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The Cavs have now tied the NBA record for longest streak of consecutive games winning and scoring 110+ PTS.
14 straight - CLEVELAND (2024-25)
14 straight - Boston (1985-86)
The Cavs return home after an impressive road win over the Bucks with a chance to become the first team in NBA history to win 15 straight games scoring over 110 points in each game. They will be taking on the Brooklyn Nets, who they are 3-0 against this year. In the last game between these teams on February 20 the Cavs won 110-97 in Brooklyn as the Nets shot just 28% on 3’s. The Nets were missing Cam Thomas, their leading scorer.
The Nets are 22-42 and had lost seven in a row before beating the LeBronless Lakers Monday night at home. So the Nets will be playing the second night of a back-to-back with travel. The Nets are 12-21 on the road and 11-22 against teams .500 and above.
The Nets play with the slowest pace in the NBA and rank 29th in field goal attempts per game. They do nothing well offensively. They rank 29th in turnovers per possession and 26th in effective field goal percentage. They do take a lot of 3’s, ranking 6th at 45%, but they are 27th in 3-point shooting percentage. As a result they are 29th in scoring at 105.1 points per game.
In three games against the Cavs the Nets have averaged 99.3 points on 42% from the field and 34% on 3’s. Cam Thomas scored 22 points in the only game he played. Cam Johnson is averaging 21.0 points in three games. Nobody else on the Nets is averaging more than 11.0 against the Cavs.
Cam Thomas leads the Nets with a 23.8 scoring average on 44% overall and 35% on 3’s. He missed last night’s game with a hamstring injury and I don’t know if he’ll be out tonight. Cam Johnson averages 19 points on 48% and 40%. D’Angelo Russell averages 14 points and 6 assists but is shooting only 40% and 32%. Nic Claxton averages 10.1 points and 7.4 rebounds. Nobody else averages in double figures.
Defensively they’re not much better, ranking 27th in effective field goal percentage. They rank 11th in opponents’ scoring because they play so slow that they limit shot attempts (2nd in opponents’ field goal attempts per game) and they force a lot of turnovers (4th). The Nets are 16th defensively at the rim, 20th in the mid-range, and 27th against the 3-pointer.
Normally I would say the Cavs should take a lot of 3’s since the Nets are near the bottom in defending that shot, but in the last game the Cavs were 11-for-39 from deep and that allowed the Nets to hang around. Brooklyn was within 6 going into the 4th but the Cavs gradually pulled away.
I believe the way that inferior teams try to upset superior teams is to slow the game down, limit the number of possessions by both teams, and force the opponent to shoot 3's. Then hope the opponent has an unusually bad shooting night.
The Nets are not in the same league as the Cavaliers, they are playing on the road where they have not done well, and they are on the second night of a back-to-back with travel while the Cavs had Monday off. On paper it’s the Cavs going away but we’ve seen how capable and willing the Cavs are to play down to the level of the competition. Last game was within six points going into the 4th but the Cavs buckled down and pushed the lead to 19 before calling off the dogs with three minutes to go.
Cam Thomas and Trenton Watford did not play last night and are questionable.
14 straight - CLEVELAND (2024-25)
14 straight - Boston (1985-86)
The Cavs return home after an impressive road win over the Bucks with a chance to become the first team in NBA history to win 15 straight games scoring over 110 points in each game. They will be taking on the Brooklyn Nets, who they are 3-0 against this year. In the last game between these teams on February 20 the Cavs won 110-97 in Brooklyn as the Nets shot just 28% on 3’s. The Nets were missing Cam Thomas, their leading scorer.
The Nets are 22-42 and had lost seven in a row before beating the LeBronless Lakers Monday night at home. So the Nets will be playing the second night of a back-to-back with travel. The Nets are 12-21 on the road and 11-22 against teams .500 and above.
The Nets play with the slowest pace in the NBA and rank 29th in field goal attempts per game. They do nothing well offensively. They rank 29th in turnovers per possession and 26th in effective field goal percentage. They do take a lot of 3’s, ranking 6th at 45%, but they are 27th in 3-point shooting percentage. As a result they are 29th in scoring at 105.1 points per game.
In three games against the Cavs the Nets have averaged 99.3 points on 42% from the field and 34% on 3’s. Cam Thomas scored 22 points in the only game he played. Cam Johnson is averaging 21.0 points in three games. Nobody else on the Nets is averaging more than 11.0 against the Cavs.
Cam Thomas leads the Nets with a 23.8 scoring average on 44% overall and 35% on 3’s. He missed last night’s game with a hamstring injury and I don’t know if he’ll be out tonight. Cam Johnson averages 19 points on 48% and 40%. D’Angelo Russell averages 14 points and 6 assists but is shooting only 40% and 32%. Nic Claxton averages 10.1 points and 7.4 rebounds. Nobody else averages in double figures.
Defensively they’re not much better, ranking 27th in effective field goal percentage. They rank 11th in opponents’ scoring because they play so slow that they limit shot attempts (2nd in opponents’ field goal attempts per game) and they force a lot of turnovers (4th). The Nets are 16th defensively at the rim, 20th in the mid-range, and 27th against the 3-pointer.
Normally I would say the Cavs should take a lot of 3’s since the Nets are near the bottom in defending that shot, but in the last game the Cavs were 11-for-39 from deep and that allowed the Nets to hang around. Brooklyn was within 6 going into the 4th but the Cavs gradually pulled away.
I believe the way that inferior teams try to upset superior teams is to slow the game down, limit the number of possessions by both teams, and force the opponent to shoot 3's. Then hope the opponent has an unusually bad shooting night.
The Nets are not in the same league as the Cavaliers, they are playing on the road where they have not done well, and they are on the second night of a back-to-back with travel while the Cavs had Monday off. On paper it’s the Cavs going away but we’ve seen how capable and willing the Cavs are to play down to the level of the competition. Last game was within six points going into the 4th but the Cavs buckled down and pushed the lead to 19 before calling off the dogs with three minutes to go.
Cam Thomas and Trenton Watford did not play last night and are questionable.
