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Coming off a brutal loss to the Magic the Cavaliers engage the Brooklyn Nets in a huge game in the Big Apple. The Nets are tied for 8th with the Atlanta Hawks, one game behind the Cavs. The season series is 2-1 in favor of the Nets so if they win they take over the 7th spot in the standings. If the Cavs win they clinch the 7th spot unless they lose to Milwaukee and the Hawks win their last two in which case the Cavs would be 8th.
Since the Nets’ last game is at home against the Pacers (an easy win), the Nets could effectively secure 7th place with a win tonight.
Fans will be scoreboard watching tonight as the Hawks play at Miami and the Hornets play at Chicago. The Cavs could still finish 9th depending on how the last two games play out.
Obviously with 7th place in their sights the Nets will be jacked up for this game. Recently the Nets have been beating the weaker teams (New York, Houston, Detroit) and losing to the better teams (Atlanta, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Memphis). They are 4-4 in their last eight games.
I’m not going to go through the Nets’ season rankings simply because they are a much different team than they were earlier. Kyrie Irving has only played 27 games due to his refusal to be vaccinated, but that’s over now. James Harden played 44 games with the Nets but has been traded. We have to look at who the Nets are now.
The Nets are going as far as Kyrie and Kevin Durant can carry them. In the last six games Kyrie has played between 40-45 minutes. Durant is averaging over 40 minutes recently. In the Nets’ last game Kyrie and KD played 42-43 minutes. It’s a sprint to the finish and nobody is getting rested. No question these two will play at least 42 minutes each tonight if the game is close.
Kyrie is averaging 27.5 points. He’s hitting 42% of his 3’s on the season and 48% in March. Durant is averaging 29.9 points on 52% from the field and 38.5% on 3’s. He has three games of more than 50 points this season. Kyrie has a 60-point game.
My expectation is that these two superstars will bring all their powers to bear in order to win this crucial game. In Wednesday's game they took over 50% of the team’s shots and tonight will be no different.
Seth Curry is averaging 15.1 points and shooting 45.5% on 3’s since being traded to the Nets, so you can’t double the big guns and leave him open. However, Curry is listed as a game time decision so there’s a chance he will be out.
Bruce Brown averages 8.7 points but is hitting 40% of his 3’s. Patty Mills comes off the bench and is shooting 40% from deep. He’s shooting 48.3% on 3’s against the Cavs this year at 16.5 ppg.
Andre Drummond is their starting center and with Allen out it will be tough keeping him off the glass.
The Cavs are coming off their most disappointing loss of the season as they gave up 120 points to the 20-59 Magic who were missing their three top scorers. JBB said after the game that the Cavs were “outcompeted”. A last place team playing out the string in a meaningless game "outcompeted" the Cavaliers in a must-win game. That was shocking especially given how hard the Cavs have fought this year with their “junkyard dog” mentality.
So the Cavs have had two days to think about that and game plan for Brooklyn. I’m sure Bickerstaff has given them a few well-chosen words in practice the last couple of days. I expect the Cavs to come out with fire in their eyes and give it all they have. It should be a pretty intense game.
Evan Mobley went through a full practice yesterday and is likely to play. If he does it could be huge for the Cavs as he has the mobility and length to distract Durant on his 3-point shots and also help out on Kyrie when he gets penetration.
How the Cavs plan to defend Durant and Kyrie is the question. You have to double them but that leaves sharpshooters like Mills, Curry, and Brown open for uncontested 3’s. When Kyrie beats his man off the dribble and a big has to challenge his shot it leaves Drummond uncontested at the rim for a lob or a put-back.
After the loss to Orlando the Cavs talked about how they need to prevent dribble penetration and corner 3’s. They’ve had two days to work on that. Personally I'm sick and tired of seeing an opponent dribble around a high screen, come down the lane with a Cavalier player on his back, and then kick it to the corner for a teammate to have all day to sight in and knock down a three with no Cavs in the same zip code.
The Nets may seem like an offensive juggernaut but in their last three games they scored 110, 118, and 115 points against New York, Houston, and Atlanta - not that impressive. The Cavs need to play outstanding individual and team defense tonight to hold the Nets to around 110-115 points to have a shot. The Nets are not great defensively, ranking 19th in points allowed per game.
In their last game the Cavs hit 44.4% of their 3’s. That’s what it might take tonight if they want to have any chance of stealing a win. But my gut says that Durant and Kyrie will do whatever it takes in order to get the W. In games like this it’s usually the team that has the superstars that wins. I will be shocked if the Cavs find a way to pull this one out.
I’m assuming Bickerstaff will keep rotating the players defending Durant and Kyrie so they will always be guarded by somebody fresh and they will have to work hard to get their shots. It will really help if Curry and his 45% 3-point shooting is out.
If Mobley is back I’m wondering if JBB will start a big front line of Moses Brown, Mobley, and Markkanen. Starting forward Bruce Brown is 6’4” so somebody would have a big height advantage when posting him up. That would be a lot of rim protection and rebounding.
