After a day off the Cavaliers, winners of 8 of their last 11, stay home to engage the Los Angeles Clippers, who played yesterday afternoon in Charlotte and will be playing the second night of a back-to-back and their 3rd game in 4 days.
This is not good for the Clippers who have the oldest team in the league and maybe ever. James Harden is 36, Kawhi Leonard 34, Brook Lopez 37, Nick Batum 36, and Chris Paul is 40.
The Sporting News has the Clippers ranked 21st.
The Clippers are wasting another tremendous season from James Harden. They're a slow, old team that doesn't get back in transition. Chris Paul looks sadly finished. Their other newcomer vets haven't been much better.
From an AI summary on the Clippers age:
The NBA has trended toward a much faster, higher-possession style of play this season, but the Clippers are "dead last in pace and fast-break points". An advance scout mentioned they "move so slowly, they can't recover when they turn the ball over or give up a quick transition”.
The team has the oldest roster in the NBA, and their age is showing. Key players have faced significant injuries early in the season, including a season-ending hip fracture for Bradley Beal and ongoing ankle and foot sprains for Kawhi Leonard.
The Clippers started 3-2 but have since gone 2-9, beating only the 4-12 Hornets and the 5-12 Mavericks in double overtime. The Clippers are 2-6 on the road.
They did beat the Hornets Saturday afternoon so at least they didn’t get into Cleveland in the middle of the night. James Harden went ballistic with 55 points in 35 minutes. With Beal and Leonard out Harden had to carry the offense, and carry it he did.
This is Harden’s 17th season. Only Curry, LeBron, and Kobe have scored 55 or more at age 36 or older. Harden got 27 in the first quarter so the Cavs better be ready from the opening tip. When interviewed after the game Harden responded, “Basketball is life.”
The next highest scorer was Ivica Zubac with 18 and nobody else had more than 11. The question is how much gas James will have in the tank after pouring in 55 last night. This will be his 6th game in 10 days and he’s averaging 38.4 minutes in that span.
Harden is averaging 26.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. His shooting percentages of 44% and 38% are right on his career averages. Looking at his rebounding, assists, and free throw attempts it appears he has not lost a beat - he’s actually better than he was 10 years ago.
Leonard is expected back to face the Cavaliers. His slash line is 25/6/4 on 50% from the field and 40% on 3’s. At 34 he's still a great player when he can get on the floor.
Ivica Zubac, their 7’0”, 240-pound center, averages 16 points and 11 boards. He does not shoot 3’s. John Collins, a 6’9” veteran forward, averages 12 points and 5 rebounds. Kris Dunn and Kobe Sanders average 7 points and Brook Lopez averages 6. Other than Harden, Kawhi, and Zubac they don’t have much.
Offensively they rank 25th in points per game, mainly because they play at the league’s slowest pace. They are 13th in effective field goal percentage so they are not bad shooters, but they are 29th in both field goal attempts per game and fast break points. They also turn the ball over a lot, ranking 25th in turnovers per possession. The Cavs are 8th in forcing turnovers.
The Clippers are below average at getting to the free throw line and getting offensive boards. They’re 27th in assists per possession, indicating they tend to play iso ball and let Harden or Leonard go one-on-one.
The key for the Cavs defensively is to force turnovers and fast break off the turnovers. I would also rotate fresh bodies on Harden and make him really work for his shots. He played 35 minutes yesterday and put up 26 shots. I would attack him on defense and not let him rest. The guy is 36 and scored 55 points yesterday - never let him stop moving.
Defensively the Clips rank 18th in points per game, but cleaningtheglass.com ranks them 27th defensively in non-garbage time. They don’t defend the 3-pointer well at all, ranking 27th in opponents’ shooting percentage. They’re much better defending 2’s where they rank 8th. They are on the low end of average at defensive rebounding.
These guys are old and slow so the key on offense is to run in transition at every opportunity. Beat them down the floor or at least make them sprint back after every shot, successful or not. In the half court offense I would move the ball side to side and force them to move their feet. Also, Garland and Mitchell should break them down off the dribble to “invade the paint” as Kenny put it.
According to CBSports, Ball, Allen, Merrill, and CPJ are out. No mention of Garland so I assume he’s OK. The Cavs play at Toronto on Monday so they are saving Ball for that game. CPJ has a hamstring injury so if he's out along with Merrill and Ball the Cavs will be thin at guard with only Tyson and Proctor behind Donovan and Darius. This could be a game where Proctor gets a lot of run as they probably don't want Garland or Mitchell playing too many minutes, especially with a game tomorrow against a Raptors' team that is 2-0 against the Cavs.
Injury Report
CLEVELAND
Jarrett Allen - OUT (finger)
Sam Merrill - OUT (wrist)
Lonzo Ball - OUT (injury management)
Max Strus - OUT (foot)
Craig Porter Jr - OUT (hamstring)
LOS ANGELES
Kawhi Leonard - PROBABLE (ankle)
Bogdan Bogdanovic - QUESTIONABLE (hip)
Jordan Miller - OUT (hamstring)
Derrick Jones Jr - OUT (MCL)
Bradley Beal - OUT (hip)