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With a chance to set a season high with 16 straight wins the Cavs arrive in Memphis for a rematch with the Grizzlies, who they beat in Cleveland on Feb. 23 by a 129-123 score. The Cavs were without Darius Garland but still managed to pull out a win. The Grizzlies are 42-24 and in 3rd place in the West, 0.5 games behind Denver and 0.5 games ahead of the Lakers. Obviously this game is way more important to Memphis than it is to the Cavs.
The Grizzlies are 24-10 at home but just 12-18 against teams .500 and over. They are 27-9 against losing teams so they appear to be one of those teams like the Knicks that consistently beat up on the bad teams but don’t do very well against winners.
The Grizzlies have won four in a row but those wins were against some very bad teams; Dallas (without Kyrie and Luka), New Orleans, Phoenix and Utah. Before that they lost 7 of 9, so it’s hard to tell how well they’re playing now.
Jaren Jackson Jr is a game time decision and that is significant. Jackson scored 22 points against the Cavs in the first game. He leads the Grizzlies in scoring at 22.7 ppg on 49.7% from the field. He also leads in blocked shots. His backup, Santi Aldama, is out, so if Jackson can't go the Grizzlies will be down to their third power forward going against Evan Mobley.
The Grizzlies are second to the Cavs in points per game, so this game features the two highest scoring teams in the league. Memphis ranks 2nd in points in the paint and 9th in fast break points. They lead the league in field goal attempts per game and are 8th in effective field goal percentage. They’re only 21st in 3-point rate so they prefer to attack the rim. They’re 10th in 3-point percentage, however. They draw a lot of fouls, ranking 5th in free throw attempts per possession.
Even when they miss they’re a problem as they rank 2nd in offensive rebound percentage. The only thing they are below average offensively is turnover rate, where they rank 23rd.
They’re below average defensively, ranking 25th in opponents’ points per game. The Cavs scored 129 on them without Darius. They’re solid in the paint, ranking 13th, and defending the 3-pointer, where they also rank 13th. But they allow a lot of shots (25th) and they’re below average at defensive rebounding (20th). They’re 12th in forcing turnovers.
If Jackson can't go they won’t be as good defensively.
Ja Morant is their second leading scorer at 21.7 ppg and 7.5 assists. He is shooting 44% overall and 28% on 3’s, so he has not been very efficient. Desmond Bane is having a great year at 18.7 points on 49% and 37%. Seven-footer Santi Aldama averages 13 points and 7 rebounds but is out as noted above. If both he and Jackson are out it will cripple their defense and rebounding.
Sharpshooter Luke Kennard is coming off a 30-point game against Utah on Wednesday. He scored 19 points in 26 minutes against the Cavs last month on 6-for-8 from the field. They can’t let him take open 3’s; he’ll knock them down all night. For the season he’s hitting 45% which leads the NBA.
In the first game the Cavs were awful on 3’s, making just 13-of-47 for 28%. They also missed 11 free throws (24-for-35) but still scored 129 points. It’s scary to think how many they would have put up with just an average shooting night. Mobley had 25 points on 1-for-8 on 3’s and 9-for-12 on 2’s. Mitchell had 33 and Jerome 26 off the bench. Wade and Hunter combined to go 0-for-7 on 3’s.
The keys to this game will be to shoot better, especially on 3's and free throws, and to not let Kennard have a big game off the bench.
Donovan Mitchell will be out for the second consecutive game with a groin injury. Darius Garland is 4-for-19 on 3’s in his last two games. Even in his 30-point game against Brooklyn he was just 3-for-11.
The Cavs have had two days off going into this one while the Grizzlies had one. The Grizzlies are tough at home but they are missing Jackson and have not done well against teams over .500 and the Cavs are over .500 by more than anybody. The Grizzlies are fighting for the #2 seed and to stay out of the #4 seed so every game is huge for them. The Cavs have less motivation but more talent.
This one could go either way, although not having Mitchell will make it tough for the Cavs. The Cavs won the first game with Garland out and awful 3-point and free throw shooting, so if they can shoot better and not have to deal with Jaren Jackson’s defense they could have another 130-point game.
After the win in Cleveland, in which the Cavs outrebounded the Grizzlies 57-37 and had 22 offensive rebounds, Atkinson had this:
"We upped our physicality,” Atkinson said. “I felt like physically we, you could say, dominated. That’s really tough against a team like this when that’s their identity. We kind of turned that on them."
I’m sure that going into this one the Memphis coaches will point out that the Cavs destroyed them on the offensive glass and after the game Atkinson told the media that “physically we dominated”. I’m sure the Grizzlies will come out super aggressive and make it a priority NOT to be dominated this time.
