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Having escaped with a come from behind 4th quarter win against the 9-41 Wizards the Cavs catch a late flight to NYC for the second game of a back-to-back against the Brooklyn Nets. Last time these teams met they were in Paris and the Cavs emerged with a 111-102 win. The Cavs opened the season in Brooklyn with a 1-point win so this will be the 3rd meeting of these teams.
The Nets started the season 15-15 but have since gone 5-15. They are 12-15 at home. In their last two games they lost at home to Dallas and Golden State by 11 and 12 points. However, the Nets are 3-3 in their last six and 2-1 since Ben Simmons returned from missing over two months with an injury. They won’t be pushovers, especially having yesterday off while the Cavs went down to the final minutes against the Wizards last night.
In the current ESPN Power Rankings the Cavs are 5th and Brooklyn is 23rd.
The Cavs have one advantage, however, and that is injuries. Starting PF Cam Johnson, averaging 14 ppg on 46% from the field and 40% on 3’s, is out. Johnson’s backup Dorian Finney-Smith is also out, leaving Royce O’Neale as the starting power forward. O’Neale is 6’6”, 226 and is averaging 7.4 points on 39% from the field. It looks like it will be O’Neale and Trevon Watford, a third year player averaging 5.5 ppg at power forward.
G Lonnie Walker IV, who averages 12 points off the bench on 48% overall and 44% on 3’s is also out. Backup center Day’Ron Sharpe is also out, leaving Nic Claxton as the only healthy center on the roster. Ben Simmons, their 6’10”, 240 pound point guard, is listed as the backup center on the depth chart.
But they still have SF Mikal Bridges (22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), SG Cam Thomas (21.4 points), PG Spencer Dinwiddie (13 points, 6 assists), and C Nic Claxton (12.4 points, 10.4 rebounds). Throw in Simmons and that’s not a bad starting lineup. But with four players sidelined who regularly get minutes their bench is significantly depleted.
Ben Simmons has provided a spark since he returned. Simmons is a +35 in those three games. In their loss to Dallas two nights ago he had a line of 9/9/7 in 20 minutes. In his first game back against the Jazz he was a +27 in 18 minutes with a line of 10/8/11. He does everything, but especially rebound and pass out dimes.
I don’t want to wade too deep into the season stats since they’re a different team now than what they have been. Simmons has only played 9 games this year, but he’s back. Johnson and DFS started 40 and 31 games, averaging 28 minutes each, but they’re both out. FWIW the Nets rank 20th in points per game and 16th in points allowed.
Also, they were an average team for the first 30 games but have lost 15 of 20 since then, so averaging their season stats might not give a true picture of where they are now. They are trending down but getting Simmons back should help, except that four other guys recently went down.
Simmons takes risks with his passes, ranking in the 97th percentile among point guards in assist to usage ratio, but is in the bottom 1% in turnover percentage at a whopping 19.4%. It’s either going to be an assist or a turnover when Simmons passes the ball.
Cam Thomas, their 22-year-old 6’3” shooting guard, is the wild card. He has games where he’s unstoppable and others where he disappears. Since Jan. 1 he’s had games of 25, 25, 25, 26, 33, 37, and 40 points. In that same time frame he’s had games of 0, 4, 8, and 9 points. It’s pretty much one or the other, although he did have five games between 14-20 points. In two games against the Cavs he has scored 26 and 36 points, averaging 21 shots per game. He’s a black hole on offense, ranking in the top 1% in usage rate.
The Cavs have done a nice job on Mikal Bridges, holding him to 40% overall and 25% on 3’s. Dinwiddie has just 7 points in 40 minutes against the Cavs.
I don’t know what to make of this one. You are never confident on the second night of a back-to-back with travel, especially on the road, and these aren’t the Wizards or Pistons. Also, I think the Cavs’ remarkable winning streak is putting a target on their backs; teams want to be the one to knock them off. The Wizards were playing very hard last night and Memphis and Detroit also fought hard and lost by single digits. Ten days ago the Nets beat Utah 147-114, so they are capable of putting a great game together against a strong opponent.
OTOH the Cavs are easily the better team and the Nets top two power forwards are out along with two other bench contributors. This one could go either way. I think the key is for the Cavs’ starters to play the Nets’ starters even and the Cavs’ bench to dominate.
Allen and Mitchell played 37 and 38 minutes last night so I wouldn't count on 40 points from Donovan again tonight. However, none of the other Cavs played over 28 minutes. Wade, Merrill, and LeVert played 12-14 minutes so those guys could get more run. I don’t know if Garland and Mobley will play on the second night of a BTB.
The Cavs will be tired from playing the night before and the travel even without having played a lot of minutes. IMO it’s going to take big games from our bench guys and some good defense on Thomas and Bridges to get out of town with a W. Outside of Thomas and Bridges the Nets don't have any shot creators, so forcing them to give up the ball or take contested shots is the key.
