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After a huge win over the Warriors the Cavs make the short trip across now droughtless northern California to Sacramento to engage the Kings, who are 4-4 overall and 3-1 at home. All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox has only played in three games due to a sprained ankle but was a full participant in practice Sunday so I assume he’ll return against the Cavs. Officially he's a game time decision. Fox is averaging 31.3 points and 6 assists in his three games, so he has been involved directly in about 45 points per game. Fox versus Garland/Mitchell should be a great battle to watch.
After Fox the Kings have five players averaging between 11-17 points per game so their supporting cast is pretty balanced. With Fox the Kings are averaging 125.3 ppg; without him it's just 102.6 - small samples, however. They are 20th in points in the paint and last in fast break points, so they prefer to walk the ball up and run their half-court offense. They're similar to Golden State in that way.
The Kings depend heavily on 3-point shooting They are 3rd in 3-point rate at 46.2% and 7th in 3-point percentage. They are middle of the pack in assist rate and turnover rate. They're 9th in offensive rebound percentage, partly because they take so many 3's.
Defensively the Kings are 16th, right on the average. They are 19th in preventing points in the paint. Their biggest strength is defensive rebounding; they rank 2nd in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage. You better make your first shot as they rarely give you a second.
The Cavs, OTOH, are 26th in defensive rebound percentage. Against a team that is above average in offensive rebounding the Cavs need to work harder on the defensive glass. It's still their Achilles heel as we saw in last year's playoffs. So far this year we're seeing no improvement. In fact, they're rebounding a LOWER percentage of opponents' missed shots than last year (73.9 versus 75.6%).
Damontis Sabonis is the Kings' big man at 6'10", 240. In his 8th season Sabonis is averaging 17.4 points and 12.9 rebounds per game on 56% from the field.
Keegan Murray, their 2nd yeaar 6'8", 225-pound power forward, is shooting just 36% from the field and 26% from the line. Veteran Harrison Barnes, also 6'8", 225, starts at small forward. Barnes, now 31, is averaging 12 points pr game on 48% and 41% shooting. Kevin Huerter, averaging 11 points, rounds out the starting five.
In non-garbage time action the Kings rank 24th offensively and 17th defensively in points per 100 possessions. However, that's with their best offensive player by far missing five of their eight games. When Fox plays they're way better than 24th.
If the Cavs play as hard and unselfishly as they played against the Warriors they have a great chance at winning. The Kings shoot more 3's than all but two other teams and they're below average at PIP, so the key is to keep switching on the perimeter and prevent or at least contest all 3's. The Kings are only shooting 32% from deep but they take a lot of them. They're only shooting 72.7% on free throws so fouling is not a bad option to prevent a high percentage shot.
The Cavs had a day off and a very short trip from the Bay Area so they should be in good shape. Okoro and Jerome are listed as game time decisions. NBA TV is following the Cavs around California and will televise this game, too.
After Fox the Kings have five players averaging between 11-17 points per game so their supporting cast is pretty balanced. With Fox the Kings are averaging 125.3 ppg; without him it's just 102.6 - small samples, however. They are 20th in points in the paint and last in fast break points, so they prefer to walk the ball up and run their half-court offense. They're similar to Golden State in that way.
The Kings depend heavily on 3-point shooting They are 3rd in 3-point rate at 46.2% and 7th in 3-point percentage. They are middle of the pack in assist rate and turnover rate. They're 9th in offensive rebound percentage, partly because they take so many 3's.
Defensively the Kings are 16th, right on the average. They are 19th in preventing points in the paint. Their biggest strength is defensive rebounding; they rank 2nd in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage. You better make your first shot as they rarely give you a second.
The Cavs, OTOH, are 26th in defensive rebound percentage. Against a team that is above average in offensive rebounding the Cavs need to work harder on the defensive glass. It's still their Achilles heel as we saw in last year's playoffs. So far this year we're seeing no improvement. In fact, they're rebounding a LOWER percentage of opponents' missed shots than last year (73.9 versus 75.6%).
Damontis Sabonis is the Kings' big man at 6'10", 240. In his 8th season Sabonis is averaging 17.4 points and 12.9 rebounds per game on 56% from the field.
Keegan Murray, their 2nd yeaar 6'8", 225-pound power forward, is shooting just 36% from the field and 26% from the line. Veteran Harrison Barnes, also 6'8", 225, starts at small forward. Barnes, now 31, is averaging 12 points pr game on 48% and 41% shooting. Kevin Huerter, averaging 11 points, rounds out the starting five.
In non-garbage time action the Kings rank 24th offensively and 17th defensively in points per 100 possessions. However, that's with their best offensive player by far missing five of their eight games. When Fox plays they're way better than 24th.
If the Cavs play as hard and unselfishly as they played against the Warriors they have a great chance at winning. The Kings shoot more 3's than all but two other teams and they're below average at PIP, so the key is to keep switching on the perimeter and prevent or at least contest all 3's. The Kings are only shooting 32% from deep but they take a lot of them. They're only shooting 72.7% on free throws so fouling is not a bad option to prevent a high percentage shot.
The Cavs had a day off and a very short trip from the Bay Area so they should be in good shape. Okoro and Jerome are listed as game time decisions. NBA TV is following the Cavs around California and will televise this game, too.