Lately the Cavs have been playing just well enough to win. If they're playing a bad team they play down to their level, get behind, and then come back to win. If they're playing a good team they increase the intensity like they did a few weeks ago against Memphis. It will be interesting to see if they can up the intensity enough to get their 16th straight win playing on the road without Donovan against a quality team that needs every win they can get.
The Grizzlies are 24-10 at home but just 12-18 against teams .500 and over. They are 27-9 against losing teams so they appear to be one of those teams like the Knicks that consistently beat up on the bad teams but don’t do very well against winners.
The Grizzlies have won four in a row but those wins were against some very bad teams; Dallas (without Kyrie and Luka), New Orleans, Phoenix and Utah. Before that they lost 7 of 9, so it’s hard to tell how well they’re playing now.
Jaren Jackson Jr is a game time decision and that is significant. Jackson scored 22 points against the Cavs in the first game. He leads the Grizzlies in scoring at 22.7 ppg on 49.7% from the field. He also leads in blocked shots. His backup, Santi Aldama, is out, so if Jackson can't go the Grizzlies will be down to their third power forward going against Evan Mobley.
The Grizzlies are second to the Cavs in points per game, so this game features the two highest scoring teams in the league. Memphis ranks 2nd in points in the paint and 9th in fast break points. They lead the league in field goal attempts per game and are 8th in effective field goal percentage. They’re only 21st in 3-point rate so they prefer to attack the rim. They’re 10th in 3-point percentage, however. They draw a lot of fouls, ranking 5th in free throw attempts per possession.
Even when they miss they’re a problem as they rank 2nd in offensive rebound percentage. The only thing they are below average offensively is turnover rate, where they rank 23rd.
They’re below average defensively, ranking 25th in opponents’ points per game. The Cavs scored 129 on them without Darius. They’re solid in the paint, ranking 13th, and defending the 3-pointer, where they also rank 13th. But they allow a lot of shots (25th) and they’re below average at defensive rebounding (20th). They’re 12th in forcing turnovers.
If Jackson can't go they won’t be as good defensively.
Ja Morant is their second leading scorer at 21.7 ppg and 7.5 assists. He is shooting 44% overall and 28% on 3’s, so he has not been very efficient. Desmond Bane is having a great year at 18.7 points on 49% and 37%. Seven-footer Santi Aldama averages 13 points and 7 rebounds but is out as noted above. If both he and Jackson are out it will cripple their defense and rebounding.
Sharpshooter Luke Kennard is coming off a 30-point game against Utah on Wednesday. He scored 19 points in 26 minutes against the Cavs last month on 6-for-8 from the field. They can’t let him take open 3’s; he’ll knock them down all night. For the season he’s hitting 45% which leads the NBA.
In the first game the Cavs were awful on 3’s, making just 13-of-47 for 28%. They also missed 11 free throws (24-for-35) but still scored 129 points. It’s scary to think how many they would have put up with just an average shooting night. Mobley had 25 points on 1-for-8 on 3’s and 9-for-12 on 2’s. Mitchell had 33 and Jerome 26 off the bench. Wade and Hunter combined to go 0-for-7 on 3’s.
The keys to this game will be to shoot better, especially on 3's and free throws, and to not let Kennard have a big game off the bench.
Donovan Mitchell will be out for the second consecutive game with a groin injury. Darius Garland is 4-for-19 on 3’s in his last two games. Even in his 30-point game against Brooklyn he was just 3-for-11.
The Cavs have had two days off going into this one while the Grizzlies had one. The Grizzlies are tough at home but they are missing Jackson and have not done well against teams over .500 and the Cavs are over .500 by more than anybody. The Grizzlies are fighting for the #2 seed and to stay out of the #4 seed so every game is huge for them. The Cavs have less motivation but more talent.
This one could go either way, although not having Mitchell will make it tough for the Cavs. The Cavs won the first game with Garland out and awful 3-point and free throw shooting, so if they can shoot better and not have to deal with Jaren Jackson’s defense they could have another 130-point game.
After the win in Cleveland, in which the Cavs outrebounded the Grizzlies 57-37 and had 22 offensive rebounds, Atkinson had this:
"We upped our physicality,” Atkinson said. “I felt like physically we, you could say, dominated. That’s really tough against a team like this when that’s their identity. We kind of turned that on them."
I’m sure that going into this one the Memphis coaches will point out that the Cavs destroyed them on the offensive glass and after the game Atkinson told the media that “physically we dominated”. I’m sure the Grizzlies will come out super aggressive and make it a priority NOT to be dominated this time.
Lately the Cavs have been playing just well enough to win. If they're playing a bad team they play down to their level, get behind, and then come back to win. If they're playing a good team they increase the intensity like they did a few weeks ago against Memphis. It will be interesting to see if they can up the intensity enough to get their 16th straight win playing on the road without Donovan against a quality team that needs every win they can get.