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The 2-4 Cavs return home to face the 5-1 Golden State Warriors, who have won five straight after losing their opener on the road against Phoenix 108-104. The Cavaliers have had their normal starting lineup on the floor for just 13 minutes this season, and that group is expected to start tonight. Ty Jerome is out and Isaac Okoro is questionable with knee soreness. The W’s have nobody on the injured list.
The Warriors are old and small, but they are extremely skilled and experienced. Steph Curry is 35, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are 33, and new backup point guard Chris Paul is 38. Curry and Thompson average 32 minutes per game, Paul 29, and Green 25, but he played 28-29 minutes the last two games.
Kevon Looney, the starting center, is 6’9, 222 and plays 23 minutes per game. Green is 6’6”. Alan Wiggins and Thompson are 6’7”. Curry is 6’2” and Paul 6’0”. They’re a small team at every position except shooting guard and small forward.
But old and small notwithstanding, they have been playing together forever and know how to win. Curry continues to defy Father Time as he’s averaging nearly 31 ppg on 55% from the field and 46.5% on 3’s. Chris Paul doesn’t score much anymore (8.0 ppg) but averages 9 assists in 29 minutes. Green averages 6 assists in 25 minutes. Wiggins chips in 12.3 points on 45.3%. Looney averages 8.8 rebounds in 23 minutes. Everybody does whatever they're good at and everybody excels at something.
The W’s are averaging 117.5 ppg, good for 8th in the NBA. But they’ve been inconsistent; in three games they scored 102-106 points and in three games they scored 122-141. No middle ground; it's been feast or famine.
The Warriors are 27th in points in the paint and 28th in fast break points per game, so their approach is obvious. They play half-court basketball and shoot 3’s, with the league's 6th highest percentage of 3-point shots. In fact, they rank last in the NBA in drives to the rim.
They excel at passing in the half court offense to set up open looks from deep, ranking 3rd in assists per possession. In addition to Curry’s 46.5% from deep, Thompson is hitting 42.9% and Dario Saric is coming off the bench to hit 42.3%. Saric, a 6’10” stretch forward in his seventh season, has fit in well, averaging 9.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 19 minutes per game. He’s given them some much needed size off the bench, not to mention more 3-point shooting.
Last year the W’s led the NBA in 3-point attempts per game at 43.1, but this year they’re down a bit at 38.7. The Warriors lost Jordan Poole and Donte DiVincenzo, who averaged nearly 31 points per game between them last year, but the W’s scoring average has dropped just 1.4 ppg. Klay Thompson is playing 32 minutes per game versus 22 last year so that helps pick up the scoring slack, along with the additions of Saric and Paul.
Defensively the W’s are 11th in opponents’ scoring and 12th in points allowed in the paint. Despite age and a lack of interior size, they defend well, ranking 8th in opponents’ effective FG percentage. They’re 5th in oppenents' 3-point percentage so they defend the perimeter very well. They will foul, though, ranking 22nd in fouls per possession.
Their one weakness is rebounding where they rank 25th in opponents’ offensive rebound percentage. The Cavs should take it to the rim and crash the glass against these guys. The W’s defend the 3-pointer very well and the Cavs are 23rd in 3-point shooting. I would pound it inside against them and avoid a 3-point shooting contest. Make these old guys run as much as possible and take advantage of their lack of size up front to get second chance points.
The guard matchups should be the most entertaining part of this game with Curry, Thompson, and Paul going against Garland, Mitchell, and LeVert. The old lions against the young bucks. But if Mobley and Allen can dominate the paint and get putbacks the Cavs will be right there.
Defensively the Cavs should keep switching on the perimeter and contest all 3-point shots. Force the Warriors to drive against Mobley and Allen. They have not been good at scoring in the paint. Playing an uptempo game and forcing the W’s to run should be effective since their four key players are all 33-38 years old and Saric is no race horse.
The Warriors had yesterday off after beating OKC on the road 141-139. The Thunder was missing leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but still put up 139 points. JBB should check out the film of that game. The game before that the W’s beat Sacramento at home 102-101. So the W’s are coming off two very close wins. They haven't been dominating teams.
The Cavs will be starting their normal lineup for just the second game. They got off to a slow start Friday night but closed the gap in the second half before fading late. Hopefully they won’t dig themselves as big a hole this time.
John Hollinger’s conclusion on the Warriors’ chances (he has them 5th in the West):
Overall, it’s hard to get excited about the peak version of the Warriors as more than a puncher’s chance contender, one that could perhaps sneak through if everything breaks just right. The Warriors certainly have advantages compared to a year ago — Curry and Andrew Wiggins had extended absences last season, there is no pressure to force minutes to James Wiseman, Kuminga might break out and Paul is likely to give them more than Poole did a year ago. If a quality backup two emerges from recent draft picks Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski, so much the better.
