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The Cavs, on a two-game winning streak over 2021 playoff teams, take on another in LA against the 1-2 Clippers. Well, some of the Clippers, anyway. Kawhi Leonard is out with an injury along with Marcus Morris and Serge Ibaka. Does that help the Cavs' chances? You tell me.
The Clippers are an example of the dangers of having an old team. Leonard is 30, Ibaka 32, and Morris 32. They're all out. Nick Batum is 32, Eric Bledsoe 31, Paul George 31, and Reggie Jackson 31. Hey, do you think they might be interested in Kevin Love?
The Clippers are 1-2, having lost to the Warriors and Grizzlies before demolishing Portland by 30 Monday night. The Clippers appear to be similar to the Nuggets in that they are heavily dependent on one superstar, in this case Paul George, who is averaging 28/7/5 in 33 minutes. He had eight steals against Portland so he's not a one-dimensional playear.
PG Reggie Jackson leads the team with 34 minutes per game. He's shooting only 30.4% from the field and 10.7% on 3's with only 4 assists per game. That's a really low assist number for a PG playing 34 minutes. Plus he's 31 years old. My guess is they'll be shopping for a point guard.
Eric Bledsoe is their starting shooting guard. Hey, we're not the only team with a 6'1" shooting guard. He leads the team in assists at 5.3. He's not shooting that great; 43% from the field and 20% on 3's.
The Clippers top four scorers are guards (George is listed as a shooting guard). With Morris out their highest scoring forward is Justice Winslow at 5.0 ppg.
Their centers are Ivica Zubac, 24, avergaging 10.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 20 minutes a game, and former Cav Isaiah Hartenstein, averaging 10.0 points in 16.5 minutes while shooting a Jared Allenesque 81.8% from the field. I hated to see this guy get away, but after we got Mobley and Markkanen and signed Allen long term it didn't make sense to pay Hartenstein as well. At least Allen will be familiar with his game.
It looks like they've been playing about 11 minutes a game without a center but I expect to see either Zubac or Hartenstein on the floor for 48 minutes tonight. Hartenstein fouls a lot; he's averaging 3.5 fouls in 16 minutes (just like when he played for us), so it might be a good idea to go at him.
At the power forward position with Morris out the Clippers play Batum and Justice Winslow, who are averaging a combined 8.5 points in 40 minutes. So it looks like they don't get much scoring from either the power forward or point guard position. They do count on 6'5" Luke Kennard off the bench. He's averaging 13.3 points in 24 minutes while shooting 56.3% from deep. The Cavs need to dog him on the perimeter and not allow any open looks. Dylan Windler needs to watch Kennard and pick up some things from his game.
John Hollinger’s Clippers season preview
2020-21 season: 47-25 (fourth in West), fourth in offense, eighth in defense
By far the biggest development [since last season] is that [Kawhi] Leonard is likely to miss most or all of the season with the torn ACL he suffered in the playoffs. Beyond that, the Clips mostly brought back last year’s crew.
LA also was a bit disappointing on the defensive end; the hoped-for greatness of a George-Leonard wing combo ended up at mere pretty goodness. In particular, rim protection was an issue, with foes shooting 70.1 percent in the basket area; only three teams were worse.
The Clippers made the conference finals last year, are one of the league’s best-run teams and even without Leonard have a clear A-list star in George to build the attack around.
But this isn’t the playoffs; they can’t play six players 40-plus minutes a night and have George take on this heavy a load all season. And for any game he misses, the obvious question arises: Who is this team’s second-best player? Morris? Jackson? Does it have one?
Meanwhile, virtually every player on the roster is ramping up their minutes and usage. Jackson will have the ball in his hands a lot. [Terance] Mann was a great find but may now need to start and check elite wings every night. Zubac is the only center, at least until we see Ibaka back on the court. Kennard and Winslow were on the fringes for their teams a year ago; this year, they’re core rotation guys.
Without [Leonard], however, they’re relying on George and small ball again, and with very limited depth to get them to the finish line. Maybe that gets them through the Play-In Tournament and into the main bracket, but I doubt it does anything more.
My comment:
Actually, Zubac is not their only center now that they picked up Hartenstein.
They are small at guard; Bledsoe is 6'1" and Jackson is 6'2". Both starting guards are 31 years old. Backup shooting guard Terance Mann (6'5") is playing 30 minutes a game, third highest on the team. He's averaging 9 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 45.5%. I imagine they'll put Rubio on him and let Sexton and Garland check the two little guys.
Who's going to guard Paul George? Can they really expect Markkanen to contain him? I would put Mobley on him - I think Mobley has the agility to keep him from getting to the rim and the length to get a hand up on 3's. If they go with Mobley it will be a really interesting matchup to watch. The plan might be the same as the other night in Denver; let the superstar get his and clamp down on everybody else.
In three games the Clippers are averaging 114.3 points per game. They're averaging 12.3 steals per game and are second in the league in steals per defensive play. Taking care of the ball and not overpassing will be huge for the Cavs tonight. The Clippers are not great shot blockers as Hollinger noted. This year they're averaging only four blocks per game which ranks 23rd. The Cavs should take it to the rim, draw fouls while avoiding turnovers, and get those centers in foul trouble. If Zubac and Hartenstein are out their tallest players are Batum and George at 6'8".
