Live Thread: Nuggets @ Cavs

The Cavs are back home after a strong road trip where they went 3-1. Their only loss was against the Thunder, and it was the final game of the trip on the second night of a back-to-back. The big three looked completely gassed for long stretches, which ultimately caused them the game. Overall, the road trip was successful as Tryonn Lue got the offense moving the ball and looking for the wide open shot instead of contested ones after lots of dribbling.

In the past four games, the Cavs have shot a league leading 45.2% from deep landing 15.3 a night, which is also tops in the league. They’re have turned the ball over nearly 16 times a game though, which is a bottom ten number. If they clean up their carelessness with the ball, they’re going to become even more terrifying offensively.

The Nuggets are 3-3 in their last six and traveling to Cleveland after beating the Knicks just last night. Nikola Jokic carried them in New York scoring 40 points on 17-23 shooting to go with nine boards and five assists in  37 minutes.

Thing To Watch

1.Kevin Love, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving are all tired, and it really showed in the fourth quarter against the Thunder. They couldn’t secure any stops or hold on to the ball, which resulted in them giving away the game. Hopefully, a full day off being back home will refresh these guys.

2.The Cavs have to try and put the Nuggets away early. Denver doesn’t have any true super stars, but they’re deep and slightly above average in almost all areas. Their primary bench guys are Jameer Nelson, Jusuf Nurkic, and Wilson Chandler. The Cavs would gladly take any of those guys. Denver’s depth has allowed them to have just one guy playing over 31 minutes, Danilo Gallinari. If the starters aren’t doing it tonight, Tyronn Lue should just let them rest instead of over extending them for a possible win.

3.Kevin Love needs to feast on Denver’s smallish front line. At some point Kenneth Faried or Nikola Jokic will be on him for extended stretches.  Love should just over power Faried and out smart the sopomore Jokic. He’s also going to want to control the boards to keep Denver from having the chance to attack an unset Cavs defense.

4.Derrick Williams is playing his second game as a Cav after going 3-3 for 12 points,while playing really solid defense against the Thunder.

I’m picking the Cavs tonight, 123-113. They are really clicking, and they just need one guy to go off for the chance at a blow out with how efficient their baseline offense has been.

DeAndre Liggins is the starter at shooting guard as of 5:45 PM.

Danilo, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Kenneth Faried are out with injuries. The Nuggets bench will have significantly less depth.