Cavs’ frontcourt could have dose of humble pie versus Portland tonight

The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a nice stretch of games, and the frontcourt has gotten a huge boost from Kevin Love playing healthy minutes over the last few contests, but the Portland Trail Blazers’ frontcourt is by far their toughest test since Love’s been back in action.

Kevin Love playing notable minutes in three of the last four games for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as we’ve detailed, has helped a good deal. The frontcourt talent and depth of the Portland Trail Blazers, though, is a different animal, and the Cavs’ bigs could be in for a rough one Monday night.

Portland’s starting backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum has been one of the best in the NBA for a few years now, and it’s unrealistic to think the Cavs will be able to match up with Portland’s production on the perimeter.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers’ best chance to be competitive with the Blazers tonight involves the Cavs’ bigs, namely Love, Larry Nance Jr. and Ante Zizic being very effective and doing their part in the rebounding department.

Portland is third in the NBA in rebounding this season, per NBA.com, and physical center Jusuf Nurkic is a big reason for that production. He’s averaged 10.2 rebounds per game this season, according to Basketball Reference.

As Cavs.com beat writer Joe Gabriele recently noted, Nurkic killed the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first matchup between these two teams earlier this season, and “notched his lone triple-double of the season that night, finishing with a symmetrical 10 points, 10 boards and 10 assists.”

Nurkic can at times fall in love with mid-range shots, but lately that hasn’t plagued him as much, and he’s a tough cover in the post. I wouldn’t think the Cavs would have Love guard Nurkic often tonight, given Nurkic’s bruising style potentially getting Love fatigued and possibly facing foul trouble.

Nance, Zizic and at times Marquese Chriss should draw the Nurkic assignment. It’ll be tough for those guys to guard Nurkic in single coverage, and with that being the case, Nurkic’s passing ability (4.2 assists per 36 minutes this year, per Basketball Reference), could again torch Cleveland when double-teams do come.

Portland’s Seth Curry and Jake Layman aren’t slouches from three-point land, either, and could be problems for Cleveland.

The Blazers’ recent signing of ex-New York Knick Enes Kanter, a really good low-post reserve scorer, will also be a handful for the Cavs’ reserves. He’s appeared to have replaced, at least for the time being, young pick-and-pop threat Zach Collins.

Kanter, as Gabriele mentioned, is “averaging 17.0 points and 8.5 boards in his first two games as a Blazer.”

Zizic, who’s posted 16.5 points on 81.3 percent shooting and 9.5 rebounds per game in his two games post-All-Star break (per NBA.com), will have to do his part offensively to cancel out Portland’s offensive production on the interior.

Offensively, he’s progressing nicely this year, and continues to flash as a roller and putback threat. Defensively, though, he’s still struggled, and this matchup against Portland is a much, much tougher test than the lowly Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies, the Cavs’ last two opponents.

Since Love’s inside-out scoring presence has returned to the lineup, Nance has found more opportunities for lobs from Matthew Dellavedova and others. Love’s perimeter shooting presence could help Nance get more room again in this one, but it’s unclear how much the two play together.

Overall, this is a completely different opponent than the Cleveland Cavaliers’ most recent opponents. The Cavs have won three of their last four games, yes, but all of those wins were against teams among the worst in the Association.

Given the shooting ability and playmaking of Lillard, McCollum, and others, including ex-Cavalier Rodney Hood on the outside for Portland, I don’t see the Cavaliers’ bigs being nearly as effective as they’ve been lately with more single coverage having to happen.

If the Cavs are going to have a chance against the well-rounded Blazers Monday night, the frontcourt will have to come through in a big way, which is easier said than done.