The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a horrible loss to the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center as they gave up a shocking 126 to the Nuggs.
126 points. 73 in the first half. Seven players in double figures. The Cleveland Cavaliers were absolutely demolished defensively on Wednesday night.
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The Pepsi Center, which has been dead in the past, was electric tonight, and the Nuggets put on a show. This offensive juggernaut has had one of the best offensive ratings since inserting their superstar, Nikola Jokic, into the starting lineup.
When looking at this game overall, only two key statistical differences jump out at me.
Stat #1: Shot selection, amount, and efficiency.
The Cavaliers had 85 shots and shot 50.6% which is far above their season average. The 85 attempts is even more than their season average. From those 85 attempts, 37 of them were from three. Shockingly, that is only 3.2 more than their season average. It is alluring to compare them
with the Nuggets. Denver shot only 26 threes, but they shot 96 shots. These extra shots were a combination of more offensive rebounds and less turnovers. They also shot over 50% and easily ran away with this game early.
Stat #2: Assists
The Cleveland Cavaliers only had one players to have over three assists, and that was LeBron with 5. That is pitiful. As a team, they collected only 22 assists. This was right at their season average which is still a terrible 16th-best in the NBA. On the other hand, the Nuggets nicely put up 35 assists which far more than their 25.1 season average. Point Jokic had seven assists. These types of numbers are occasionally hard to handle because we expect more from this Cavaliers team. Their hero ball needs to stop, and their shooters must start to step up.
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This was a tough game against a good team, but 126 points is a ton to give up. The Cavaliers must work on cutting down other teams, and it starts on the defensive end.