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After splitting a pair in South Beach the Cavs move up the coast to Charlotte for a pair of games on Sunday and Tuesday. Then they fly home for a big game Wednesday against Philly on a back-to-back. Tough schedule.
Charlotte is 22-47 overall and 11-21 at home. They will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back, but no travel. This game is at 5 p.m.
The Hornets lost to Utah at home last night 119-111 despite Clarkson and Sexton being out and Markkanen going 3-for-22 from the field. The Cavs probably watched the game and got some ideas on how to attack the Hornets.
Jarrett Allen will miss this game with an eye injury and Darius Garland is questionable. With two key starters likely to be out and a bench that ranks 29th in scoring, points could be hard to come by for the Cavs.
The Cavs beat the Hornets in Cleveland nearly three months ago in double overtime by a score of 132-122. The Hornets scored 35 points off 20 Cavalier turnovers and outscored the Cavs 19-2 on fast breaks. The Cavs’ sloppy ball-handling gave the Hornets a chance, but the Cavs finally broke them to win the second overtime by a 12-2 score. Garland had 8 turnovers that game and Mitchell had 6.
The guards for both teams were lights out in that game as Garland scored 41, Mitchell 34, Oubre 34, and Rozier 28. Power forward PJ Washington also had 28 for Charlotte.
The Hornets rank 26th in scoring and 30th in offensive efficiency. In six games in March they are averaging just 103.2 points and under 44% from the field. Kelly Oubre Jr and Terry Rozier combine to average 46 of their 112 points per game. Washington averages 15 and Gordon Hayward 14.
Since the last time these teams played center Mason Plumlee was traded and replaced in the starting lineup by either rookie Mark Williams or Nick Richards, who both average 8 points and 6 rebounds.
The Hornets are awful 3-point shooters, hitting just 32.8% as a team. Washington is their best 3-point shooter at 35%.
They are missing their leading scorer and assister, LaMelo Ball, who averaged 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 8.4 assists in 36 games. They had won five straight when he fractured his ankle on Feb. 27. Since then they are 2-5.
The Hornets are 8th in steals per possession and 6th in fast break points, so they depend on getting steals and transition buckets like they did against the Cavs in November. This time around Mitchell and Garland (or LeVert and Rubio) need to protect the ball better. They can’t give up 35 points off turnovers and expect to win on the road.
The Hornets rank 5th in field goal attempts per game (they play fast) but 26th in scoring because they are very bad shooters, especially from deep. The Hornets are 7th in points in the paint so they depend on getting to the rim to score, along with scoring on fast breaks. With Allen out they should have more success. The Hornets scored 105 points in regulation in the first game, in which Ball did not play.
With no Jarrett Allen I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dean Wade get more minutes tonight in order to try and keep the Hornets from getting to the rim.
The key for the Cavs defensively is to defend the paint. On the perimeter they need to focus their defense on Oubre and Rozier, who combined for 62 points the last game these teams played. Oubre is averaging 25 points in March at 45% and 42% so he has been hot lately. He was 6-for-12 last night from deep. Gordon Hayward is shooting 39% on 3’s in March.
The biggest risk for the Cavs is if some combination of Rozier, Oubre, and Hayward get hot from outside. We saw that two nights ago in Miami with Herro and Strus. But as a team the Hornets are making just 33% from deep and 34% in March.
Defensively the Hornets are below average (24th in scoring, 21st in efficiency) but they’re not terrible in any category. They gamble a lot for steals, ranking 8th. They probably understand that they’re poor shooters and need to generate easy buckets with their defense, so they have to take risks.
cleaningtheglass.com has the Hornets ranked 27th in point differential; 30th on offense and 20th on defense. But in the last two weeks they are 29th on offense and 3rd on defense at 109 points per 100 possessions. The Cavs are 1st at 107.2 the last two weeks, so both these teams have been very good defensively. This may be misleading as the Hornets have played Detroit twice, Brooklyn, and Orlando in the last two weeks. Last night they got burned for 119 points by a Utah team missing two of their three leading scorers.
In terms of shot frequency, the Hornets rank 4th in shot attempts at the rim, 19th in mid-range, and 22nd on 3’s. They’re all about getting to the rim. In terms of accuracy the Hornets are below average at the rim, ranking 22nd. They’re last in accuracy at the mid-range and 3-point shots after you strip out garbage time.
The Cavs just need to minimize turnovers on offense (especially steals), defend the paint on defense, and force Oubre and Rozier to take contested shots or give up the ball. The Cavs are the better team but without Allen and possibly Garland and playing on the road this will be a challenging game.
This is a solid opportunity to get two more wins and maintain their lead over the Knicks for 4th place. The Knicks are at the Lakers today and at the Blazers Tuesday after losing to the Clippers last night, so the Cavs have a chance to seal the deal for home court advantage in the first round with a couple of wins combined with Knicks losses.
