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After a shocking loss to the Jazz where the Cavs were outscored 13-0 from the 1:23 to the 0:23 mark of the 4th quarter to blow a game they had in hand, they move on to Portland for a contest against the 19-21 Portland Trail Blazers. This game is expected to mark the long-awaited return of Ricky Rubio.
The Blazers and the Jazz have a lot of similarities. Both started the season on fire (Utah 10-3, Portland 10-4), then fell on tough times (Utah 11-20, Portland 9-17). Both have aging but still effective point guards (Mike Conley, Damian Lillard). Both have been struggling recently (Utah lost 7 of 8 before playing the Cavs, Portland has lost 8 of 10). Both teams shoot a lot of 3’s and make more than the average. Both teams lost to the Cavs in Cleveland in games that were not close. Both are over .500 at home.
Portland is 9-7 at home. In their last 10 games they are 0-7 on the road and 2-1 at home, but the wins were over 11-31 Charlotte and 11-33 Detroit. Their last win over a team with a winning record was over five weeks ago; Dec. 4 against Indiana. They are 5-11 against opponents over .500.
On Nov. 23 the Blazers lost to the Cavs 114-96. Mitchell scored 34 while Garland and Allen each had 24. The Cavs shredded the Blazers' defense, shooting 55% and 44%. However, Damian Lillard was out that night. Adding Lillard’s 27.4 points and 7.1 assists per game plus moving the venue to the west coast will even this one out.
The Blazers will be missing a couple of reserves, Winslow and Little, who combined for 10 points in 50 minutes in the first game. This should not have much impact.
Lillard, now 32 years old, shoots 44% from the field and 36% on 3’s. The Blazers have three other players in double figures. Anfernee Simons averages 22.2 points on 44% and 38%, Jerami Grant averages 21.9 points on 49% and 42%, and Jusuf Nurkic averages 14.5 points on 53% and 40%. Shooting guard Josh Hart averages 9.8 points and nobody off their bench averages more than 7.6. In the first game their bench scored just 20 points (but the Cavs’ bench only got 10). Love and LeVert were out for the Cavs and Cedi had an off night.
So the Blazers get Lillard back while the Cavs add Love, LeVert, and Rubio. Both teams should be stronger on paper for the rematch.
The Blazers rank 14th in offensive efficiency but 22nd in points per game, mostly because they play slow, ranking 26th in possessions per game. The Cavs rank 29th, so this game will feature two very, very deliberate teams.
The Blazers are good shooters, ranking 12th in effective field goal percentage. They like to shoot from deep, ranking 11th in 3-point rate, and they’re very good at it, ranking 7th in 3-point percentage. They’re only 22nd in points in the paint, so the biggest threat is them getting hot from outside, which we’ve seen way too much of lately from Cavs' opponents.
The Blazers get to the line a lot, ranking 4th in free throws per possession, and since they’re at home they will get most of the calls. They’re strong on the offensive glass, ranking 11th (Utah is 9th, another similarity). Their biggest problem offensively is turnovers, where they rank 28th of 30 teams in turnover percentage.
They like to attack the rim, ranking 7th in frequency, but are only 20th in success rate at the rim. However, they draw a lot of fouls as noted above, so the Cavs need to contest the layups without fouling. The Blazers have a small team with the starting lineup standing 6'2", 6'3", 6'4", 6'8" (210 pounds), and 6'11" (but Nurkic is no leaper by any stretch of the imagination).
So like against Utah, the key to defending Portland is to contest the 3’s and not let them get going from deep while avoiding excessive fouls and second chance points. Putting pressure on the ball is a good idea since they are among the worst at committing turnovers.
Defensively the Blazers rank 21st in efficiency. They are below average at defending the paint and give up transition points because of all the turnovers. They’re also below average in block percentage, steal percentage, and opponents' free throws per possession. They’re not really bad at anything defensively but they’re below average pretty much across the board.
The Blazers don’t have much of a bench with nobody averaging more than 7.6 points, and Justice Winslow, who leads their non-starters in minutes at 27 per game, is out. The key is to clamp down on Lillard, Simons, and Grant, who combine to score 71 of the team’s 112 points.
Offensively the Cavs should attack the rim as the Blazers are below average at defending the paint, blocking shots, and avoiding fouls. Plus the Cavs are abysmal 3-point shooters on the road (37.2% at home, 32.7% on the road). Darius Garland has the biggest differential (46.4% at home, 29.7% on the road). He needs to work on that.
Kevin Love has missed 17 of his last 18 three-point attempts, so he is mired in an awful slump. So if I were Bickerstaff I would suggest the Cavs attack the rim at every opportunity as the Blazers have almost no rim protection (they average only 4.2 blocks per game) and they foul more than average.
Individually, the Garland/Lillard matchup should be great to watch and the Mitchell/Simons matchup of high-scoring shooting guards as well. Nurkic and Allen will be a good matchup, but the 290-pound Nurkic averages just 29 minutes per game. His backup is 6’9”, 245-pound Drew Eubanks, a second-year undrafted player. The Cavs need to capitalize when he is on the floor.
