The Los Angeles Lakers travel to Ohio to play the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday.

The Lakers (9-7) come into this matchup winning seven of their last nine games, as they appear to have found their stride. It's no surprise who the catalyst is, with LeBron James playing vintage King James basketball. In fact, James is averaging 28.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game this season. Most players who came into the league in 2003 like Camrelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade are at the end of their careers but LeBron continues to be one of the best players in the league. Everyone knows who drafted him too, as he'll make his awaited return to Cleveland in this fixture. It remains to be seen if he receives cheers or boos but Cleveland fans should be envious of what he's given them considering where they are now. It's not just James though, as there's a bunch players who are playing part in the Lakers success. Javale McGee is having the best season of his career while youngsters like Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball continue to develop. One has to wonder if all of these pieces will be around next year when the Lakers try to build a dynasty by acquiring superstars but those youngsters make them competitive this season no matter what.

The Cavaliers (2-13) were expected to have a bad season when LeBron James left but losing 13 of your first 15 games is simply awful. The fact that Kevin Love (foot) got injured early on is definitely playing a factor in the downfall but it's sad that this perennial title contender is now a favorite to land the top pick in the draft. The J.R. Smith saga is yet another dark cloud over this team, as he'll no longer be with the Cavaliers as they continue to look for a trade suitor for him. The market can't be huge either, as acquiring a volatile shooter at $13 million a year is not an envious pick-up. Getting him out of the rotation will open things up for younger players though, as they need to see what they have with Cedi Osman, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton. Early results have been solid from those three but it's only led to this team ranking 27th in scoring. This Cleveland team simply doesn't have enough to compete with other NBA teams and the loss of LeBron is obviously the reason why.

Cleveland has beaten Los Angeles in seven of their last eight games, albeit all of those games with LeBron wearing a Cavs uniform.