Riding a five-game winning streak, the Cleveland Cavaliers have finally settled into the 2017-18 season. With one better defensive performance after another, the Cavs now have a chance to control some of their destiny against the Brooklyn Nets. In hopes of helping the Brooklyn pick be as valuable as it possibly can next year, the Cavs must do their part tonight. We’ll do our part tonight as well, and provide some pindowns for the Cavs vs Nets.
- The Nets chucked 46 three-point attempts on 43% shooting when the Cavs lost in Brooklyn. While that performance was certainly an outlier, the Cavs are yet again facing the top fourth-quarter and top-five bench-scoring team in the NBA.
- Cedi Osman set a career high in first half minutes tonight with seven minutes. His effort on both ends is highly noticeable.
- Offensively both teams struggled to function. For the Nets, it came down to turnovers and missed shots. The Cavs had plenty of opportunities to grow a substantial lead, but too many forced offensive possessions set them back 46-45 at halftime. LeBron James lacked rhythm in the first half, shooting 37.5% which is abysmal compared to his 58.2% season average.
- Kevin Love passes Magic Johnson for 75th all time in defensive rebounding tonight. He finished with XX rebounds.
- Cavs close the third quarter on a 8-1 run to tie it heading into the fourth. Both teams started hitting shots, as the Cavs improvements (+6 % FG%) matched by better shooting from Brooklyn (42% 3PT% and 51% FG%).
- After a few unfavorable calls, LeBron James began to play angry in the fourth. He scored and assisted 28 of the Cavs last 32 points. Simply unstoppable performance on his part.
Cavs extend their winning streak to six games. Their next game will be home on Blackout Friday against the Charlotte Hornets. If they win that game, LeBron James goes 25-0 against Kemba Walker all-time.