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The Cavaliers, on a four-game roll, return home to take on the 15-7 Utah Jazz. Both teams were off yesterday. This is the first game of a road trip for the Jazz, who are 6-3 on the road. With the Browns on a bye the NBA scheduled a Sunday matinee. Game starts at 3:30.
The Jazz, coming off an extended home stand, are hot, winning 7 of their last 9. In their last three games they scored 127, 129, and 137 points. On Friday they beat Boston 137-130. The Celtics rank 12th in scoring defense. The Jazz are blistering the nets and are the 2nd highest scoring team in the Association at 114.2 ppg.
Utah hit a season-high 27 3-pointers and shot 53% from long distance against the Celtics. It marked the first time this season that an opponent had made 20 or more 3-pointers against Boston. - nba.com
This game will be a great test of the Cavaliers’ defense, currently ranked 2nd in scoring and allowing an average of 93.5 points over their four-game winning streak. The irresistible force against the immovable object.
The Jazz depend on 3-point shooting more than any team; they are first in 3-point rate, putting up a 3 on 49.2% of their shots. They are first in percentage of points from 3’s and last in percentage of points from 2’s. They are 10th in shooting percentage on 3’s at 36.6%. Any game plan against Utah has to start with defending the 3.
Fortunately, the Cavs excel in defending the 3, ranking 6th in opponent’s 3-point percentage. They rank 5th in opponents’ 3-point rate, meaning teams don’t take many 3’s against the Cavs. It’s not just shooting percentage, it’s also shot prevention. In a lot of cases opponents want to take a 3 but can’t because they have a 7-footer in their face.
Recently the Cavs have been even better. In their last 13 games no opponent has shot 40% on 3’s, which is the longest current streak in the NBA. This game could come down to whether the Cavs can effectively defend the Jazz long range shooting.
When Cleveland has the ball it’s the opposite; Utah ranks 4th in defending 3’s and 17th in allowing points in the paint. Outside of Rudy Gobert the Jazz have a small lineup. They remind me of Miami - a smaller but very skilled and very experienced (and older) team.
Their starters are: Gobert (7’1”), Bogdanovich (6’7”), O’Neale (6’5”), Mitchell (6’1”), and Conley (6’1”). Coming off the bench are Jordan Clarkson (6’4”), Joe Ingles (6’8”), and Rudy Gay (6’8”). Bogdanovich is 32, Conley 34, Ingles 34, and Gay 35. Ingles and Gay are pretty much strictly 3-point shooters at this point. If youth is an advantage the Cavs have it.
Other than the Allen/Gobert matchup the Cavs will have a big height advantage with Mobley and Marky matched up with guys 6’7” and 6’5”. Since the Jazz defend the 3 very well but are only average in the paint, I expect the Cavs to pound the rock inside whenever possible. Gobert will try to help and get some ambush blocks, which will leave Allen open for passes under the rim.
That being said, the Cavs are white hot on 3’s lately. In their last three games they are 39-for-80 from deep (48.8%). They’re at home after a day off so if the shot is there they should take it.
What’s really impressive is that their top 3-point shooter, Cedi Osman at 43.0%, missed those games and they still shot nearly 50%. Looks like they’re getting used to the new ball.
Boston scored 130 in Utah without Jaylen Brown Friday night. They average 107. Utah ranks 5th in scoring defense, but Boston figured something out. The Cavs should watch that tape.
Within the game it will be fun to watch the individual matchups of Allen vs. Gobert and Donovan Mitchell vs. Isaac Okoro (when Utah has the ball).
Mitchell averages 23.7 ppg on 44% from the field and 33% on 3’s. He puts up 20 shots per game. The Cavs held Bradley Beal to 10-for-36 in two games so it will be interesting to see how well they can contain Mitchell.
Gobert averages 15.3 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks on 73.9% shooting. Obviously he has a similar game to Jarrett Allen. Gobert is a three-time NBA DPOY so we’ll see what Allen can do against him. Darius Garland is going to have to make those lobs a little higher than usual to get them over Gobert.
Allen has scored between 19-28 points in his last six games on 73.7% so he’s on a roll but facing Gobert will be a huge test.
