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The Cavaliers take their 12-game win streak south for the first of a two-game road trip against the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets are 14-47 on the year and have lost 19 of their last 22 games. The Cavaliers are 3-0 against Charlotte, having won by 14 and 10 points at home and by 14 in Charlotte.
In the 116-102 win in Charlotte both LeMelo Ball and Miles Bridges were out. They should both be available tomorrow. Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 25 points that game and he is out.
Actually, the Hornets will be missing 5 of their top 7 scorers; Brandon Miller (21 ppg), Mark Williams (16 points, 10 rebounds), Tre Mann (14 points), Grant Williams (10 points), and Josh Okogie (10 points). Mark Williams is getting a rest day. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team missing 5 of its top 7 scorers.
In addition, LaMelo Ball, Josh Green, Jusuf Nurkic, and Nick Smith Jr are game time decisions. Ball and Green are sick while Nurkic and Smith are dealing with injuries.
So the Hornets are a mess with six players out and four more questionable. The only key player who is not on the injury report is Miles Bridges, who averages 20 points and 8 rebounds; however, his shooting percentages are just 43% overall and 32% on 3’s. Ball is averaging 26 ppg but on high volume as he is hitting only 41% overall and 33% on 3’s. After Ball and Bridges none of the players that will be available are averaging more than 8 points per game. Smith is averaging 9 points, Green 8, and Nurkic 7.
Nurkic (7’0”, 290) is the backup center. Next on the depth chart is former Cavalier Moussa Diabate (6’9”, 210). After Nurkic they have nobody over 6’9” who can play basketball right now; it’s just Diabate at 210 pounds and Taj Gibson at age 39. They do have 6’8” Tidjane Salaun, who was the #6 overall pick this year, but he’s been a disaster, shooting 31% from the field and averaging 5 points in 19 minutes.
So that’s about it. I’m not going into the stats; I think the Hornets record speaks for itself. They have lost eight in a row with seven of those losses by double digits. Their last win was on the road against the Lakers in a game where both LeBron and Doncic played, so the Hornets can knock you off if you take them for granted. That was Doncic’s first game as a Laker and he must have been nervous as he went 5-for-18. Or he was laughing so hard at the Hornets that his shots weren’t going in.
I expect the Cavs will come out screwing around again and let these guys hang around until the 4th quarter. It seems like their new MO. Maybe Kenny wants them to work on winning the close ones.
In the 116-102 win in Charlotte both LeMelo Ball and Miles Bridges were out. They should both be available tomorrow. Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 25 points that game and he is out.
Actually, the Hornets will be missing 5 of their top 7 scorers; Brandon Miller (21 ppg), Mark Williams (16 points, 10 rebounds), Tre Mann (14 points), Grant Williams (10 points), and Josh Okogie (10 points). Mark Williams is getting a rest day. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team missing 5 of its top 7 scorers.
In addition, LaMelo Ball, Josh Green, Jusuf Nurkic, and Nick Smith Jr are game time decisions. Ball and Green are sick while Nurkic and Smith are dealing with injuries.
So the Hornets are a mess with six players out and four more questionable. The only key player who is not on the injury report is Miles Bridges, who averages 20 points and 8 rebounds; however, his shooting percentages are just 43% overall and 32% on 3’s. Ball is averaging 26 ppg but on high volume as he is hitting only 41% overall and 33% on 3’s. After Ball and Bridges none of the players that will be available are averaging more than 8 points per game. Smith is averaging 9 points, Green 8, and Nurkic 7.
Nurkic (7’0”, 290) is the backup center. Next on the depth chart is former Cavalier Moussa Diabate (6’9”, 210). After Nurkic they have nobody over 6’9” who can play basketball right now; it’s just Diabate at 210 pounds and Taj Gibson at age 39. They do have 6’8” Tidjane Salaun, who was the #6 overall pick this year, but he’s been a disaster, shooting 31% from the field and averaging 5 points in 19 minutes.
So that’s about it. I’m not going into the stats; I think the Hornets record speaks for itself. They have lost eight in a row with seven of those losses by double digits. Their last win was on the road against the Lakers in a game where both LeBron and Doncic played, so the Hornets can knock you off if you take them for granted. That was Doncic’s first game as a Laker and he must have been nervous as he went 5-for-18. Or he was laughing so hard at the Hornets that his shots weren’t going in.
I expect the Cavs will come out screwing around again and let these guys hang around until the 4th quarter. It seems like their new MO. Maybe Kenny wants them to work on winning the close ones.
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