The Cleveland Cavaliers can make a STATEMENT to the NBA against the Rockets on National TV

The Cleveland Cavaliers can make a STATEMENT to the NBA against the Rockets on National TV

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— at the assists though. They’re terrible. They don’t move. Well, the other thing that we don’t show where they’re terrible at is, and this is how you can even out number of possessions. They turn it over a lot and the Cavs force a lot of turnovers. So I think that will be the battle tonight. Can the Cavs force them into as many turnovers. — As the rebound disparity between the two teams and
— both the assist ratio also lower because they get a lot of putbacks, it’s not an assist on an offensive rebound. So that’s why they do play a ton of iso. Durant, and then Thompson, Shengoon, by the way, — Shengoon can have some freaking
— monster guys. Great game. Like how is Durant fitting in there? Awesome. They’ve been, — they’ve been really
— good. They’ve been really good. I think he’s become more prolific on offense. Am I right? And, and the other thing, I, I’ve only watched them a little bit. I went back and watched the highlights of the Magic game. That was a great game. They remind me of no one’s gonna get this analogy because I’m the only one old enough to understand it and I’m, I’m probably the only hockey fan, but they remind me of the Edmonton Oilers with Wayne Gretzky. Durant is Wayne Gretzky, and then they’ve got a bunch of guys. Mark Messier though was a Hall of Famer, yeah, but he, he was an enforcer. He was going to take the fight to you and Gretzky was a ballerina on skates. I mean protected him, yeah, so he was the finesse scorer and then they had 4 guys around him that just built a bubble around him essentially, and they played defense and they protected him. And they, they made it up, they made it possible for him to do his thing. They didn’t let the defense disrupt him so he could operate. And I think that’s exactly what this Rockets team looks like to me. They’ve got Durant and then 4 dudes that are out it. Well, and real quick before you two chime in, we, we’ve talked about the leap we wanted Mobley to take this year, and it still may happen. The Rockets have a Shangoon has taken that leap. Steve, — you wanna pull
— Shan stats. And how many years has he been? — Is he’s been in the league less than he’s
— the exact same draft. Down to, yeah, — but
— doesn’t Durant help with that 100%. But he’s shooting 3s this year. Take the numbers, Steve, whatever you want here. Uh, he’s averaging 10+ rebounds, 7.5 assists. He’s shooting 45% from 3. He didn’t shoot better than Mobley, is he not? He’s not a defender, so, — but they
— don’t shoot many 3s, do they? As a team, uh, not a ton, but Shangoon this year is actually shooting 3s for the first time in his career. He’s averaging 3.5 attempts per game and shooting 45%. — So that’s compared
— the Cavs lead the NBA and, — and the
— Rockets just aren’t that way. They don’t, they’re not Mike. If the, if the Cavs, if the, uh, Raptors offered him straight up for Moley, would you do it? You would. I, before the season, I would say not a chance. And right now I have to have a long, long, long, long, long conversation about that. But, but Mike, the jump that he’s made with Durant, what would he look like with Mitchell as the alpha in the offense? Durant’s opened the entire floor for them. That’s what I think. I mean, it’s, it’s helped him for sure. Like it’s helped everybody, yeah. I mean, and Ben Thompson has also taken a big jump. What’s his mentality in terms of, like, you know, — toughness and
— Shangoon? He’s Eastern European, grew up in a war zone. You don’t, you don’t want to mess with that guy. — Like
— this is like when, when, when Sanguon, listen, first and foremost, look at, I’ll, I’ll go to Mobley, and the problem that I have with Mobley is not the offense, it’s the rebounding. He’s supposed to be 1012, easy. That 8.5, no, I can’t have that. I need that. And, and, and here’s the thing with Mobley, that 18 could easily be 23. But it’s just, it’s just the, the, the couple of possessions where he gets the ball and he’s too far deep in the basket in, in, in the paint and he’s just finishing on people or getting fouled. Right now, you look at you Sanguon, he’ll get the ball on the block and he’ll dribble the ball out of the block, back you down and score. And the problem is in this football in this uh basketball game you got him and you got Steven Adams. You don’t even, you already know what Steven Adams is. You already understand, Tom, uh, the, the Thompson twins, boy, listen, — they gonna
— hold me now. They, they are, they’re gonna play defense. They’re gonna be athletic. They’re gonna. I like the way that the Rockets is built. Durant is just Durant. He gonna get to his spot if he, it’s just all about whether he can miss or not. — You think they’re
— the second best team in the NBA. I do, and they up there. I mean, I do. I think that who’s most likely to beat Oklahoma City in the playoffs if there’s anybody, them, not Denver. I think if Oklahoma City gets out of the West, it’s a wrap. But, but I listen, I think they’re 3 best teams in the league right now. — I’m