I’m expecting a totally different Cavs team than we saw Tuesday. They are NOT going to be “outcompeted” this time. JBB will have them ready. Whether that will be enough to overcome the offensive talent of the Nets is the question.
Since the Nets’ last game is at home against the Pacers (an easy win), the Nets could effectively secure 7th place with a win tonight.
Fans will be scoreboard watching tonight as the Hawks play at Miami and the Hornets play at Chicago. The Cavs could still finish 9th depending on how the last two games play out.
Obviously with 7th place in their sights the Nets will be jacked up for this game. Recently the Nets have been beating the weaker teams (New York, Houston, Detroit) and losing to the better teams (Atlanta, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Memphis). They are 4-4 in their last eight games.
I’m not going to go through the Nets’ season rankings simply because they are a much different team than they were earlier. Kyrie Irving has only played 27 games due to his refusal to be vaccinated, but that’s over now. James Harden played 44 games with the Nets but has been traded. We have to look at who the Nets are now.
The Nets are going as far as Kyrie and Kevin Durant can carry them. In the last six games Kyrie has played between 40-45 minutes. Durant is averaging over 40 minutes recently. In the Nets’ last game Kyrie and KD played 42-43 minutes. It’s a sprint to the finish and nobody is getting rested. No question these two will play at least 42 minutes each tonight if the game is close.
Kyrie is averaging 27.5 points. He’s hitting 42% of his 3’s on the season and 48% in March. Durant is averaging 29.9 points on 52% from the field and 38.5% on 3’s. He has three games of more than 50 points this season. Kyrie has a 60-point game.
My expectation is that these two superstars will bring all their powers to bear in order to win this crucial game. In Wednesday's game they took over 50% of the team’s shots and tonight will be no different.
Seth Curry is averaging 15.1 points and shooting 45.5% on 3’s since being traded to the Nets, so you can’t double the big guns and leave him open. However, Curry is listed as a game time decision so there’s a chance he will be out.
Bruce Brown averages 8.7 points but is hitting 40% of his 3’s. Patty Mills comes off the bench and is shooting 40% from deep. He’s shooting 48.3% on 3’s against the Cavs this year at 16.5 ppg.
Andre Drummond is their starting center and with Allen out it will be tough keeping him off the glass.
The Cavs are coming off their most disappointing loss of the season as they gave up 120 points to the 20-59 Magic who were missing their three top scorers. JBB said after the game that the Cavs were “outcompeted”. A last place team playing out the string in a meaningless game "outcompeted" the Cavaliers in a must-win game. That was shocking especially given how hard the Cavs have fought this year with their “junkyard dog” mentality.
So the Cavs have had two days to think about that and game plan for Brooklyn. I’m sure Bickerstaff has given them a few well-chosen words in practice the last couple of days. I expect the Cavs to come out with fire in their eyes and give it all they have. It should be a pretty intense game.
Evan Mobley went through a full practice yesterday and is likely to play. If he does it could be huge for the Cavs as he has the mobility and length to distract Durant on his 3-point shots and also help out on Kyrie when he gets penetration.
How the Cavs plan to defend Durant and Kyrie is the question. You have to double them but that leaves sharpshooters like Mills, Curry, and Brown open for uncontested 3’s. When Kyrie beats his man off the dribble and a big has to challenge his shot it leaves Drummond uncontested at the rim for a lob or a put-back.
After the loss to Orlando the Cavs talked about how they need to prevent dribble penetration and corner 3’s. They’ve had two days to work on that. Personally I'm sick and tired of seeing an opponent dribble around a high screen, come down the lane with a Cavalier player on his back, and then kick it to the corner for a teammate to have all day to sight in and knock down a three with no Cavs in the same zip code.
The Nets may seem like an offensive juggernaut but in their last three games they scored 110, 118, and 115 points against New York, Houston, and Atlanta - not that impressive. The Cavs need to play outstanding individual and team defense tonight to hold the Nets to around 110-115 points to have a shot. The Nets are not great defensively, ranking 19th in points allowed per game.
In their last game the Cavs hit 44.4% of their 3’s. That’s what it might take tonight if they want to have any chance of stealing a win. But my gut says that Durant and Kyrie will do whatever it takes in order to get the W. In games like this it’s usually the team that has the superstars that wins. I will be shocked if the Cavs find a way to pull this one out.
I’m assuming Bickerstaff will keep rotating the players defending Durant and Kyrie so they will always be guarded by somebody fresh and they will have to work hard to get their shots. It will really help if Curry and his 45% 3-point shooting is out.
If Mobley is back I’m wondering if JBB will start a big front line of Moses Brown, Mobley, and Markkanen. Starting forward Bruce Brown is 6’4” so somebody would have a big height advantage when posting him up. That would be a lot of rim protection and rebounding.
I’m expecting a totally different Cavs team than we saw Tuesday. They are NOT going to be “outcompeted” this time. JBB will have them ready. Whether that will be enough to overcome the offensive talent of the Nets is the question.
