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Having fallen off the horse against the Clippers (with some help from the refs in the last two minutes), the Cavs head up the coast to take on the 3-6 Sacramento Kings, perennial NBA doormats. The Kings are 1-3 at home.
This year’s version isn’t looking much better, if any. The Kings have played a ridiculously easy schedule. Their wins have come against Miami (4-7), Charlotte (3-8), and Orlando (2-9). They lost to Miami, Golden State twice (4-7), the Clippers (6-5), Memphis (7-4), and Portland (7-3). However, four of their six losses have been by 5 points or less, so they have not been blown out, mainly because they are good offensively and can keep up.
Eight of their nine games have been decided by 7 points or less. They compete well, but haven’t gotten over the hump.
The Kings are good offensively and bad defensively. They are 11th in scoring and they make their hay from outside. They rank 25th in percentage of points from 2’s and 6th in percentage from 3’s. They average 39 three-point attempts per game and rank 3rd in percentage of shots from deep. However, they are average in 3-point percentage. They are not great at making 3’s but they sure jack up a lot of them.
Against a team with Allen and Mobley patrolling the paint I expect at least 40 three-point attempts tonight, maybe close to 50.
The Kings rank 28th in offensive rebound percentage and the Cavaliers, surprisingly, rank 1st in defensive rebound percentage so I expect very few second chance opportunities for the Kings. If the Cavs can contest the first shot and force a miss they’ll be in good shape.
Defensively, the Kings rank 25th in opponents’ points per game and 28th in points in the paint. The Kings are 29th in block percentage, so it seems they are awful at defending the rim. But they also rank 26th in opponents' 3-point percentage so they don’t defend the 3 very well, either. Overall they are 28th in effective field goal percentage. The Cavs should be able to have their way by attacking the rim or dumping it in to their big men in the post.
The Kings rank 27th in steal percentage and 24th in forcing turnovers, so they don’t get many turnovers or block shots. You can get your shot up on these guys.
The one area of defense where the Kings excel is defensive rebounding, where they rank 2nd to the Cavs. Better make that first shot. I’m not expecting many offensive boards from either team tonight.
Two nights ago the Kings lost 116-113 to Golden State as Steph Curry exploded for 47 points. I could see Garland and Mitchell having big games against the Kings.
The Kings’ offensive star is point guard De’Aaron Fox, averaging 26.5 ppg on 54.5% from the field and 37.2% on 3’s. He’s more of a scorer than a distributor, averaging just 4.8 assists per game.
Their shooting guard is 6’7” Kevin Huerter, averaging 16.9 ppg on 49.5% and 51.5% on 3’s. Their big man is Sabonis Domantas, 6’11”, 240, who averages 16.3 points and 11.0 boards. He’s big but not a shot blocker, averaging one block every 45 minutes on the floor.
The forwards are 6’8”, 215 pound Keegan Murray, the #4 overall pick in this year’s draft, and 6’8” veteran Harrison Barnes, age 30. Barnes is struggling with his shot, hitting just 36.8% overall and 16.7% from deep. Murray is averaging 12.9 points, but has only scored 16 in his last three games, going 6-for-20 from the field and 3-for-13 from deep. Maybe teams are getting some film on him.
Cavs’ legend Matthew Dellavedova is back from Down Under and is a member of the Kings. He’s only played in three games so far, however.
So this could be a shootout with the Cavs, who rank 7th in points per game, going up against a team that ranks 25th in scoring defense and is among the worst at defending the rim. The Cavs need to take full advantage of the Kings weak interior defense and lack of shot blocking.
The Kings will bomb away from deep and if they get hot could run up the score. Huerter puts up 7.6 three-pointers per game and is over 50% so the Cavs need to make sure he doesn’t get open looks. Fox has scored 36 and 37 points in games already so he can go off. I expect they will alternate Mitchell and LeVert on him. The 6’7” Huerter will have a big height advantage over Garland or Mitchell and it will be tough to contest his 3-pointers.
The Kings are not good defensively but they are big, going 6’11”, 6’8”, and 6’8” across the front line with a 6’7” shooting guard. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dean Wade and Kevin Love get more minutes than Caris LeVert unless they think LeVert can guard a 6’8” forward.
Whether Huerter guards Garland or Mitchell I think they can beat him off the dribble consistently and get to the rim for layups or lobs to Allen or Mobley. The Kings are awful shot blockers and rim defenders so the Cavs should be able to break them down for lots of layups, floaters, and dunks off lobs.
