- Joined
- Oct 3, 2019
- Messages
- 10,003
- Reaction score
- 28,741
- Points
- 135
The Cavaliers grab their passports and berets and head off to gay Paree for a neutral site matchup against the Brooklyn Nets. Both teams had three days to adjust to the time change and take in a little sightseeing at the site of this year’s Summer Olympics. Then it's three more days off to get back to the states and reacclimatize. I’m not thrilled about seeing just one game in seven days, but with Garland and Mobley still out the fewer games on the schedule right now the better.
The Nets started out well at 13-10, but have since lost 11 of 14. They’re pretty much in free fall at the moment so the Cavs are catching them at a good time. Their last game was a home loss to Portland.
An overtime home loss to the Trail Blazers (10-25) dropped the Nets to 16-21 overall and 3-11 in their last 14 games. To be fair, it’s been a really tough schedule, but they did also lose to the Wizards (6-29). - The Athletic
Having divested themselves of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving last year the Nets are in a rebuilding phase. They lost to the Cavaliers 114-113 at home to open the season. The Cavs were without Jarrett Allen. Cam Thomas scored 36 points off the bench. Ben Simmons had 10 rebounds and 9 assists but he won’t be available.
The Cavaliers have won 8 of 11 while the Nets have lost 11 of 14 so these trains are moving in opposite directions.
The Nets are a balanced team, ranking 17th in scoring and 19th in scoring defense. They are not great shooters, ranking 23rd in effective field goal percentage, but they put up a lot of shots, ranking 3rd in field goal attempts per game. Part of that is getting a lot of offensive rebounds and second shots. They rank 5th in offensive rebound percentage so the Cavs need to hit the defensive glass, especially with Evan Mobley still out.
The Nets are better shooting 3’s than 2’s (ranking 26th in 2-point percentage), so the key is to challenge their 3-point shots and then get the first rebound. They’re shooting 37% from deep, which is average, but they have three players shooting over 40% on 3’s that the Cavs can’t leave alone (Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Lonnie Walker IV).
Defensively they defend the paint very well, ranking 4th in points in the paint per game and 8th in opponents’ 2-point percentage, but they are very weak defending 3’s (27th) and forcing turnovers (29th). The key seems to be moving the ball to create an open look from the 3-point line rather than forcing it inside. They’re average at blocking shots and defensive rebounding.
SF Mikal Bridges leads in minutes per game (34) and scoring (21.2 ppg). Bridges is shooting 45% from the field and 35% on 3’s. SF Cam Johnson averages 15 ppg on 47% and 42%. He leads the Nets with 6.4 3-point attempts per game. PG Spencer Dinwiddie averages 14 ppg but is only shooting 39% and 32%. C Nic Claxton (6’11”) averages 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. PF Dorian Finney-Smith averages 10 ppg. He’s hitting 41% of his 3’s.
The Nets will have a size problem as backup center Day’Ron Sharpe, who averages 16 minutes per game, is out. Sharpe is the only center on their roster besides Claxton. Harry Giles a 6’10”, 240 power forward, may become the backup center, but he’s only played 59 minutes in 10 games this year so they clearly aren’t real high on him.
SG Cam Thomas averages 20.3 ppg off the bench. He leads the Nets in shots per game at 17.4 despite being 6th in minutes. He comes off the bus shooting the ball - he’s in the lowest 1% of the NBA in assists per usage percentage. He’s a black hole - throw him the ball and it’s not coming back.
The Nets seem to be conflicted about how to use Thomas. The 22-year-old third-year guard started the season scoring 36 against the Cavaliers on 13-for-21 from the field, almost stealing a win for them. He followed that up with 30- and 33-point games. But he’s been very inconsistent. He later had a 45-point game against the Bucks, a 41-point game against the Warriors, and a 32-point game against Utah. But in back-to-back games last week he went 0-for-11 and 0-for-7. In his last four games he’s scored 0, 4, 19, and 9 points. On Sunday the Nets lost in OT to Portland with Thomas scoring just 9 points, playing only 18 of 53 minutes.
On any given night Thomas could go off for 40 points but he also had back-to-back games where he was 0-for-18. Since he scored 36 against the Cavs in the first game I assume they will put him in and give him the green light. The key is to not let him get rolling or he will be a problem.