— gonna tell you, I’m gonna, I know, I just think that, but I think OKC is when you, when you got the Rockets, right, uh, they can rebound the ball. They got length. They got a guy that’s, that’s rough on, on the block, and you got Durant. Durant can get you. Listen, he’ll, he’ll mess around and, and not miss. And if they can play defense and they can find some different pieces to put on SGA, you ain’t gonna stop SGA. But I like the way they built. I do too. I, I can’t wait till they haven’t played yet, have they? I can’t wait till they start their, — their
— series. And your guys’ opinion, and boy, I wanna start with you because you’ve been the harshest on them in this. If the Cavs front line comes out. And Allen and Mobley and those guys not only hold their own on the glass, but Hold their own on both ends of the court against this kind of front line that is incredibly phys and we didn’t mention Steven Adams, by the way, or Clint Capela or Jabbar like this safe and Eme Udoka might be the toughest coach in basket. — It’s too early to have it be a statement
— game, but it would make a statement for me, it would make a statement because I’ll tell you, I’m expecting them to get their ass kicked. That’s my expectation. I think the Cavs front off, I mean, not, not necessarily like they get blown out in the game, but I’m expecting the Rockets phys upfront to dominate the Cavs, and it’d be very clear that those guys play better than Mobley and Allen and, and Nance or whoever else they play up, upfront. And so if they hold their own or even win those matchups, they’ll win the game. And I personally, for whatever that’s worth, would be very impressed. I’m sure Kenny’s preaching what you just said. — He
— said in the postgame before you go, Jay, he said postgame after Monday when they beat the Bucks. He was like, we play this against Houston. We’re gonna get our asses kicked. And he’s right. Early in the Milwaukee game, there was a sequel, I think, I think it was maybe the first couple of minutes out of theumo was still in there. He moved Mobley like he was a rag doll. It was on the dunk that I think made it 8 to 2. Then they hit a 3 right after that to make it 11 to 2. And I’m, I, I just on that play alone, I know it’s not fair to like make this wide sweep. Giannis is an alien, — and
— he’s the only guy that could do that. But like you really get a sense he’s Miles Garrett playing basketball. And it’s like a, a thin running back is trying to pick up Miles on a chip. You know who’s gonna win that. And when Oakumbo got it in the low blocks there, I’m like, oh, this isn’t gonna be pretty. And he just shoulders through him like he’s water. And we have got to be tougher against the Houston’s of the world, OKC, and obviously Milwaukee because I mean, I think we caught a break that Adan Akumbo went out. I, I felt like they would have lost that game just because he’s so physically imposing and we don’t do well against those teams. And Houston is one of those teams. So gee, would you see this as a statement, kind of win if Allen and Mobley hold their own and, or maybe not even a win, but a statement to change this soft narrative if the front court can actually hold their own? I would, I would congratulate them. I shake their hand and come on here and be like, man, the Cavs showed me something right now, uh, the way they’re playing, and Kenny will tell you. Right now this is, this, this season’s gonna end in in a lot of decisions and heartbreak if they continue to play the way they are. Um, — I’m just letting you know
— like right now last year we overreacted to 15 and 0. I think this year people are overreacting to what are they, 10 and 5? No, no, OK, so the reason I say that, the reason I say that, and Mike, you’re the guy that to answer this question because you get this and I don’t. But it seems to me that what Kenny Atkinson is working on early this season, and maybe he’ll do it all through the season, I think he’s fiddling with lineups and I know there are injuries, but last year in the playoffs, I think, I think it all happened so quickly and then they were done. I think there was an internal organizational pivot where they literally said, You know, no, there’s no trophy for 15-0, but we all got caught up in it. Like, use these regular, these meaningless regular season games to figure out who you need to be in April. Am I right? Is that what he’s doing? I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but it’s kind of the reality with all the guys that have been in and out of the lineup. Donovan said it, it wasn’t after, uh, Milwaukee. It was after the game last week. They ended up losing, and he said, Yeah, 15-0 is awesome and obviously we’d rather be 15-0, but we didn’t learn how to fight through any adversity last year. of the season, they got so far ahead of themselves and then the win streak, and then the second win streak, and then the third