stick
All-Star
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2013
- Messages
- 3,462
- Reaction score
- 6,559
- Points
- 113
Starters
Cavs
G, Kyrie Irving | G, Iman Shumpert | F/G/C, LeBron James | F, Kevin Love | F/C, Tristan Thompson
Wizards
G, John Wall | G, Bradley Beal | F, Otto Porter, Jr. | F, Markieff Morris | C, Marcin Gortat
Reserves
Cavs
G/F, Kyle Korver | F, Channing Frye | F, Richard Jefferson | F, James Jones | G, DeAndre Liggins | G, Kay Felder | G, Jordan McRae
Wizards
F, Kelly Oubre, Jr. | G, Marcus Thorton | G, Trey Burke | G/F, Tomas Satoranski | F, Andrew Nicholson | C, Jason Smith | G/F, Sheldon McClellan
Injuries
Cavs
Swish - Out (Thumb), Birdman - Out (ACL), Kyrie - Will play (Quad)
Wizards
Ian Mahinmi - Out (Knee), Danuel House - Out (Wrist)
The Wizards Cast Fireball : The Wiz have been on a roll. They've won seven in a row and a whopping seventeen home games in a row. They also had the league's second best record for the month of January (12-4). However, with that said, they haven't played many good teams
for this stretch (their best wins coming against Memphis and Boston), but hey, you can only play who's in front of you. The Wizards are getting these results in part due to career or near career years from Wall, Beal, Otto, and Markieff Morris. Tonight's game will be a good test for the Wizards, as well as the Cavs (who are hopefully nearing the end of their cold stretch).
Pine Threes : Since Korver's arrival on the Cavaliers, he and Channing are making 3.8 threes a game on 39.6% shooting from three. Frye's three point percentage has dipped a bit (35.6%) in the thirteen games since Korver has joined the team. Still they present a deadly threat for any team to defend coming off the bench.
The Switch is (LeBr)ON! : LeBron has turned on a switch. In his last five games, he's averaging 27.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting 60.7% from the floor. Remarkably, in this same stretch he's nearly shooting better from the field than from the free throw line (62.2%). In the Cavs four wins, he's shooting even better at 64.3 percent and 40 percent from three. More than the stats though, he's seeming to get over some recent frustrations and is providing better effort on the court.
The Point of Attack : John Wall wants attention. Kyrie gets headlights. Whether real or perceived, there seems to be a rivalry between the two. Since the 2013-2014 season, they have matched up against each other 11 times, with Kyrie winning 7 of those match-ups and John winning 4. Ky is averaging 25.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists on 49% shooting versus Wall who is averaging 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 9 assists on 48.3% shooting. Irving has been getting the better of Wall for the last four seasons now, and we hope to see that continue tonight.
Shooting Shump : Iman Shumpert's season has been defined by peaks and valleys. After being inserted in the starting-lineup, he was surging offensively for awhile, but now seems to have cooled off. In his last five games, he's shooting just 31 percent from the floor. Part of it has been an inconsistent starting lineup with guys like Kyrie and Love in and out.. Part of it is also because Shump can be one inconsistent player. Regardless, here's to hoping he peaks at the right time this year.
Twin Peaked : Markieff Morris is among several Wizards players that are having a career or near to it season this year. He's averaging a career high in rebounds at 6.8 and minutes at 32.1. He's also averaging 14.3 points (2nd highest for career) and 1.1 steals (2nd highest for career). He's been even better in his last 10 games, where's he's averaging 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds. Morris is one of the key unsung cogs responsible for the Wizards surge. On a side note, his twin, Marcus, is also experiencing a similarly good season averaging 14.1 points (17.5 points in his last 10 games).
Stopped! In the Name of Love : For the last two seasons, Kevin Love has struggled to shoot and score against the Wiz. He's shooting just 33.3% from the floor and averaging 10.5 points in 4 games. Even more surprising, he has not hit a single three pointer in any of those games. The Wizards seem to know how to stop/slow down Kev (from memory, they seem to have success fronting him in the post, as well as sticking to him on the perimeter). The Cavs and Love need to do a better job of countering this. I expect just that tonight, with Kev coming up big.
