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The Cavs’ home stand continues with a Friday Night Fight against the Chicken McNuggets. The Nugs are 42-28 and have won 14 of their last 18. They could be the hottest team in the NBA. The Cavs got their first win of the season against Denver, but that was way back in October when the Cavs had Allen, Sexton, and Rubio.
I don’t know what has gotten into the Nuggets lately. They started the season a pedestrian 28-24, but since have gone 14-4 with the same guys AFAIK. The Nuggets have been extremely fortunate with injuries this year. They’ve played 70 games and their five starters have all started 60-64 of them. However, PG Jamal Murray, who averaged 21.2 ppg last year, has not played this season after an ACL injury in April. Michael Porter, Jr, who averaged 19.1 ppg last year, went down after 9 games this season. So the Nuggets are missing 40 points a game and still winning.
The Nuggets beat Philly by 4 in Philly on Monday while the Cavs lost by 4 to the Sixers at home on Weds, so the Nuggets appear to be the better team at this point although both games were very close. And the Cavs have definitely not won 14 of 18.
For the season the Nugs rank 11th in scoring and 12th in scoring defense, so they’re a balanced team that is above average on both sides of the ball.
They are great shooters, ranking 3rd in effective field goal percentage and they lead the NBA in assists per play. They also lead the league in 2-point percentage so they move the ball and create high percentage 2-point shots. They’re average at shooting 3’s.
The reason they are only 11th in scoring is they turn the ball over a lot (26th), don’t get to the line much (24th), and don’t get a lot of offensive rebounds (23rd). But they are extremely unselfish and will get open 2’s all night. They’re 10th in points in the paint.
Defensively they defend the 3-point shot well (5th) but the 2-pointers not so much (27th). They’re 23rd in points in the paint as they are not shot blockers (29th). They have one of those centers who scores a lot but can’t jump. Obviously the Cavs are going to want to get to the rim as much as possible and not get too 3-point happy.
Nikola Jokic is their All-Star center, averaging 26.0 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 8.1 assists. He does it all, except block shots. At 6’11”, 284 pounds, Jokic is a load to handle and without Jarrett Allen the Cavs will pretty much be at his mercy, just as they were against Adebayo, Zubac, and Embiid. When these teams played in October Jokic had 24 points and 19 rebounds.
Aaron Gordon, 6’8”, is the power forward, averaging 14.8 ppg. They actually start two power forwards, the other being 6’8” Jeff Green at 10.3 ppg. They play three bigs across the front like the Cavs, only the forwards are not as tall as Mobley and Markkanen.
Eric Barton, 6’5”, is the shooting guard at 14.8 ppg while 6’2” Monte Morris is the point guard. Morris is their top 3-point shooter at 39% while Barton and Jokic are at 35%. In their win over the Sixers ten Nuggets played 12 minutes or more so they have a deep bench. In fact, the five bench players were all between +10 and +16 against the Sixers in a 4-point win. The Nuggets bench outscored the Sixers bench 48-14. Their bench was 18-for-33 that game.
Bryn Forbes, a shooting guard, is hitting 41.5% of his 3’s off the bench. I was hoping the Cavs got him but the Spurs traded him to Denver. In his last game as a Spur he scored 15 points in 17 minutes against the Cavs. He’s been slumping in March, however, only shooting 36%.
The Cavs have played well so far on this home stand, beating the Clippers in OT and coming within four points of the Embiid/Harden/Maxey/Harris Sixers. This will be a very tough test as the Nuggets are on a roll and knocked off the Sixers in Philly earlier this week. The Nuggets have a big team and defend the 3-pointer very well. The Cavs will need everybody bringing their A game to have a shot. I have no idea how they will keep Jokic from getting to wherever he wants to go. Doubling him won’t work - he’s a skilled passer averaging over 8 assists. Maybe Moses Brown can do something with him. Brown came from the Western Conference so I’m sure he’s familiar with Jokic.
I don’t know what has gotten into the Nuggets lately. They started the season a pedestrian 28-24, but since have gone 14-4 with the same guys AFAIK. The Nuggets have been extremely fortunate with injuries this year. They’ve played 70 games and their five starters have all started 60-64 of them. However, PG Jamal Murray, who averaged 21.2 ppg last year, has not played this season after an ACL injury in April. Michael Porter, Jr, who averaged 19.1 ppg last year, went down after 9 games this season. So the Nuggets are missing 40 points a game and still winning.
The Nuggets beat Philly by 4 in Philly on Monday while the Cavs lost by 4 to the Sixers at home on Weds, so the Nuggets appear to be the better team at this point although both games were very close. And the Cavs have definitely not won 14 of 18.
For the season the Nugs rank 11th in scoring and 12th in scoring defense, so they’re a balanced team that is above average on both sides of the ball.
They are great shooters, ranking 3rd in effective field goal percentage and they lead the NBA in assists per play. They also lead the league in 2-point percentage so they move the ball and create high percentage 2-point shots. They’re average at shooting 3’s.
The reason they are only 11th in scoring is they turn the ball over a lot (26th), don’t get to the line much (24th), and don’t get a lot of offensive rebounds (23rd). But they are extremely unselfish and will get open 2’s all night. They’re 10th in points in the paint.
Defensively they defend the 3-point shot well (5th) but the 2-pointers not so much (27th). They’re 23rd in points in the paint as they are not shot blockers (29th). They have one of those centers who scores a lot but can’t jump. Obviously the Cavs are going to want to get to the rim as much as possible and not get too 3-point happy.
Nikola Jokic is their All-Star center, averaging 26.0 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 8.1 assists. He does it all, except block shots. At 6’11”, 284 pounds, Jokic is a load to handle and without Jarrett Allen the Cavs will pretty much be at his mercy, just as they were against Adebayo, Zubac, and Embiid. When these teams played in October Jokic had 24 points and 19 rebounds.
Aaron Gordon, 6’8”, is the power forward, averaging 14.8 ppg. They actually start two power forwards, the other being 6’8” Jeff Green at 10.3 ppg. They play three bigs across the front like the Cavs, only the forwards are not as tall as Mobley and Markkanen.
Eric Barton, 6’5”, is the shooting guard at 14.8 ppg while 6’2” Monte Morris is the point guard. Morris is their top 3-point shooter at 39% while Barton and Jokic are at 35%. In their win over the Sixers ten Nuggets played 12 minutes or more so they have a deep bench. In fact, the five bench players were all between +10 and +16 against the Sixers in a 4-point win. The Nuggets bench outscored the Sixers bench 48-14. Their bench was 18-for-33 that game.
Bryn Forbes, a shooting guard, is hitting 41.5% of his 3’s off the bench. I was hoping the Cavs got him but the Spurs traded him to Denver. In his last game as a Spur he scored 15 points in 17 minutes against the Cavs. He’s been slumping in March, however, only shooting 36%.
The Cavs have played well so far on this home stand, beating the Clippers in OT and coming within four points of the Embiid/Harden/Maxey/Harris Sixers. This will be a very tough test as the Nuggets are on a roll and knocked off the Sixers in Philly earlier this week. The Nuggets have a big team and defend the 3-pointer very well. The Cavs will need everybody bringing their A game to have a shot. I have no idea how they will keep Jokic from getting to wherever he wants to go. Doubling him won’t work - he’s a skilled passer averaging over 8 assists. Maybe Moses Brown can do something with him. Brown came from the Western Conference so I’m sure he’s familiar with Jokic.