Evan Mobley will match up with Jerami Grant, so we’ll see if Evan can keep Grant from getting his 22 points. Grant is a svelte 6’8”, 210, so Evan should be able to muscle his way to the rim on isolations while preventing Grant from hitting too mnay 3's.
The Blazers and the Jazz have a lot of similarities. Both started the season on fire (Utah 10-3, Portland 10-4), then fell on tough times (Utah 11-20, Portland 9-17). Both have aging but still effective point guards (Mike Conley, Damian Lillard). Both have been struggling recently (Utah lost 7 of 8 before playing the Cavs, Portland has lost 8 of 10). Both teams shoot a lot of 3’s and make more than the average. Both teams lost to the Cavs in Cleveland in games that were not close. Both are over .500 at home.
Portland is 9-7 at home. In their last 10 games they are 0-7 on the road and 2-1 at home, but the wins were over 11-31 Charlotte and 11-33 Detroit. Their last win over a team with a winning record was over five weeks ago; Dec. 4 against Indiana. They are 5-11 against opponents over .500.
On Nov. 23 the Blazers lost to the Cavs 114-96. Mitchell scored 34 while Garland and Allen each had 24. The Cavs shredded the Blazers' defense, shooting 55% and 44%. However, Damian Lillard was out that night. Adding Lillard’s 27.4 points and 7.1 assists per game plus moving the venue to the west coast will even this one out.
The Blazers will be missing a couple of reserves, Winslow and Little, who combined for 10 points in 50 minutes in the first game. This should not have much impact.
Lillard, now 32 years old, shoots 44% from the field and 36% on 3’s. The Blazers have three other players in double figures. Anfernee Simons averages 22.2 points on 44% and 38%, Jerami Grant averages 21.9 points on 49% and 42%, and Jusuf Nurkic averages 14.5 points on 53% and 40%. Shooting guard Josh Hart averages 9.8 points and nobody off their bench averages more than 7.6. In the first game their bench scored just 20 points (but the Cavs’ bench only got 10). Love and LeVert were out for the Cavs and Cedi had an off night.
So the Blazers get Lillard back while the Cavs add Love, LeVert, and Rubio. Both teams should be stronger on paper for the rematch.
The Blazers rank 14th in offensive efficiency but 22nd in points per game, mostly because they play slow, ranking 26th in possessions per game. The Cavs rank 29th, so this game will feature two very, very deliberate teams.
The Blazers are good shooters, ranking 12th in effective field goal percentage. They like to shoot from deep, ranking 11th in 3-point rate, and they’re very good at it, ranking 7th in 3-point percentage. They’re only 22nd in points in the paint, so the biggest threat is them getting hot from outside, which we’ve seen way too much of lately from Cavs' opponents.
The Blazers get to the line a lot, ranking 4th in free throws per possession, and since they’re at home they will get most of the calls. They’re strong on the offensive glass, ranking 11th (Utah is 9th, another similarity). Their biggest problem offensively is turnovers, where they rank 28th of 30 teams in turnover percentage.
They like to attack the rim, ranking 7th in frequency, but are only 20th in success rate at the rim. However, they draw a lot of fouls as noted above, so the Cavs need to contest the layups without fouling. The Blazers have a small team with the starting lineup standing 6'2", 6'3", 6'4", 6'8" (210 pounds), and 6'11" (but Nurkic is no leaper by any stretch of the imagination).
So like against Utah, the key to defending Portland is to contest the 3’s and not let them get going from deep while avoiding excessive fouls and second chance points. Putting pressure on the ball is a good idea since they are among the worst at committing turnovers.
Defensively the Blazers rank 21st in efficiency. They are below average at defending the paint and give up transition points because of all the turnovers. They’re also below average in block percentage, steal percentage, and opponents' free throws per possession. They’re not really bad at anything defensively but they’re below average pretty much across the board.
The Blazers don’t have much of a bench with nobody averaging more than 7.6 points, and Justice Winslow, who leads their non-starters in minutes at 27 per game, is out. The key is to clamp down on Lillard, Simons, and Grant, who combine to score 71 of the team’s 112 points.
Offensively the Cavs should attack the rim as the Blazers are below average at defending the paint, blocking shots, and avoiding fouls. Plus the Cavs are abysmal 3-point shooters on the road (37.2% at home, 32.7% on the road). Darius Garland has the biggest differential (46.4% at home, 29.7% on the road). He needs to work on that.
Kevin Love has missed 17 of his last 18 three-point attempts, so he is mired in an awful slump. So if I were Bickerstaff I would suggest the Cavs attack the rim at every opportunity as the Blazers have almost no rim protection (they average only 4.2 blocks per game) and they foul more than average.
Individually, the Garland/Lillard matchup should be great to watch and the Mitchell/Simons matchup of high-scoring shooting guards as well. Nurkic and Allen will be a good matchup, but the 290-pound Nurkic averages just 29 minutes per game. His backup is 6’9”, 245-pound Drew Eubanks, a second-year undrafted player. The Cavs need to capitalize when he is on the floor.
Evan Mobley will match up with Jerami Grant, so we’ll see if Evan can keep Grant from getting his 22 points. Grant is a svelte 6’8”, 210, so Evan should be able to muscle his way to the rim on isolations while preventing Grant from hitting too mnay 3's.