If Garland is guarded by 34-year-old Mike Conley he should be able to get penetration. If Mitchell takes him that will be another great individual matchup to watch.
I’d like to see Marky and Love taking corner 3’s against the shorter Utah forwards when they’re not punishing them in the low post.
Bogdanovich at age 32 is still shooting very well; 46.2% and 40.6%. He’s averaging 16.9 ppg and is their second leading scorer. Jordan Clarkson is only shooting 37.7% and 30.1%. He’s well below his career averages for some reason but gets 15.1 ppg on shot volume.
Here are the top 3-point shooters the Cavs need to be concerned about: Bogdanovich 40.6%, Conley 47.0%, O’Neale 37.0%, Gay 48.7%, and Ingles 41.7%. Pretty impressive numbers.
So I think it will come down to the Cavs’ ability to stop the 3-point shot and prevent Mitchell from going off. He hasn’t had any 50-point games yet but got his season high of 34 against Boston on Friday.
Utah leads the league in 3-pointers made per game and they just hit 27 of them against a team that hasn’t allowed 20 all season. The Cavs are 3rd in 3’s allowed per game, so something has to give.
On offense the keys will be the Cavs’ ability to score in the paint while also knocking down their open 3’s like they were doing on the road this week.
Utah has been extremely fortunate with injuries - in 22 games their starters have missed only 5 out of a possible 110 starts (Cavs’ starters have missed 30). The Jazz are 15-7 but they’ve played 13 of 22 games at home. They have also played a few bad teams. They beat Sacramento three times, OKC twice, Houston, Toronto, and New Orleans. That’s eight wins against some of the worst teams in the NBA. The Cavs haven’t played any of those teams except Toronto once. The Jazz have lost to some bad teams; New Orleans, Indy, and Orlando.
Let’s not kid ourselves, they’re a very good team with a +9.2 scoring differential which is second in the league. But they’ve played a lot of games at home, a lot against bad teams, and so far they’ve been injury free. The only player on the injured list is backup center Hassan Whiteside, who is day-to-day.
ESPN has Dean Wade out and Cedi Osman questionable.
This game will be a big test of where the Cavs are really at right now. Dallas is overrated and Miami was missing Butler and Bam. The win over the Wizards was impressive in every way, now let’s see if they can play like that against a better opponent.
The Jazz, coming off an extended home stand, are hot, winning 7 of their last 9. In their last three games they scored 127, 129, and 137 points. On Friday they beat Boston 137-130. The Celtics rank 12th in scoring defense. The Jazz are blistering the nets and are the 2nd highest scoring team in the Association at 114.2 ppg.
Utah hit a season-high 27 3-pointers and shot 53% from long distance against the Celtics. It marked the first time this season that an opponent had made 20 or more 3-pointers against Boston. - nba.com
This game will be a great test of the Cavaliers’ defense, currently ranked 2nd in scoring and allowing an average of 93.5 points over their four-game winning streak. The irresistible force against the immovable object.
The Jazz depend on 3-point shooting more than any team; they are first in 3-point rate, putting up a 3 on 49.2% of their shots. They are first in percentage of points from 3’s and last in percentage of points from 2’s. They are 10th in shooting percentage on 3’s at 36.6%. Any game plan against Utah has to start with defending the 3.
Fortunately, the Cavs excel in defending the 3, ranking 6th in opponent’s 3-point percentage. They rank 5th in opponents’ 3-point rate, meaning teams don’t take many 3’s against the Cavs. It’s not just shooting percentage, it’s also shot prevention. In a lot of cases opponents want to take a 3 but can’t because they have a 7-footer in their face.
Recently the Cavs have been even better. In their last 13 games no opponent has shot 40% on 3’s, which is the longest current streak in the NBA. This game could come down to whether the Cavs can effectively defend the Jazz long range shooting.
When Cleveland has the ball it’s the opposite; Utah ranks 4th in defending 3’s and 17th in allowing points in the paint. Outside of Rudy Gobert the Jazz have a small lineup. They remind me of Miami - a smaller but very skilled and very experienced (and older) team.