The Kings have not beaten any good teams, going 0-3 against teams with winning records. Hopefully, tonight won’t be their first.
This year’s version isn’t looking much better, if any. The Kings have played a ridiculously easy schedule. Their wins have come against Miami (4-7), Charlotte (3-8), and Orlando (2-9). They lost to Miami, Golden State twice (4-7), the Clippers (6-5), Memphis (7-4), and Portland (7-3). However, four of their six losses have been by 5 points or less, so they have not been blown out, mainly because they are good offensively and can keep up.
Eight of their nine games have been decided by 7 points or less. They compete well, but haven’t gotten over the hump.
The Kings are good offensively and bad defensively. They are 11th in scoring and they make their hay from outside. They rank 25th in percentage of points from 2’s and 6th in percentage from 3’s. They average 39 three-point attempts per game and rank 3rd in percentage of shots from deep. However, they are average in 3-point percentage. They are not great at making 3’s but they sure jack up a lot of them.
Against a team with Allen and Mobley patrolling the paint I expect at least 40 three-point attempts tonight, maybe close to 50.
The Kings rank 28th in offensive rebound percentage and the Cavaliers, surprisingly, rank 1st in defensive rebound percentage so I expect very few second chance opportunities for the Kings. If the Cavs can contest the first shot and force a miss they’ll be in good shape.
Defensively, the Kings rank 25th in opponents’ points per game and 28th in points in the paint. The Kings are 29th in block percentage, so it seems they are awful at defending the rim. But they also rank 26th in opponents' 3-point percentage so they don’t defend the 3 very well, either. Overall they are 28th in effective field goal percentage. The Cavs should be able to have their way by attacking the rim or dumping it in to their big men in the post.
The Kings rank 27th in steal percentage and 24th in forcing turnovers, so they don’t get many turnovers or block shots. You can get your shot up on these guys.
The one area of defense where the Kings excel is defensive rebounding, where they rank 2nd to the Cavs. Better make that first shot. I’m not expecting many offensive boards from either team tonight.
Two nights ago the Kings lost 116-113 to Golden State as Steph Curry exploded for 47 points. I could see Garland and Mitchell having big games against the Kings.
The Kings’ offensive star is point guard De’Aaron Fox, averaging 26.5 ppg on 54.5% from the field and 37.2% on 3’s. He’s more of a scorer than a distributor, averaging just 4.8 assists per game.
Their shooting guard is 6’7” Kevin Huerter, averaging 16.9 ppg on 49.5% and 51.5% on 3’s. Their big man is Sabonis Domantas, 6’11”, 240, who averages 16.3 points and 11.0 boards. He’s big but not a shot blocker, averaging one block every 45 minutes on the floor.
The forwards are 6’8”, 215 pound Keegan Murray, the #4 overall pick in this year’s draft, and 6’8” veteran Harrison Barnes, age 30. Barnes is struggling with his shot, hitting just 36.8% overall and 16.7% from deep. Murray is averaging 12.9 points, but has only scored 16 in his last three games, going 6-for-20 from the field and 3-for-13 from deep. Maybe teams are getting some film on him.
Cavs’ legend Matthew Dellavedova is back from Down Under and is a member of the Kings. He’s only played in three games so far, however.
So this could be a shootout with the Cavs, who rank 7th in points per game, going up against a team that ranks 25th in scoring defense and is among the worst at defending the rim. The Cavs need to take full advantage of the Kings weak interior defense and lack of shot blocking.
The Kings will bomb away from deep and if they get hot could run up the score. Huerter puts up 7.6 three-pointers per game and is over 50% so the Cavs need to make sure he doesn’t get open looks. Fox has scored 36 and 37 points in games already so he can go off. I expect they will alternate Mitchell and LeVert on him. The 6’7” Huerter will have a big height advantage over Garland or Mitchell and it will be tough to contest his 3-pointers.
The Kings are not good defensively but they are big, going 6’11”, 6’8”, and 6’8” across the front line with a 6’7” shooting guard. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dean Wade and Kevin Love get more minutes than Caris LeVert unless they think LeVert can guard a 6’8” forward.
Whether Huerter guards Garland or Mitchell I think they can beat him off the dribble consistently and get to the rim for layups or lobs to Allen or Mobley. The Kings are awful shot blockers and rim defenders so the Cavs should be able to break them down for lots of layups, floaters, and dunks off lobs.
The Kings have not beaten any good teams, going 0-3 against teams with winning records. Hopefully, tonight won’t be their first.
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