Cavaliers hope to extend hot streak in historic LeBron James homecoming

Since leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James has played agianst his former squad plenty of times. In his only appearance in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this season, though, the Cavs host James' most historic homecoming.

The Cavaliers and Lakers are two of the NBA's best teams early into the season, with Cleveland's 4-0 record and LA's 3-1 record. The Lakers have run a gauntlet to begin the year, playing against numerous rival playoff contenders in each of their first four games. James and Anthony Davis have looked in peak condition, lifting the Lakers into potential Finals conversations. Davis is already involved in murmurs for Most Valuable Player as LeBron passes the torch.

LeBron's first time in town

For the first time ever, the 2016 NBA Champion will not be the only LeBron on the court in Cleveland. LeBron "Bronny" James, Jr. joined the Lakers this summer via the draft and is likely to make his hometown debut against the Cavaliers.

It will be LeBron's greatest return. In the first game of the season, LeBron and Bronny became the first father-son duo to take an NBA court together as teammates. Although Bronny only played three minutes, the league witnessed the first, and potentially only time, a father and son take the floor together for the first time.

Sources suggest that Bronny's game in Cleveland will be one of his last games before spending most of his rookie campaign with the South Bay Lakers once the G League starts in November. The timing of this meeting gives the Cavaliers their only opportunity to take part in the latest piece of NBA history LeBron James made.

While the crowd and organization may certainly celebrate and welcome LeBron and Bronny, it cannot serve as a distraction for the Cavaliers. The Cavs are establishing the building blocks of their best season since entering the newest era of Cleveland basketball. With Mitchell and Garland synergizing and playing their best two-man basketball, the only priority should be achieving a 5-0 streak in an attempt to keep pace with the Boston Celtics.

The Cavaliers need to serve Bronny a "Welcome to the league" moment.

How the Cavaliers can spoil James' homecoming

Davis will pose a big threat to both of Cleveland's frontcourt stars Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Often considered the league's best defender, a healthy Anthony Davis can swat away any shot attempt and punish the most minute mistakes by his assignment. While Allen and Mobley have started the season strong, AD will undoubtedly be their hardest test yet.

As always, James will test the resolve of any defender put on him. The 6-foot-9 phenom can overpower anybody and surgically pick apart the defense. Given Mobley's versatility and size, he is likely James' primary defender. This will put Mobley in a position not only to be tasked with stopping LeBron but getting past LeBron and Davis. Although Mobley's on a hot streak, Cavaliers fans may enter the night with lowered expectations.

The Cavaliers backcourt will be the Cavs' best chance at winning. The Lakers lack a perimeter stopper, giving Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland room to operate from deep. If coach Kenny Atkinson can run plays to get open looks, the Cavaliers should launch a barrage of threes until the Lakers challenge them or Davis is on the bench. From there, the paint may open up more chances to pound the paint and get Allen and Mobley going.

Thankfully, the Cavaliers are off to a fiery start from deep, connecting on 41 percent of their attempts, good for second-best in the Association. Alongside their sharpshooting, the Cavs allow the fourth-fewest opponent points per game at just 106.8 each night. As for the Lakers, they are in the middle of the pack for opponent points and fifth for three-point percentage (38.2).

Cleveland will once again need to play tough on the perimeter, forcing Los Angeles into rushed shots. Defensively, the Cavaliers are allowing teams to convert from deep 36.6 percent of the time, but their most recent match against the New York Knicks showed Cleveland's resolve, keeping the Knicks to 31.2 percent from deep.

If Mitchell and Garland can maintain their energy from their New York win, the Cleveland Cavaliers can find an advantage over the Lakers and return the favor from LeBron's beatdown in The Land last season.

The Cavs and Lakers tip off at 7:00pm Eastern Time. Fans can broadcast or stream the game on FanDuel Sports Network.