Charlotte is 22-47 overall and 11-21 at home. They will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back, but no travel. This game is at 5 p.m.
The Hornets lost to Utah at home last night 119-111 despite Clarkson and Sexton being out and Markkanen going 3-for-22 from the field. The Cavs probably watched the game and got some ideas on how to attack the Hornets.
Jarrett Allen will miss this game with an eye injury and Darius Garland is questionable. With two key starters likely to be out and a bench that ranks 29th in scoring, points could be hard to come by for the Cavs.
The Cavs beat the Hornets in Cleveland nearly three months ago in double overtime by a score of 132-122. The Hornets scored 35 points off 20 Cavalier turnovers and outscored the Cavs 19-2 on fast breaks. The Cavs’ sloppy ball-handling gave the Hornets a chance, but the Cavs finally broke them to win the second overtime by a 12-2 score. Garland had 8 turnovers that game and Mitchell had 6.
The guards for both teams were lights out in that game as Garland scored 41, Mitchell 34, Oubre 34, and Rozier 28. Power forward PJ Washington also had 28 for Charlotte.
The Hornets rank 26th in scoring and 30th in offensive efficiency. In six games in March they are averaging just 103.2 points and under 44% from the field. Kelly Oubre Jr and Terry Rozier combine to average 46 of their 112 points per game. Washington averages 15 and Gordon Hayward 14.
Since the last time these teams played center Mason Plumlee was traded and replaced in the starting lineup by either rookie Mark Williams or Nick Richards, who both average 8 points and 6 rebounds.
The Hornets are awful 3-point shooters, hitting just 32.8% as a team. Washington is their best 3-point shooter at 35%.
They are missing their leading scorer and assister, LaMelo Ball, who averaged 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 8.4 assists in 36 games. They had won five straight when he fractured his ankle on Feb. 27. Since then they are 2-5.
The Hornets are 8th in steals per possession and 6th in fast break points, so they depend on getting steals and transition buckets like they did against the Cavs in November. This time around Mitchell and Garland (or LeVert and Rubio) need to protect the ball better. They can’t give up 35 points off turnovers and expect to win on the road.
The Hornets rank 5th in field goal attempts per game (they play fast) but 26th in scoring because they are very bad shooters, especially from deep. The Hornets are 7th in points in the paint so they depend on getting to the rim to score, along with scoring on fast breaks. With Allen out they should have more success. The Hornets scored 105 points in regulation in the first game, in which Ball did not play.
With no Jarrett Allen I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dean Wade get more minutes tonight in order to try and keep the Hornets from getting to the rim.
The key for the Cavs defensively is to defend the paint. On the perimeter they need to focus their defense on Oubre and Rozier, who combined for 62 points the last game these teams played. Oubre is averaging 25 points in March at 45% and 42% so he has been hot lately. He was 6-for-12 last night from deep. Gordon Hayward is shooting 39% on 3’s in March.
The biggest risk for the Cavs is if some combination of Rozier, Oubre, and Hayward get hot from outside. We saw that two nights ago in Miami with Herro and Strus. But as a team the Hornets are making just 33% from deep and 34% in March.
Defensively the Hornets are below average (24th in scoring, 21st in efficiency) but they’re not terrible in any category. They gamble a lot for steals, ranking 8th. They probably understand that they’re poor shooters and need to generate easy buckets with their defense, so they have to take risks.
cleaningtheglass.com has the Hornets ranked 27th in point differential; 30th on offense and 20th on defense. But in the last two weeks they are 29th on offense and 3rd on defense at 109 points per 100 possessions. The Cavs are 1st at 107.2 the last two weeks, so both these teams have been very good defensively. This may be misleading as the Hornets have played Detroit twice, Brooklyn, and Orlando in the last two weeks. Last night they got burned for 119 points by a Utah team missing two of their three leading scorers.
In terms of shot frequency, the Hornets rank 4th in shot attempts at the rim, 19th in mid-range, and 22nd on 3’s. They’re all about getting to the rim. In terms of accuracy the Hornets are below average at the rim, ranking 22nd. They’re last in accuracy at the mid-range and 3-point shots after you strip out garbage time.
The Cavs just need to minimize turnovers on offense (especially steals), defend the paint on defense, and force Oubre and Rozier to take contested shots or give up the ball. The Cavs are the better team but without Allen and possibly Garland and playing on the road this will be a challenging game.
This is a solid opportunity to get two more wins and maintain their lead over the Knicks for 4th place. The Knicks are at the Lakers today and at the Blazers Tuesday after losing to the Clippers last night, so the Cavs have a chance to seal the deal for home court advantage in the first round with a couple of wins combined with Knicks losses.
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