The Nets aren’t going to want to lose three in a row to us and beating a team that is 15-1 in their last 16 would be something to feel really good about. Like the Pistons, Grizzlies, and Wizards, I expect the Nets to give us their best shot, even without being at full strength.
The Nets started the season 15-15 but have since gone 5-15. They are 12-15 at home. In their last two games they lost at home to Dallas and Golden State by 11 and 12 points. However, the Nets are 3-3 in their last six and 2-1 since Ben Simmons returned from missing over two months with an injury. They won’t be pushovers, especially having yesterday off while the Cavs went down to the final minutes against the Wizards last night.
In the current ESPN Power Rankings the Cavs are 5th and Brooklyn is 23rd.
The Cavs have one advantage, however, and that is injuries. Starting PF Cam Johnson, averaging 14 ppg on 46% from the field and 40% on 3’s, is out. Johnson’s backup Dorian Finney-Smith is also out, leaving Royce O’Neale as the starting power forward. O’Neale is 6’6”, 226 and is averaging 7.4 points on 39% from the field. It looks like it will be O’Neale and Trevon Watford, a third year player averaging 5.5 ppg at power forward.
G Lonnie Walker IV, who averages 12 points off the bench on 48% overall and 44% on 3’s is also out. Backup center Day’Ron Sharpe is also out, leaving Nic Claxton as the only healthy center on the roster. Ben Simmons, their 6’10”, 240 pound point guard, is listed as the backup center on the depth chart.
But they still have SF Mikal Bridges (22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), SG Cam Thomas (21.4 points), PG Spencer Dinwiddie (13 points, 6 assists), and C Nic Claxton (12.4 points, 10.4 rebounds). Throw in Simmons and that’s not a bad starting lineup. But with four players sidelined who regularly get minutes their bench is significantly depleted.
Ben Simmons has provided a spark since he returned. Simmons is a +35 in those three games. In their loss to Dallas two nights ago he had a line of 9/9/7 in 20 minutes. In his first game back against the Jazz he was a +27 in 18 minutes with a line of 10/8/11. He does everything, but especially rebound and pass out dimes.
I don’t want to wade too deep into the season stats since they’re a different team now than what they have been. Simmons has only played 9 games this year, but he’s back. Johnson and DFS started 40 and 31 games, averaging 28 minutes each, but they’re both out. FWIW the Nets rank 20th in points per game and 16th in points allowed.
Also, they were an average team for the first 30 games but have lost 15 of 20 since then, so averaging their season stats might not give a true picture of where they are now. They are trending down but getting Simmons back should help, except that four other guys recently went down.
Simmons takes risks with his passes, ranking in the 97th percentile among point guards in assist to usage ratio, but is in the bottom 1% in turnover percentage at a whopping 19.4%. It’s either going to be an assist or a turnover when Simmons passes the ball.
Cam Thomas, their 22-year-old 6’3” shooting guard, is the wild card. He has games where he’s unstoppable and others where he disappears. Since Jan. 1 he’s had games of 25, 25, 25, 26, 33, 37, and 40 points. In that same time frame he’s had games of 0, 4, 8, and 9 points. It’s pretty much one or the other, although he did have five games between 14-20 points. In two games against the Cavs he has scored 26 and 36 points, averaging 21 shots per game. He’s a black hole on offense, ranking in the top 1% in usage rate.
The Cavs have done a nice job on Mikal Bridges, holding him to 40% overall and 25% on 3’s. Dinwiddie has just 7 points in 40 minutes against the Cavs.
I don’t know what to make of this one. You are never confident on the second night of a back-to-back with travel, especially on the road, and these aren’t the Wizards or Pistons. Also, I think the Cavs’ remarkable winning streak is putting a target on their backs; teams want to be the one to knock them off. The Wizards were playing very hard last night and Memphis and Detroit also fought hard and lost by single digits. Ten days ago the Nets beat Utah 147-114, so they are capable of putting a great game together against a strong opponent.
OTOH the Cavs are easily the better team and the Nets top two power forwards are out along with two other bench contributors. This one could go either way. I think the key is for the Cavs’ starters to play the Nets’ starters even and the Cavs’ bench to dominate.
Allen and Mitchell played 37 and 38 minutes last night so I wouldn't count on 40 points from Donovan again tonight. However, none of the other Cavs played over 28 minutes. Wade, Merrill, and LeVert played 12-14 minutes so those guys could get more run. I don’t know if Garland and Mobley will play on the second night of a BTB.
The Cavs will be tired from playing the night before and the travel even without having played a lot of minutes. IMO it’s going to take big games from our bench guys and some good defense on Thomas and Bridges to get out of town with a W. Outside of Thomas and Bridges the Nets don't have any shot creators, so forcing them to give up the ball or take contested shots is the key.
The Nets aren’t going to want to lose three in a row to us and beating a team that is 15-1 in their last 16 would be something to feel really good about. Like the Pistons, Grizzlies, and Wizards, I expect the Nets to give us their best shot, even without being at full strength.