The Defense Adjorned. Back in Session? : The Cavs haven't been the most consistent of defensive teams for the season. For the last 15 games, they are 18th in DefRtg (107.5), while for the season they are 15th (105.5). Part of it is effort, but a lot is with the schemes. Teams are getting wide open rolls to the basket with no help defense inside. Teams are getting wide open three point shots. Teams are running in transition. Teams are making the Cavs pay for their defense. This is one of the major reasons the Cavs went 7- 8 in January (against mostly weaker competition). The last four games, however, the Cavs may be picking things up, giving up 99ppg to teams that average 103.3ppg with a DefRtg of 99.1 which is good for 5th in the NBA for that stretch (The Wizards, meanwhile, are fourth with a DefRtg of 98.9). Cleveland needs to continue getting better defensively... and can we just stop attacking the ball handler on a pick&roll no matter the situation!! Sigh, don't have the personal for that kind of scheme. Though, I've been noticing it less in the last several games... Let's hope that's a trend.
for this stretch (their best wins coming against Memphis and Boston), but hey, you can only play who's in front of you. The Wizards are getting these results in part due to career or near career years from Wall, Beal, Otto, and Markieff Morris. Tonight's game will be a good test for the Wizards, as well as the Cavs (who are hopefully nearing the end of their cold stretch).
Pine Threes : Since Korver's arrival on the Cavaliers, he and Channing are making 3.8 threes a game on 39.6% shooting from three. Frye's three point percentage has dipped a bit (35.6%) in the thirteen games since Korver has joined the team. Still they present a deadly threat for any team to defend coming off the bench.
The Switch is (LeBr)ON! : LeBron has turned on a switch. In his last five games, he's averaging 27.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting 60.7% from the floor. Remarkably, in this same stretch he's nearly shooting better from the field than from the free throw line (62.2%). In the Cavs four wins, he's shooting even better at 64.3 percent and 40 percent from three. More than the stats though, he's seeming to get over some recent frustrations and is providing better effort on the court.
The Point of Attack : John Wall wants attention. Kyrie gets headlights. Whether real or perceived, there seems to be a rivalry between the two. Since the 2013-2014 season, they have matched up against each other 11 times, with Kyrie winning 7 of those match-ups and John winning 4. Ky is averaging 25.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists on 49% shooting versus Wall who is averaging 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 9 assists on 48.3% shooting. Irving has been getting the better of Wall for the last four seasons now, and we hope to see that continue tonight.
Shooting Shump : Iman Shumpert's season has been defined by peaks and valleys. After being inserted in the starting-lineup, he was surging offensively for awhile, but now seems to have cooled off. In his last five games, he's shooting just 31 percent from the floor. Part of it has been an inconsistent starting lineup with guys like Kyrie and Love in and out.. Part of it is also because Shump can be one inconsistent player. Regardless, here's to hoping he peaks at the right time this year.
Twin Peaked : Markieff Morris is among several Wizards players that are having a career or near to it season this year. He's averaging a career high in rebounds at 6.8 and minutes at 32.1. He's also averaging 14.3 points (2nd highest for career) and 1.1 steals (2nd highest for career). He's been even better in his last 10 games, where's he's averaging 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds. Morris is one of the key unsung cogs responsible for the Wizards surge. On a side note, his twin, Marcus, is also experiencing a similarly good season averaging 14.1 points (17.5 points in his last 10 games).
Stopped! In the Name of Love : For the last two seasons, Kevin Love has struggled to shoot and score against the Wiz. He's shooting just 33.3% from the floor and averaging 10.5 points in 4 games. Even more surprising, he has not hit a single three pointer in any of those games. The Wizards seem to know how to stop/slow down Kev (from memory, they seem to have success fronting him in the post, as well as sticking to him on the perimeter). The Cavs and Love need to do a better job of countering this. I expect just that tonight, with Kev coming up big.
The Defense Adjorned. Back in Session? : The Cavs haven't been the most consistent of defensive teams for the season. For the last 15 games, they are 18th in DefRtg (107.5), while for the season they are 15th (105.5). Part of it is effort, but a lot is with the schemes. Teams are getting wide open rolls to the basket with no help defense inside. Teams are getting wide open three point shots. Teams are running in transition. Teams are making the Cavs pay for their defense. This is one of the major reasons the Cavs went 7- 8 in January (against mostly weaker competition). The last four games, however, the Cavs may be picking things up, giving up 99ppg to teams that average 103.3ppg with a DefRtg of 99.1 which is good for 5th in the NBA for that stretch (The Wizards, meanwhile, are fourth with a DefRtg of 98.9). Cleveland needs to continue getting better defensively... and can we just stop attacking the ball handler on a pick&roll no matter the situation!! Sigh, don't have the personal for that kind of scheme. Though, I've been noticing it less in the last several games... Let's hope that's a trend.
Let's go CAVS!!
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