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With two days off to relax at home the Cavs welcome the Sacramento Kings for the second and last game of their season series. The Kings defeated the Cavs on the west coast (or thereabouts) in November 127-120. Both teams shot the lights out, hitting 53% from the field and 42-43% from deep.
That was the famous “arrogant basketball” game where Bickerstaff ripped the Cavs after the loss for not playing “purposefully”. At halftime a Cavs’ assistant coach interviewed on camera said the team showed a “lack of effort”. The Kings scored 69 points in the first half to lead by 11 and held on to win. Seven Kings’ players scored between 14 and 21 points in a terrific exhibition of balanced scoring.
The other contributing factor that night was Darius Garland being “under the weather” with an illness. Garland played 34 minutes and was 1-for-9 from the field for 6 points. He also turned the ball over four times and the Cavs as a team had 18 turnovers against 9 for the Kings.
This time around the Cavs are at home, Garland is fine, and I trust the team will not come out with complacency and a lack of effort in the first half. I’m sure JBB will remind them before the game.
The Kings started the season 0-4 but are 13-6 since then. They are 5-6 on the road. On Wednesday they lost to the Bucks 126-113 in Milwaukee. The Kings average 123 points per game at home and 115 on the road.
The Kings are an offensive juggernaut, ranking 2nd in scoring, but they’re well below average defensively, resulting in a lot of high scoring games. The 127-120 win over the Cavs is a good example.
Offensively, the Kings play the right way as they share the ball. They rank 6th in assists per play and six players average between 13-23 points per game. They are 4th in fast break points and 4th in effective FG percentage.
The only thing they don’t do well offensively is rebounding where they rank 28th. If you can make them miss the first shot you’re in good shape.
The Kings throw up a lot of 3’s, ranking 6th in 3-rate, but they are only 14th in 3-point accuracy. They make 39% at home and 32% on the road, so hopefully they’ll miss a lot tonight.
Domantas Sabonis, 6’11’, 240 pounds, leads the team in rebounds and assists and is second in scoring (17 points, 11 rebounds, 6.6 assists). He’s shooting 61% from the field and 39% on 3’s.
PG De’Aaron Fox leads in scoring (22.8) and is hitting 51% from the field. SG Kevin Huerter, SF Harrison Barnes, and SG Malik Monk average 13-15 points per game. They all shot 48-49% from the field. Huerter is 6’7” and hits 43% of his 3’s. They have a shooting guard named Isaiah Joe who comes off the bench and shoots 45.5% from deep. He went 7-for-10 in a game a couple of weeks ago.
The Kings feature lots of assists, excellent shooting percentages, and balanced scoring.
As a team the Kings are hitting 49.2% overall and 37.4% on 3’s. The good news is they are eight points worse offensively on the road. In the eastern time zone they’re probably a little worse; they scored 107 at Miami, 106 at Atlanta, and 104 at Boston, although the had a couple of high scoring games as well. The Cavs lead the NBA in scoring defense so this game will be a battle between great offense and great defense when the Kings have the ball.
The Kings are 23rd in scoring defense and 25th in opponents’ points in the paint, so Allen and Mobley could have a lot of success inside. Sabonis is tall but he’s not a rim defender. The Kings are last in the NBA in block percentage so Mitchell, Garland, and LeVert should be able to score at the rim.
Obviously the Cavs should go inside. But the Kings are 27th in opponents’ 3-point percentage so they don’t defend the perimeter well, either. They do rebound very well on the defensive glass, ranking 3rd, so you have to hit your first shot.
Donovan Mitchell lit them up for 38 points in Sacramento, going 16-for-28 overall and 10-for-14 on 2-point shots. I don’t think Fox and Huerter defend well. Jrue Holiday got 31 points on them Wednesday.
Fortunately the Cavs have Jarrett Allen back and well-rested. He played Sabonis to a standoff in the first game (Allen 20 pts, 7 boards; Sabonis 21 pts, 6 boards). However, Kevin Love is out and Donovan Mitchell is a game time decision with "lower leg soreness". The Cavs have a game tomorrow against OKC so they may sit Mitchell tonight in hopes he can go tomorrow.
If Mitchell is out this one could go either way.
To win this game the Cavs need to come out with a lot of energy and intensity and no arrogance this time. They need to take the Kings seriously and play tough defense instead of allowing 69 points in the first half. Garland needs to have his normal game and the Cavs need to reduce the turnovers from last time. Allen needs to win or play even against Sabonis and we could use a big game by Caris LeVert if Mitchell can't go. The Kings don't block shots or defend the paint well so the Cavs should pound it inside to their bigs.
This game will be a nice test for the Cavs’ defense, currently best in the league at 104.9 points per game. The second place team, Philadelphia, is well back at 107.6.
That was the famous “arrogant basketball” game where Bickerstaff ripped the Cavs after the loss for not playing “purposefully”. At halftime a Cavs’ assistant coach interviewed on camera said the team showed a “lack of effort”. The Kings scored 69 points in the first half to lead by 11 and held on to win. Seven Kings’ players scored between 14 and 21 points in a terrific exhibition of balanced scoring.
The other contributing factor that night was Darius Garland being “under the weather” with an illness. Garland played 34 minutes and was 1-for-9 from the field for 6 points. He also turned the ball over four times and the Cavs as a team had 18 turnovers against 9 for the Kings.
This time around the Cavs are at home, Garland is fine, and I trust the team will not come out with complacency and a lack of effort in the first half. I’m sure JBB will remind them before the game.
The Kings started the season 0-4 but are 13-6 since then. They are 5-6 on the road. On Wednesday they lost to the Bucks 126-113 in Milwaukee. The Kings average 123 points per game at home and 115 on the road.
The Kings are an offensive juggernaut, ranking 2nd in scoring, but they’re well below average defensively, resulting in a lot of high scoring games. The 127-120 win over the Cavs is a good example.
Offensively, the Kings play the right way as they share the ball. They rank 6th in assists per play and six players average between 13-23 points per game. They are 4th in fast break points and 4th in effective FG percentage.
The only thing they don’t do well offensively is rebounding where they rank 28th. If you can make them miss the first shot you’re in good shape.
The Kings throw up a lot of 3’s, ranking 6th in 3-rate, but they are only 14th in 3-point accuracy. They make 39% at home and 32% on the road, so hopefully they’ll miss a lot tonight.
Domantas Sabonis, 6’11’, 240 pounds, leads the team in rebounds and assists and is second in scoring (17 points, 11 rebounds, 6.6 assists). He’s shooting 61% from the field and 39% on 3’s.
PG De’Aaron Fox leads in scoring (22.8) and is hitting 51% from the field. SG Kevin Huerter, SF Harrison Barnes, and SG Malik Monk average 13-15 points per game. They all shot 48-49% from the field. Huerter is 6’7” and hits 43% of his 3’s. They have a shooting guard named Isaiah Joe who comes off the bench and shoots 45.5% from deep. He went 7-for-10 in a game a couple of weeks ago.
The Kings feature lots of assists, excellent shooting percentages, and balanced scoring.
As a team the Kings are hitting 49.2% overall and 37.4% on 3’s. The good news is they are eight points worse offensively on the road. In the eastern time zone they’re probably a little worse; they scored 107 at Miami, 106 at Atlanta, and 104 at Boston, although the had a couple of high scoring games as well. The Cavs lead the NBA in scoring defense so this game will be a battle between great offense and great defense when the Kings have the ball.
The Kings are 23rd in scoring defense and 25th in opponents’ points in the paint, so Allen and Mobley could have a lot of success inside. Sabonis is tall but he’s not a rim defender. The Kings are last in the NBA in block percentage so Mitchell, Garland, and LeVert should be able to score at the rim.
Obviously the Cavs should go inside. But the Kings are 27th in opponents’ 3-point percentage so they don’t defend the perimeter well, either. They do rebound very well on the defensive glass, ranking 3rd, so you have to hit your first shot.
Donovan Mitchell lit them up for 38 points in Sacramento, going 16-for-28 overall and 10-for-14 on 2-point shots. I don’t think Fox and Huerter defend well. Jrue Holiday got 31 points on them Wednesday.
Fortunately the Cavs have Jarrett Allen back and well-rested. He played Sabonis to a standoff in the first game (Allen 20 pts, 7 boards; Sabonis 21 pts, 6 boards). However, Kevin Love is out and Donovan Mitchell is a game time decision with "lower leg soreness". The Cavs have a game tomorrow against OKC so they may sit Mitchell tonight in hopes he can go tomorrow.
If Mitchell is out this one could go either way.
To win this game the Cavs need to come out with a lot of energy and intensity and no arrogance this time. They need to take the Kings seriously and play tough defense instead of allowing 69 points in the first half. Garland needs to have his normal game and the Cavs need to reduce the turnovers from last time. Allen needs to win or play even against Sabonis and we could use a big game by Caris LeVert if Mitchell can't go. The Kings don't block shots or defend the paint well so the Cavs should pound it inside to their bigs.
This game will be a nice test for the Cavs’ defense, currently best in the league at 104.9 points per game. The second place team, Philadelphia, is well back at 107.6.
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