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Hello winter! (Now get outta here). Big solstice showdown between the Bucks, who are ranked 1st in The Athletic’s new power poll, and the 4th ranked Cavaliers. The Bucks are 22-8 and have won 9 of their last 12 games.
The Bucks are coming off a 128-119 win in New Orleans Monday against the 18-11 Pelicans. Giannis had 42 points, Brook Lopez 30, and Jrue Holiday 18. Those three combined to score 90 of their 128 points. The Bucks are on a roll.
However, we finally get them in our house. They are 8-5 on the road while the Cavs are 15-2 at home, best in the NBA.
Rather than go over their season stats, I decided to review the two games these teams have played so far - both in Milwaukee. In the first game in mid-November the Bucks led 61-60 at halftime and then crushed the Cavs in the 3rd quarter 34-18 en route to a 15-point win. Lopez had 29 points on 7-for-9 on 3’s. Jarrett Allen missed that game which obviously helped Lopez go off. He averages 14.6 but doubled that with Allen out.
In the second game nine days later the Cavs raced out to a 63-52 halftime lead before getting crushed again in the 3rd quarter, this time 35-10. In both games they lost by 15 points. In both games they were outscored in the 3rd quarter, by 16 and 25 points. It’s like the Bucks didn’t take the Cavs all that seriously at the start but when the game was close at halftime the Bucks decided to make a statement. Both games were decided early in the third quarter.
The cumulative score of both 3rd quarters was Bucks 69, Cavs 28. The cumulative score of the other six quarters was Cavs 172, Bucks 161.
Hopefully the Cavs have learned their lesson and will be ready tonight for playoff level intensity from the Bucks to start the second half, or maybe to start the game.
In the second game Jarrett Allen fell hard and injured his back, leaving the game after just 12 minutes. So Allen has played a total of 12 minutes in the two games.
The Bucks are scoring 118.2 points per game at home but only 106.5 on the road - a huge disparity. In fact, only Miami and Orlando have worst scoring averages on the road. Adding in the difference in scoring defense and the Bucks are 13.0 points worse on the road. Like Utah, they don't travel well.
The Cavs are 8.3 points better at home. Combine that with the Bucks being 13.0 points worse on the road and it’s a swing of 21.3 points. That, and a full game from Allen, might be enough to overcome those 15-point losses in Milwaukee.
So this should be a good one. Giannis is averaging 27/10/7 in his two games against the Cavs at 50% from the field. Lopez is averaging 18.5 points on 81% from the field and 82% on 3’s. With Allen available for the entire game tonight we’ll hopefully see some lower offensive numbers from Lopez.
In the Cavs’ last game I noticed Allen was really running the floor and getting some easy transition baskets by beating Walker Kessler to the rim. Lopez is not the fastest center in the league from rim-to-rim, so I’d like to see Jarrett do more sprinting down the floor after a rebound and get to the rim for a pass before Lopez can get there. Against Utah he was getting dunks and forcing guys like Clarkson to foul him to prevent the dunk. The Cavs blew away the Jazz 29-2 on fast breaks and Allen was part of it. He’s not a physical center but he can easily outrun the big, slow guys and I want to see more of that.
As a team the Bucks are hitting 43.7% of their 3-point attempts against the Cavs, but that should come down a bit as Milwaukee shoots 33% from deep on the road.
Kris Middleton, who missed the first two games with an injury, is back and has played seven games, averaging 11.1 points on 32% from the field and 26% from deep. He’s obviously not fully recovered. He’s listed as doubtful for tonight, but the Bucks might be better off if he doesn’t play since he’s been very ineffective. They just beat the Pelicans on the road without him.
This should be a great game with two of the Association’s top four or five teams going at it deep in the Q. There will be some great individual matchups; Allen/Lopez, Giannis/Mobley, and Holiday/Mitchell. Jrue Holiday is probably the best defensive guard in the league. If he guards Mitchell then Garland needs to abuse Grayson Allen. Okoro and Cedi will match up against Bobby Portis, who averages 14 points off the bench on 50% shooting.
