- Joined
- Oct 3, 2019
- Messages
- 9,953
- Reaction score
- 28,577
- Points
- 135
After two days off the Cavs attempt to start another winning streak against the Thunder, who are in a tailspin at the moment having lost 9 of their last 10. For the season they are 14-31 overall and 6-17 on the road. The Thunder are playing their third game in four nights and their second game of a back-to-back, having lost by 23 last night in Charlotte. They should be a tired bunch tonight.
These teams played in OKC a week ago with the situation reversed. The Cavs were playing their 5th game in 7 days on the road and were down by 2 after three quarters, but fought back to win 107-102. Darius Garland had a monster game with 27 points and 18 assists.
The Cavs, with tired legs, shot only 9-for-35 on 3's that night but managed to put up 107 points thanks to Garland and only committing 7 turnovers. The Cavs also missed 7 free throws and were dominated on the glass, making the game closer than it should have been. The Spurs outrebounded the Cavs 51-37 and had 14 offensive boards leading to second chance points.
If the Cavs can do a better job on the glass tonight and hit a few more 3’s they should win easily. The Thunder are the lowest scoring team in the league, averaging barely 100 points on the road. The Cavs have the second best scoring defense and combined with the Thunder having to play and travel last night it seems likely the Thunder may not score 90.
The Cavs have been on a roll, winning five straight before losing to the first place Bulls on the road Wednesday. The Cavs have had two days off and will be a lot fresher than the Thunder. This could be one of the five easiest games of the season on paper given that the Thunder have the fourth worst record in the NBA, are on the road, and played last night while the Cavs are fairly rested.
So this could be one of those games featuring an overconfident team against a loose, relaxed team going nowhere with nothing to lose. Possible trap game, IOW. Hopefully the Cavs will remember last week's game and take these guys seriously.
Last week SGA had 21 points against the Cavs, Dort and Bazley had 17, and nobody else had more than 11. The Spurs will start either Favors (6’9”) or Robinson-Earl (6’8”) at center, Dort (6’3”) at small forward, and Wiggins (6’4”) Giddey (6’8”), and SGA (6’6”) in a three-guard lineup. How these guys outrebounded the Cavs by 14 last week I have no idea.
Darius Bazley (6’8”) and Mike Muscala (6’10”) come off the bench. Bazley had 17 points and 7 rebounds while Muscala was 3-for-4 from deep against the Cavs.
For the Cavs I’d like to see Cedi Osman break out of his shooting slump. In eight January games he’s shooting 35.8% from the field and 23.1% from deep. He’s made 5 of his last 32 three-point attempts. Something is definitely off and hopefully with two days off to work on his shot he’ll get back close to where he was in November when he shot 47.2% and 43.2%.
After getting torched by Garland in the last game I’m sure the Thunder will try a different approach defensively - probably double-teaming and trying to force him to give up the ball. But hopefully a better rested Cavs team playing at home against a travel-weary Thunder lineup will result in an easier win than last week’s come-from-behind in Oklahoma.
Rajon Rondo is still out per ESPN but Lamar Stevens is probable. The game is on NBA TV.
These teams played in OKC a week ago with the situation reversed. The Cavs were playing their 5th game in 7 days on the road and were down by 2 after three quarters, but fought back to win 107-102. Darius Garland had a monster game with 27 points and 18 assists.
The Cavs, with tired legs, shot only 9-for-35 on 3's that night but managed to put up 107 points thanks to Garland and only committing 7 turnovers. The Cavs also missed 7 free throws and were dominated on the glass, making the game closer than it should have been. The Spurs outrebounded the Cavs 51-37 and had 14 offensive boards leading to second chance points.
If the Cavs can do a better job on the glass tonight and hit a few more 3’s they should win easily. The Thunder are the lowest scoring team in the league, averaging barely 100 points on the road. The Cavs have the second best scoring defense and combined with the Thunder having to play and travel last night it seems likely the Thunder may not score 90.
The Cavs have been on a roll, winning five straight before losing to the first place Bulls on the road Wednesday. The Cavs have had two days off and will be a lot fresher than the Thunder. This could be one of the five easiest games of the season on paper given that the Thunder have the fourth worst record in the NBA, are on the road, and played last night while the Cavs are fairly rested.
So this could be one of those games featuring an overconfident team against a loose, relaxed team going nowhere with nothing to lose. Possible trap game, IOW. Hopefully the Cavs will remember last week's game and take these guys seriously.
Last week SGA had 21 points against the Cavs, Dort and Bazley had 17, and nobody else had more than 11. The Spurs will start either Favors (6’9”) or Robinson-Earl (6’8”) at center, Dort (6’3”) at small forward, and Wiggins (6’4”) Giddey (6’8”), and SGA (6’6”) in a three-guard lineup. How these guys outrebounded the Cavs by 14 last week I have no idea.
Darius Bazley (6’8”) and Mike Muscala (6’10”) come off the bench. Bazley had 17 points and 7 rebounds while Muscala was 3-for-4 from deep against the Cavs.
For the Cavs I’d like to see Cedi Osman break out of his shooting slump. In eight January games he’s shooting 35.8% from the field and 23.1% from deep. He’s made 5 of his last 32 three-point attempts. Something is definitely off and hopefully with two days off to work on his shot he’ll get back close to where he was in November when he shot 47.2% and 43.2%.
After getting torched by Garland in the last game I’m sure the Thunder will try a different approach defensively - probably double-teaming and trying to force him to give up the ball. But hopefully a better rested Cavs team playing at home against a travel-weary Thunder lineup will result in an easier win than last week’s come-from-behind in Oklahoma.
Rajon Rondo is still out per ESPN but Lamar Stevens is probable. The game is on NBA TV.
Last edited:
