the Blazers have tallied only 92.0 PPG on 40.6% FG. Turnovers were also a problem in Sunday's loss to the Warriors as they committed 19 miscues. These two teams have played some very close matchups recently with Portland holding a slight 17-16 SU record (17-15-1 ATS) since 1996 and is 3-1 SU while covering 2-of-4 games over the past two seasons. The Blazers won both times they met last season while averaging 113.5 PPG and shooting 48% from the floor (41% threes) in their last meeting on Jan. 15. Betting trends show that Portland is a meager 13-30 ATS (30%) in home games after one or more consecutive losses since the start of the 2012-13 season while Cleveland is a poor 3-13 ATS (19%) in November games since the beginnings of last season. There are no significant injuries for either team heading into this early season contest.

Can the Cavs hand the Blazers their third straight defeat? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Zach posted a 54% ATS mark (65-56-4) in NBA Best Bets last season, while StatFox Forecaster had a 53.4% ATS (207-181-12) in featured games last season. StatFox Scott and StatFox Gary are both off to a 60% ATS start (3-2) to the young season.

Cleveland has not looked great on either side of the ball so far while averaging 102.0 PPG (42% FG) and allowing their opponents to score 101.5 PPG (49.1% FG). SF LeBron James (26.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.0 SPG) is the best player in basketball and is coming off a huge game (36 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals) against Chicago after turning the ball over eight times in the season opener. He’s averaged nearly a triple-double (29.4 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 7.5 APG) in his 20 career games against the Blazers while hitting 53% of his shots and getting 2.3 SPG. PF Kevin Love (17.5 PPG, 15.0 RPG) has shot just 36% from the field in his first two games with his new team, but is a near lock for a double-double every time he hits the floor. In his 16 career games (15 starts) facing Portland, he has gone for 19.2 PPG (45% FG) and 11.1 RPG while doing well from behind the arc (41%). PG Kyrie Irving (22.5 PPG, 5.0 APG, 1.0 APG) has had the pressure taken off with the additions of two superstars and has already gotten to the free-throw line 17 times while making 15 of those freebies. Irving has always done well against the Trail Blazers, scoring 24.5 PPG (46% FG) with 5.8 APG, but has hit a putrid 5-of-21 threes (24%) in these four meetings. Irving is also a cold 2-for-9 from behind the arc to start the season.

As mentioned earlier, the Portland offense has not been as explosive so far this season, making only 42.0% FG and 32.9% threes for 96.7 PPG. The Blazers defense has done well though, as they have given up 95.7 PPG on 42.4% FG (26.7% threes). PF LaMarcus Aldridge (25.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.7 BPG) had a paltry total of seven rebounds over the first two games but came through in the loss to Golden State with 13 boards while going 10-for-20 from the field. The Cavs have given him no issues over his career against them, as he has put up 20.8 PPG (54% FG) with 9.3 RPG in 14 meetings (12 starts). PG Damian Lillard (13.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.0 APG) has really struggled with his shooting this season, going 11-for-41 (27% FG) through the first three games. He is hoping to bounce back with a solid performance on Tuesday as he has averaged 25.3 PPG (48% FG), 8.3 APG and 5.3 RPG over his previous four games against Cleveland. SF Nicolas Batum (9.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.7 SPG) is a great all-around player for this team and has put up 14.9 PPG (46% FG) with 6.6 RPG over eight career meetings (7 starts) with the Cavaliers.