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The Cavs finish a brutal October schedule with a 3-4 record and move on to the final game of this road trip to face the 5-2 Hornets. Despite this being only the 8th game of the season it's the second time they'll play the Hornets, having lost in Cleveland in Game 2 by a 123-112 score. Darius Garland was out that game.
The Cavs had a day off to travel from Phoenix while the Hornets played at home yesterday, beating Portland 125-113. LaMelo Ball had a line of 27/9/7, Miles Bridges had 19/6/9, and Kelly Oubre microwaved 26 points off the bench. Bridges lit up the Cavs for 30 points in the first game, taking 24 shots, twice as many as any of his teammates. Bridges is averaging 25.5 ppg so far. The Cavs should expect him to take a lot of shots and plan accordingly.
The Hornets are the highest scoring team in the Association, averaging nearly 119 points per game. The Cavs gave up 123 in the first game so the first challenge will be to see if they can improve on that the second time around. The Hornets shot 52.7% from the field and 40.6% on 3's in the first game and outrebounded the Cavs 46-36. Those numbers all need to improve.
Also, the Cavs committed 18 turnovers and allowed 58 points in the paint. So tonight will be all about reducing turnovers, not getting dominated on the glass, defending the paint, and contesting more shots, especially 3's.
The Hornets are 3rd in points in the paint, so they've been scoring inside on everybody. They have a balanced offense, getting about an equal percentage of points on 2's, 3's, and from the free throw line. They don't take a lot of 3's (20th in 3-point attempts at 34 per game) but they are very accurate (2nd in percentage made at 40.2%).
The Hornets are just good at a lot of things, but mainly scoring. They're 7th in effective FG percentage, 7th in free throws attempted per offensive play, 10th in offensive rebound percentage, 6th in assists per possession, and 7th in steals per defensive play. They don't foul much (6th fewest) and they don't turn the ball over (3rd lowest percentage).
Defense is their weak spot as they rank 28th in opponent's scoring at 115.3 ppg. They are last by far in opponents' 2-point percentage at 59.6%. Since the Cavs can't shoot 3's, this team seems like a good matchup. The Cavs rank 10th in 2-point percentage, so they should take it to the rim against these guys, especially at the end of a road trip where the legs might not be there for effective 3-point shooting.
In the first game between these teams the Cavs shot 64% on 2's and 29% on 3's. The Hornets rank 10th in defending the 3-pointer and dead last defending 2's, so this is a no-brainer. Atttack the rim.
Sexton had 33 points in the first game, going 11-for-14 on his 2-point attempts. The three bigs went 12-for-19 on 2's.
The Hornets depend heavily on Ball (17.3/5.5/6.0), Gordon Hayward (19.2/4.3/5.0), and Bridges. Those three combine to shoot 22 of the team's 34 three-point attempts. Hayward is hitting 48.4% from deep, Ball 40.5%, and Bridges 36.2%. The Cavs need to be very aware and make sure they contest these guys on the perimeter. Ball is only making 39.0% overall.
So the game plan is obvious. On offense, forget about 3's unless they're uncontested and bang it inside, taking advantage of a defense that's worst in the NBA defending 2-points shots. Also, cut back on the turnovers. On defense, defend the paint better (58 points in the paint is too many) and at least play them even on the boards. Don't let Ball, Bridges, and Hayward get many open looks on 3's.
The Cavs will be playing their seventh game in 11 days and they had a long flight yesterday. Fatigue will be a factor. If I were Bickerstaff I would probably sub more often and use more than eight players. I wouldn't be surprised to see Wade and Windler get minutes tonight. Okoro is still out.
The Cavs had a day off to travel from Phoenix while the Hornets played at home yesterday, beating Portland 125-113. LaMelo Ball had a line of 27/9/7, Miles Bridges had 19/6/9, and Kelly Oubre microwaved 26 points off the bench. Bridges lit up the Cavs for 30 points in the first game, taking 24 shots, twice as many as any of his teammates. Bridges is averaging 25.5 ppg so far. The Cavs should expect him to take a lot of shots and plan accordingly.
The Hornets are the highest scoring team in the Association, averaging nearly 119 points per game. The Cavs gave up 123 in the first game so the first challenge will be to see if they can improve on that the second time around. The Hornets shot 52.7% from the field and 40.6% on 3's in the first game and outrebounded the Cavs 46-36. Those numbers all need to improve.
Also, the Cavs committed 18 turnovers and allowed 58 points in the paint. So tonight will be all about reducing turnovers, not getting dominated on the glass, defending the paint, and contesting more shots, especially 3's.
The Hornets are 3rd in points in the paint, so they've been scoring inside on everybody. They have a balanced offense, getting about an equal percentage of points on 2's, 3's, and from the free throw line. They don't take a lot of 3's (20th in 3-point attempts at 34 per game) but they are very accurate (2nd in percentage made at 40.2%).
The Hornets are just good at a lot of things, but mainly scoring. They're 7th in effective FG percentage, 7th in free throws attempted per offensive play, 10th in offensive rebound percentage, 6th in assists per possession, and 7th in steals per defensive play. They don't foul much (6th fewest) and they don't turn the ball over (3rd lowest percentage).
Defense is their weak spot as they rank 28th in opponent's scoring at 115.3 ppg. They are last by far in opponents' 2-point percentage at 59.6%. Since the Cavs can't shoot 3's, this team seems like a good matchup. The Cavs rank 10th in 2-point percentage, so they should take it to the rim against these guys, especially at the end of a road trip where the legs might not be there for effective 3-point shooting.
In the first game between these teams the Cavs shot 64% on 2's and 29% on 3's. The Hornets rank 10th in defending the 3-pointer and dead last defending 2's, so this is a no-brainer. Atttack the rim.
Sexton had 33 points in the first game, going 11-for-14 on his 2-point attempts. The three bigs went 12-for-19 on 2's.
The Hornets depend heavily on Ball (17.3/5.5/6.0), Gordon Hayward (19.2/4.3/5.0), and Bridges. Those three combine to shoot 22 of the team's 34 three-point attempts. Hayward is hitting 48.4% from deep, Ball 40.5%, and Bridges 36.2%. The Cavs need to be very aware and make sure they contest these guys on the perimeter. Ball is only making 39.0% overall.
So the game plan is obvious. On offense, forget about 3's unless they're uncontested and bang it inside, taking advantage of a defense that's worst in the NBA defending 2-points shots. Also, cut back on the turnovers. On defense, defend the paint better (58 points in the paint is too many) and at least play them even on the boards. Don't let Ball, Bridges, and Hayward get many open looks on 3's.
The Cavs will be playing their seventh game in 11 days and they had a long flight yesterday. Fatigue will be a factor. If I were Bickerstaff I would probably sub more often and use more than eight players. I wouldn't be surprised to see Wade and Windler get minutes tonight. Okoro is still out.
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