The Bucks are coming off a 128-119 win in New Orleans Monday against the 18-11 Pelicans. Giannis had 42 points, Brook Lopez 30, and Jrue Holiday 18. Those three combined to score 90 of their 128 points. The Bucks are on a roll.
However, we finally get them in our house. They are 8-5 on the road while the Cavs are 15-2 at home, best in the NBA.
Rather than go over their season stats, I decided to review the two games these teams have played so far - both in Milwaukee. In the first game in mid-November the Bucks led 61-60 at halftime and then crushed the Cavs in the 3rd quarter 34-18 en route to a 15-point win. Lopez had 29 points on 7-for-9 on 3’s. Jarrett Allen missed that game which obviously helped Lopez go off. He averages 14.6 but doubled that with Allen out.
In the second game nine days later the Cavs raced out to a 63-52 halftime lead before getting crushed again in the 3rd quarter, this time 35-10. In both games they lost by 15 points. In both games they were outscored in the 3rd quarter, by 16 and 25 points. It’s like the Bucks didn’t take the Cavs all that seriously at the start but when the game was close at halftime the Bucks decided to make a statement. Both games were decided early in the third quarter.
The cumulative score of both 3rd quarters was Bucks 69, Cavs 28. The cumulative score of the other six quarters was Cavs 172, Bucks 161.
Hopefully the Cavs have learned their lesson and will be ready tonight for playoff level intensity from the Bucks to start the second half, or maybe to start the game.
In the second game Jarrett Allen fell hard and injured his back, leaving the game after just 12 minutes. So Allen has played a total of 12 minutes in the two games.
The Bucks are scoring 118.2 points per game at home but only 106.5 on the road - a huge disparity. In fact, only Miami and Orlando have worst scoring averages on the road. Adding in the difference in scoring defense and the Bucks are 13.0 points worse on the road. Like Utah, they don't travel well.
The Cavs are 8.3 points better at home. Combine that with the Bucks being 13.0 points worse on the road and it’s a swing of 21.3 points. That, and a full game from Allen, might be enough to overcome those 15-point losses in Milwaukee.
So this should be a good one. Giannis is averaging 27/10/7 in his two games against the Cavs at 50% from the field. Lopez is averaging 18.5 points on 81% from the field and 82% on 3’s. With Allen available for the entire game tonight we’ll hopefully see some lower offensive numbers from Lopez.
In the Cavs’ last game I noticed Allen was really running the floor and getting some easy transition baskets by beating Walker Kessler to the rim. Lopez is not the fastest center in the league from rim-to-rim, so I’d like to see Jarrett do more sprinting down the floor after a rebound and get to the rim for a pass before Lopez can get there. Against Utah he was getting dunks and forcing guys like Clarkson to foul him to prevent the dunk. The Cavs blew away the Jazz 29-2 on fast breaks and Allen was part of it. He’s not a physical center but he can easily outrun the big, slow guys and I want to see more of that.
As a team the Bucks are hitting 43.7% of their 3-point attempts against the Cavs, but that should come down a bit as Milwaukee shoots 33% from deep on the road.
Kris Middleton, who missed the first two games with an injury, is back and has played seven games, averaging 11.1 points on 32% from the field and 26% from deep. He’s obviously not fully recovered. He’s listed as doubtful for tonight, but the Bucks might be better off if he doesn’t play since he’s been very ineffective. They just beat the Pelicans on the road without him.
This should be a great game with two of the Association’s top four or five teams going at it deep in the Q. There will be some great individual matchups; Allen/Lopez, Giannis/Mobley, and Holiday/Mitchell. Jrue Holiday is probably the best defensive guard in the league. If he guards Mitchell then Garland needs to abuse Grayson Allen. Okoro and Cedi will match up against Bobby Portis, who averages 14 points off the bench on 50% shooting.