win streak, and then chasing the regular season win total that they put a lot of the development on the back burner because it was all about winning games and winning games and stacking wins on top. And at least this time around, he said we’re learning, and he used Jason’s quote, which means, I know, Don, you’re listening. What’s up, Don? Uh, he said we’re learning how to play with our right hand tied behind our back. We’re learning to play left-handed early, which could pay real dividends down the stretch. Let me, let me tell you the reason I, the reason I say that is, listen, there, there’s seasons where you play and it, and it’s up for grabs. Let me tell you something. If you wanna beat OKC, guess what? They, they got championship pedigree. They won. You wanna beat the Denver Nuggets, they got Jokic, they got championships under their belt. You wanna beat the Rockets? Guess what? The Rockets got Kevin Durant. He got multiple championships. This figuring it out, that’s cool. That sounds cute, but you guys are playing against. Top notch guys who have been there done that. So you’re gonna have to, somebody has to step up and take that. And right now you counting on Jared Allen and Evan Mobley right now, that’s not gonna get it done against that. So they better figure it out. But I don’t, I don’t think you can grow physicality. I just, — I think you are
— who you are. I agree. We keep waiting for Mobley to get this. Dog in them and for Jarrett to get this dog in them, and I think you’re born with that. Yeah, I don’t, even if they play well, I think we’d all be impressed if their front court, if we, if our front court held its own, but it still doesn’t change the soft narrative, not from one game. No, you gotta have to do it when it matters series, and if you can do it in a playoff series, then it carries over to next year. Games on ESPN tonight. Mike, how many teams in the West, in your opinion, this is the first time the Cavs have been an underdog at home in a while, right? How many teams in the In the West, do you think are better than the Cavs? Definitively right now I’d say 3. Houston, Denver, and Oklahoma City, I think those are the three best teams in the league. And then I think there’s a line of demarcation and everyone else is, is, you could cluster a few together underneath. But who’s the 4th best team in the West right now? The Lakers, they haven’t had LeBron back. I don’t trust their defense. Their offense is absolutely incredible, but I’m not sure Austin Reeves is a season-long 30 point per game scorer. But here’s the bottom line. If somehow the Cavs are playing a championship against the Lakers, there’s no way you’re taking the Cavs. I mean, we’re 15 games into the season the way the Cavs are playing, no, but I think it’s actually a pretty good matchup for Cleveland, right? But you, you’re not gonna bet against LeBron and you wouldn’t bet against LeBron in that situation. I don’t care if he’s 50. I don’t, I don’t think there’s no chance. I think the Lakers are coming out of the West. No, I don’t either. If one of those three teams, OKC, Denver, and Houston, don’t reach the finals, I would be shocked. And OKC, by the way, might break the all-time wins record. They’re so, it’s incredible how good they are. But about Detroit, Mike? You were pissing on them before the season. I didn’t think they’re gonna be that good. I’ve been, I’ve been surprised. They’ve won 10 in a row right now, they’re 2. No, they’re the second best record in basketball. But if you want more basket of theball, — JB Coach of the
— Year. Uh, right now, yeah, he is.

Houston Rockets (9-3, third in the Western Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-5, second in the Eastern Conference)

Cleveland; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Houston visits the Cleveland Cavaliers following the Rockets’ 117-113 overtime victory against the Orlando Magic.

The Cavaliers are 6-2 in home games. Cleveland is seventh in the league with 27.5 assists per game led by Donovan Mitchell averaging 5.5.

The Rockets are 4-2 on the road. Houston has a 0-1 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Cavaliers average 15.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.6 more made shots on average than the 14.3 per game the Rockets allow. The Rockets average 8.6 more points per game (124.8) than the Cavaliers allow their opponents to score (116.2).

TOP PERFORMERS: Mitchell is averaging 30.9 points, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals for the Cavaliers. Sam Merrill is averaging 20.0 points over the last 10 games.

Kevin Durant is averaging 25.9 points and 3.4 assists for the Rockets. Alperen Sengun is averaging 30.0 points and 12.0 rebounds while shooting 35.5% over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cavaliers: 7-3, averaging 123.3 points, 45.6 rebounds, 28.6 assists, 9.4 steals and 6.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.7 points per game. | https://www.espn.com/nba/preview/_/gameId/401810110

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