On the other hand, it’s easy to see the ceiling here. It’s been an amazing dynasty, but the youngest of the three key players behind it will be 34 in March, and Curry is the only one who projects to play at an All-Star level this season. It’s difficult to see this team missing the playoffs, but it’s also nearly as hard to see it getting past the second round.
The Warriors are old and small, but they are extremely skilled and experienced. Steph Curry is 35, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are 33, and new backup point guard Chris Paul is 38. Curry and Thompson average 32 minutes per game, Paul 29, and Green 25, but he played 28-29 minutes the last two games.
Kevon Looney, the starting center, is 6’9, 222 and plays 23 minutes per game. Green is 6’6”. Alan Wiggins and Thompson are 6’7”. Curry is 6’2” and Paul 6’0”. They’re a small team at every position except shooting guard and small forward.
But old and small notwithstanding, they have been playing together forever and know how to win. Curry continues to defy Father Time as he’s averaging nearly 31 ppg on 55% from the field and 46.5% on 3’s. Chris Paul doesn’t score much anymore (8.0 ppg) but averages 9 assists in 29 minutes. Green averages 6 assists in 25 minutes. Wiggins chips in 12.3 points on 45.3%. Looney averages 8.8 rebounds in 23 minutes. Everybody does whatever they're good at and everybody excels at something.
The W’s are averaging 117.5 ppg, good for 8th in the NBA. But they’ve been inconsistent; in three games they scored 102-106 points and in three games they scored 122-141. No middle ground; it's been feast or famine.
The Warriors are 27th in points in the paint and 28th in fast break points per game, so their approach is obvious. They play half-court basketball and shoot 3’s, with the league's 6th highest percentage of 3-point shots. In fact, they rank last in the NBA in drives to the rim.
They excel at passing in the half court offense to set up open looks from deep, ranking 3rd in assists per possession. In addition to Curry’s 46.5% from deep, Thompson is hitting 42.9% and Dario Saric is coming off the bench to hit 42.3%. Saric, a 6’10” stretch forward in his seventh season, has fit in well, averaging 9.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 19 minutes per game. He’s given them some much needed size off the bench, not to mention more 3-point shooting.
Last year the W’s led the NBA in 3-point attempts per game at 43.1, but this year they’re down a bit at 38.7. The Warriors lost Jordan Poole and Donte DiVincenzo, who averaged nearly 31 points per game between them last year, but the W’s scoring average has dropped just 1.4 ppg. Klay Thompson is playing 32 minutes per game versus 22 last year so that helps pick up the scoring slack, along with the additions of Saric and Paul.
Defensively the W’s are 11th in opponents’ scoring and 12th in points allowed in the paint. Despite age and a lack of interior size, they defend well, ranking 8th in opponents’ effective FG percentage. They’re 5th in oppenents' 3-point percentage so they defend the perimeter very well. They will foul, though, ranking 22nd in fouls per possession.
Their one weakness is rebounding where they rank 25th in opponents’ offensive rebound percentage. The Cavs should take it to the rim and crash the glass against these guys. The W’s defend the 3-pointer very well and the Cavs are 23rd in 3-point shooting. I would pound it inside against them and avoid a 3-point shooting contest. Make these old guys run as much as possible and take advantage of their lack of size up front to get second chance points.
The guard matchups should be the most entertaining part of this game with Curry, Thompson, and Paul going against Garland, Mitchell, and LeVert. The old lions against the young bucks. But if Mobley and Allen can dominate the paint and get putbacks the Cavs will be right there.
Defensively the Cavs should keep switching on the perimeter and contest all 3-point shots. Force the Warriors to drive against Mobley and Allen. They have not been good at scoring in the paint. Playing an uptempo game and forcing the W’s to run should be effective since their four key players are all 33-38 years old and Saric is no race horse.
The Warriors had yesterday off after beating OKC on the road 141-139. The Thunder was missing leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but still put up 139 points. JBB should check out the film of that game. The game before that the W’s beat Sacramento at home 102-101. So the W’s are coming off two very close wins. They haven't been dominating teams.
The Cavs will be starting their normal lineup for just the second game. They got off to a slow start Friday night but closed the gap in the second half before fading late. Hopefully they won’t dig themselves as big a hole this time.
John Hollinger’s conclusion on the Warriors’ chances (he has them 5th in the West):
Overall, it’s hard to get excited about the peak version of the Warriors as more than a puncher’s chance contender, one that could perhaps sneak through if everything breaks just right. The Warriors certainly have advantages compared to a year ago — Curry and Andrew Wiggins had extended absences last season, there is no pressure to force minutes to James Wiseman, Kuminga might break out and Paul is likely to give them more than Poole did a year ago. If a quality backup two emerges from recent draft picks Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski, so much the better.
On the other hand, it’s easy to see the ceiling here. It’s been an amazing dynasty, but the youngest of the three key players behind it will be 34 in March, and Curry is the only one who projects to play at an All-Star level this season. It’s difficult to see this team missing the playoffs, but it’s also nearly as hard to see it getting past the second round.
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