Their starters are: Gobert (7’1”), Bogdanovich (6’7”), O’Neale (6’5”), Mitchell (6’1”), and Conley (6’1”). Coming off the bench are Jordan Clarkson (6’4”), Joe Ingles (6’8”), and Rudy Gay (6’8”). Bogdanovich is 32, Conley 34, Ingles 34, and Gay 35. Ingles and Gay are pretty much strictly 3-point shooters at this point. If youth is an advantage the Cavs have it.
Other than the Allen/Gobert matchup the Cavs will have a big height advantage with Mobley and Marky matched up with guys 6’7” and 6’5”. Since the Jazz defend the 3 very well but are only average in the paint, I expect the Cavs to pound the rock inside whenever possible. Gobert will try to help and get some ambush blocks, which will leave Allen open for passes under the rim.
That being said, the Cavs are white hot on 3’s lately. In their last three games they are 39-for-80 from deep (48.8%). They’re at home after a day off so if the shot is there they should take it.
What’s really impressive is that their top 3-point shooter, Cedi Osman at 43.0%, missed those games and they still shot nearly 50%. Looks like they’re getting used to the new ball.
Boston scored 130 in Utah without Jaylen Brown Friday night. They average 107. Utah ranks 5th in scoring defense, but Boston figured something out. The Cavs should watch that tape.
Within the game it will be fun to watch the individual matchups of Allen vs. Gobert and Donovan Mitchell vs. Isaac Okoro (when Utah has the ball).
Mitchell averages 23.7 ppg on 44% from the field and 33% on 3’s. He puts up 20 shots per game. The Cavs held Bradley Beal to 10-for-36 in two games so it will be interesting to see how well they can contain Mitchell.
Gobert averages 15.3 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks on 73.9% shooting. Obviously he has a similar game to Jarrett Allen. Gobert is a three-time NBA DPOY so we’ll see what Allen can do against him. Darius Garland is going to have to make those lobs a little higher than usual to get them over Gobert.
Allen has scored between 19-28 points in his last six games on 73.7% so he’s on a roll but facing Gobert will be a huge test.
If Garland is guarded by 34-year-old Mike Conley he should be able to get penetration. If Mitchell takes him that will be another great individual matchup to watch.
I’d like to see Marky and Love taking corner 3’s against the shorter Utah forwards when they’re not punishing them in the low post.
Bogdanovich at age 32 is still shooting very well; 46.2% and 40.6%. He’s averaging 16.9 ppg and is their second leading scorer. Jordan Clarkson is only shooting 37.7% and 30.1%. He’s well below his career averages for some reason but gets 15.1 ppg on shot volume.
Here are the top 3-point shooters the Cavs need to be concerned about: Bogdanovich 40.6%, Conley 47.0%, O’Neale 37.0%, Gay 48.7%, and Ingles 41.7%. Pretty impressive numbers.
So I think it will come down to the Cavs’ ability to stop the 3-point shot and prevent Mitchell from going off. He hasn’t had any 50-point games yet but got his season high of 34 against Boston on Friday.
Utah leads the league in 3-pointers made per game and they just hit 27 of them against a team that hasn’t allowed 20 all season. The Cavs are 3rd in 3’s allowed per game, so something has to give.
On offense the keys will be the Cavs’ ability to score in the paint while also knocking down their open 3’s like they were doing on the road this week.
Utah has been extremely fortunate with injuries - in 22 games their starters have missed only 5 out of a possible 110 starts (Cavs’ starters have missed 30). The Jazz are 15-7 but they’ve played 13 of 22 games at home. They have also played a few bad teams. They beat Sacramento three times, OKC twice, Houston, Toronto, and New Orleans. That’s eight wins against some of the worst teams in the NBA. The Cavs haven’t played any of those teams except Toronto once. The Jazz have lost to some bad teams; New Orleans, Indy, and Orlando.
Let’s not kid ourselves, they’re a very good team with a +9.2 scoring differential which is second in the league. But they’ve played a lot of games at home, a lot against bad teams, and so far they’ve been injury free. The only player on the injured list is backup center Hassan Whiteside, who is day-to-day.
ESPN has Dean Wade out and Cedi Osman questionable.
This game will be a big test of where the Cavs are really at right now. Dallas is overrated and Miami was missing Butler and Bam. The win over the Wizards was impressive in every way, now let’s see if they can play like that against a better opponent.