The Clippers have not been a good rebounding team so far, ranking 21st and 22nd in offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. The Cavs need to use their size advantage to control the defensive glass and get second chance points on offense.
The Clippers are an example of the dangers of having an old team. Leonard is 30, Ibaka 32, and Morris 32. They're all out. Nick Batum is 32, Eric Bledsoe 31, Paul George 31, and Reggie Jackson 31. Hey, do you think they might be interested in Kevin Love?
The Clippers are 1-2, having lost to the Warriors and Grizzlies before demolishing Portland by 30 Monday night. The Clippers appear to be similar to the Nuggets in that they are heavily dependent on one superstar, in this case Paul George, who is averaging 28/7/5 in 33 minutes. He had eight steals against Portland so he's not a one-dimensional playear.
PG Reggie Jackson leads the team with 34 minutes per game. He's shooting only 30.4% from the field and 10.7% on 3's with only 4 assists per game. That's a really low assist number for a PG playing 34 minutes. Plus he's 31 years old. My guess is they'll be shopping for a point guard.
Eric Bledsoe is their starting shooting guard. Hey, we're not the only team with a 6'1" shooting guard. He leads the team in assists at 5.3. He's not shooting that great; 43% from the field and 20% on 3's.
The Clippers top four scorers are guards (George is listed as a shooting guard). With Morris out their highest scoring forward is Justice Winslow at 5.0 ppg.
Their centers are Ivica Zubac, 24, avergaging 10.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 20 minutes a game, and former Cav Isaiah Hartenstein, averaging 10.0 points in 16.5 minutes while shooting a Jared Allenesque 81.8% from the field. I hated to see this guy get away, but after we got Mobley and Markkanen and signed Allen long term it didn't make sense to pay Hartenstein as well. At least Allen will be familiar with his game.
It looks like they've been playing about 11 minutes a game without a center but I expect to see either Zubac or Hartenstein on the floor for 48 minutes tonight. Hartenstein fouls a lot; he's averaging 3.5 fouls in 16 minutes (just like when he played for us), so it might be a good idea to go at him.
At the power forward position with Morris out the Clippers play Batum and Justice Winslow, who are averaging a combined 8.5 points in 40 minutes. So it looks like they don't get much scoring from either the power forward or point guard position. They do count on 6'5" Luke Kennard off the bench. He's averaging 13.3 points in 24 minutes while shooting 56.3% from deep. The Cavs need to dog him on the perimeter and not allow any open looks. Dylan Windler needs to watch Kennard and pick up some things from his game.
John Hollinger’s Clippers season preview
2020-21 season: 47-25 (fourth in West), fourth in offense, eighth in defense
By far the biggest development [since last season] is that [Kawhi] Leonard is likely to miss most or all of the season with the torn ACL he suffered in the playoffs. Beyond that, the Clips mostly brought back last year’s crew.
LA also was a bit disappointing on the defensive end; the hoped-for greatness of a George-Leonard wing combo ended up at mere pretty goodness. In particular, rim protection was an issue, with foes shooting 70.1 percent in the basket area; only three teams were worse.
The Clippers made the conference finals last year, are one of the league’s best-run teams and even without Leonard have a clear A-list star in George to build the attack around.
But this isn’t the playoffs; they can’t play six players 40-plus minutes a night and have George take on this heavy a load all season. And for any game he misses, the obvious question arises: Who is this team’s second-best player? Morris? Jackson? Does it have one?
Meanwhile, virtually every player on the roster is ramping up their minutes and usage. Jackson will have the ball in his hands a lot. [Terance] Mann was a great find but may now need to start and check elite wings every night. Zubac is the only center, at least until we see Ibaka back on the court. Kennard and Winslow were on the fringes for their teams a year ago; this year, they’re core rotation guys.
Without [Leonard], however, they’re relying on George and small ball again, and with very limited depth to get them to the finish line. Maybe that gets them through the Play-In Tournament and into the main bracket, but I doubt it does anything more.
My comment:
Actually, Zubac is not their only center now that they picked up Hartenstein.
They are small at guard; Bledsoe is 6'1" and Jackson is 6'2". Both starting guards are 31 years old. Backup shooting guard Terance Mann (6'5") is playing 30 minutes a game, third highest on the team. He's averaging 9 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 45.5%. I imagine they'll put Rubio on him and let Sexton and Garland check the two little guys.
Who's going to guard Paul George? Can they really expect Markkanen to contain him? I would put Mobley on him - I think Mobley has the agility to keep him from getting to the rim and the length to get a hand up on 3's. If they go with Mobley it will be a really interesting matchup to watch. The plan might be the same as the other night in Denver; let the superstar get his and clamp down on everybody else.
In three games the Clippers are averaging 114.3 points per game. They're averaging 12.3 steals per game and are second in the league in steals per defensive play. Taking care of the ball and not overpassing will be huge for the Cavs tonight. The Clippers are not great shot blockers as Hollinger noted. This year they're averaging only four blocks per game which ranks 23rd. The Cavs should take it to the rim, draw fouls while avoiding turnovers, and get those centers in foul trouble. If Zubac and Hartenstein are out their tallest players are Batum and George at 6'8".
The Clippers have not been a good rebounding team so far, ranking 21st and 22nd in offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. The Cavs need to use their size advantage to control the defensive glass and get second chance points on offense.
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