The Cavs are clearly the better team for the season and they’ve been playing much better than the Nets recently. At a neutral site this should be a Cavs’ win, but you never know if the travel and off-court activities in Paris before the game will distract the Cavs and take them out of their game. The game is on NBA-TV and starts at 2:00 p.m. Eastern so the Parisians don’t have to stay up too late. The Cavs attempted to trade for Victor Wembanyama to juice the attendance on his home court but the Spurs apparently were not cooperative.
The Nets started out well at 13-10, but have since lost 11 of 14. They’re pretty much in free fall at the moment so the Cavs are catching them at a good time. Their last game was a home loss to Portland.
An overtime home loss to the Trail Blazers (10-25) dropped the Nets to 16-21 overall and 3-11 in their last 14 games. To be fair, it’s been a really tough schedule, but they did also lose to the Wizards (6-29). - The Athletic
Having divested themselves of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving last year the Nets are in a rebuilding phase. They lost to the Cavaliers 114-113 at home to open the season. The Cavs were without Jarrett Allen. Cam Thomas scored 36 points off the bench. Ben Simmons had 10 rebounds and 9 assists but he won’t be available.
The Cavaliers have won 8 of 11 while the Nets have lost 11 of 14 so these trains are moving in opposite directions.
The Nets are a balanced team, ranking 17th in scoring and 19th in scoring defense. They are not great shooters, ranking 23rd in effective field goal percentage, but they put up a lot of shots, ranking 3rd in field goal attempts per game. Part of that is getting a lot of offensive rebounds and second shots. They rank 5th in offensive rebound percentage so the Cavs need to hit the defensive glass, especially with Evan Mobley still out.
The Nets are better shooting 3’s than 2’s (ranking 26th in 2-point percentage), so the key is to challenge their 3-point shots and then get the first rebound. They’re shooting 37% from deep, which is average, but they have three players shooting over 40% on 3’s that the Cavs can’t leave alone (Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Lonnie Walker IV).
Defensively they defend the paint very well, ranking 4th in points in the paint per game and 8th in opponents’ 2-point percentage, but they are very weak defending 3’s (27th) and forcing turnovers (29th). The key seems to be moving the ball to create an open look from the 3-point line rather than forcing it inside. They’re average at blocking shots and defensive rebounding.
SF Mikal Bridges leads in minutes per game (34) and scoring (21.2 ppg). Bridges is shooting 45% from the field and 35% on 3’s. SF Cam Johnson averages 15 ppg on 47% and 42%. He leads the Nets with 6.4 3-point attempts per game. PG Spencer Dinwiddie averages 14 ppg but is only shooting 39% and 32%. C Nic Claxton (6’11”) averages 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. PF Dorian Finney-Smith averages 10 ppg. He’s hitting 41% of his 3’s.
The Nets will have a size problem as backup center Day’Ron Sharpe, who averages 16 minutes per game, is out. Sharpe is the only center on their roster besides Claxton. Harry Giles a 6’10”, 240 power forward, may become the backup center, but he’s only played 59 minutes in 10 games this year so they clearly aren’t real high on him.
SG Cam Thomas averages 20.3 ppg off the bench. He leads the Nets in shots per game at 17.4 despite being 6th in minutes. He comes off the bus shooting the ball - he’s in the lowest 1% of the NBA in assists per usage percentage. He’s a black hole - throw him the ball and it’s not coming back.
The Nets seem to be conflicted about how to use Thomas. The 22-year-old third-year guard started the season scoring 36 against the Cavaliers on 13-for-21 from the field, almost stealing a win for them. He followed that up with 30- and 33-point games. But he’s been very inconsistent. He later had a 45-point game against the Bucks, a 41-point game against the Warriors, and a 32-point game against Utah. But in back-to-back games last week he went 0-for-11 and 0-for-7. In his last four games he’s scored 0, 4, 19, and 9 points. On Sunday the Nets lost in OT to Portland with Thomas scoring just 9 points, playing only 18 of 53 minutes.
On any given night Thomas could go off for 40 points but he also had back-to-back games where he was 0-for-18. Since he scored 36 against the Cavs in the first game I assume they will put him in and give him the green light. The key is to not let him get rolling or he will be a problem.
The Cavs are clearly the better team for the season and they’ve been playing much better than the Nets recently. At a neutral site this should be a Cavs’ win, but you never know if the travel and off-court activities in Paris before the game will distract the Cavs and take them out of their game. The game is on NBA-TV and starts at 2:00 p.m. Eastern so the Parisians don’t have to stay up too late. The Cavs attempted to trade for Victor Wembanyama to juice the attendance on his home court but the Spurs apparently were not cooperative.
Last edited:
