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The Cavs get back on the road to take on the Dallas Mavericks, who are 10-8 and have lost four of five. However, those losses were to Phoenix (17-3) twice, the Clippers (11-8) twice, and Washington (13-7). Dallas is 6-2 at home.
Dallas has been beating up on weaker teams; 9 of their 10 wins are against teams .500 or below. They are 1-7 against teams over .500.
This will be a game between two teams who are significantly better defensively than scoring the ball. This could be another low-scoring slugfest where points are hard to come by.
The Mavericks are 23rd in points per game and 29th in points in the paint, so I don’t see them scoring a lot inside against the Cavs. They are mainly a 3-point shooting team, ranking 7th in 3-point rate. However, they are only 22nd in 3-point shooting percentage, so they probably take more 3’s than they should given the results.
Despite missing two-thirds of their 3-point shots, the Mavs are only 22nd in offensive rebounding. Their biggest strength offensively is ball protection; their turnover percentage is the lowest in the league. The Mavs are averaging 104.1 points. The Cavaliers should be able to hold them under 100 unless the Mavs get hot from deep.
Doncic runs the offense, averaging 25.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.1 assists. He’s shooting 44.0% overall and 31.5% from deep - not the greatest percentages. Kristaps Porzingas, 7’3”, is back, averaging 20.5 points on 45.6%. Point guard Jalen Brunson, a 2nd round pick in 2018, is averaging 15.1 points and 5.3 assists in 29 minutes. However, Brunson has a foot injury and is listed as questionable. Doncic is their primary point guard.
Defensively the Mavs are 11th in scoring, so they’re above average defensively. They’re 2nd in defensive rebounding so you better make your first shot. They’re a little below average in points in the paint so the Cavs should take it inside. The Mavs are only 23rd in block percentage.
I don’t think the Mavericks are as good as their 10-8 record suggests as they are 1-7 against winning teams and 9-1 against .500 and below. They’re the second worst team in the NBA at scoring in the paint and the Cavs defend the paint very well, so Dallas will live or die by the outside shot tonight and they’re only shooting 33.3% on 3’s.
Defensively they’re not great at shot blocking or defending the paint so I can see the Cavs having success pounding the ball inside with Frobley and Mark. This actually looks like a pretty good matchup for the Cavs and if they can force the Mavs to shoot a lot of contested 3’s they should hold them to around 90-95 points which gives them a chance to win.
It could come down to the Mavericks ability to hit from outside against the Cavs’ ability to score in the paint. Dean Wade and Cedi Osman are listed as day-to-day.
Dallas has been beating up on weaker teams; 9 of their 10 wins are against teams .500 or below. They are 1-7 against teams over .500.
This will be a game between two teams who are significantly better defensively than scoring the ball. This could be another low-scoring slugfest where points are hard to come by.
The Mavericks are 23rd in points per game and 29th in points in the paint, so I don’t see them scoring a lot inside against the Cavs. They are mainly a 3-point shooting team, ranking 7th in 3-point rate. However, they are only 22nd in 3-point shooting percentage, so they probably take more 3’s than they should given the results.
Despite missing two-thirds of their 3-point shots, the Mavs are only 22nd in offensive rebounding. Their biggest strength offensively is ball protection; their turnover percentage is the lowest in the league. The Mavs are averaging 104.1 points. The Cavaliers should be able to hold them under 100 unless the Mavs get hot from deep.
Doncic runs the offense, averaging 25.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.1 assists. He’s shooting 44.0% overall and 31.5% from deep - not the greatest percentages. Kristaps Porzingas, 7’3”, is back, averaging 20.5 points on 45.6%. Point guard Jalen Brunson, a 2nd round pick in 2018, is averaging 15.1 points and 5.3 assists in 29 minutes. However, Brunson has a foot injury and is listed as questionable. Doncic is their primary point guard.
Defensively the Mavs are 11th in scoring, so they’re above average defensively. They’re 2nd in defensive rebounding so you better make your first shot. They’re a little below average in points in the paint so the Cavs should take it inside. The Mavs are only 23rd in block percentage.
I don’t think the Mavericks are as good as their 10-8 record suggests as they are 1-7 against winning teams and 9-1 against .500 and below. They’re the second worst team in the NBA at scoring in the paint and the Cavs defend the paint very well, so Dallas will live or die by the outside shot tonight and they’re only shooting 33.3% on 3’s.
Defensively they’re not great at shot blocking or defending the paint so I can see the Cavs having success pounding the ball inside with Frobley and Mark. This actually looks like a pretty good matchup for the Cavs and if they can force the Mavs to shoot a lot of contested 3’s they should hold them to around 90-95 points which gives them a chance to win.
It could come down to the Mavericks ability to hit from outside against the Cavs’ ability to score in the paint. Dean Wade and Cedi Osman are listed as day-to-day.
