3 key matchups for Cavs in play-in game vs Nets
The Cleveland Cavaliers are set up to play the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the play-in tournaments after finishing the season at 44-38. This game is going to happen at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
While the Cavaliers are enjoying being one of the NBA’s Cinderella stories of the year, the Nets have disappointed horribly; expected to be atop the league, they instead had to fight for the seven seed.
The Cavaliers have been defensive-oriented all season, but much of that fell off once the centerpiece of their defense, Jarret Allen, went down with a finger injury. He will not be playing in the game against the Nets.
The Cavs play the Nets Tuesday night in the NBA Play-in Tournament for a shot at the playoffs. What key matchups will determine the outcome of the game?
Today we are going to go over the biggest matchups that the Cavaliers need to win, or at least draw even, to win the game.
Caris LeVert vs Seth Curry: a three-point sniper duel
Both of these players were acquired by their respective teams at the trade deadline as their original teams made big moves to rebuild their roster.
Caris LeVert has a tendency to be incredibly inconsistent since he left the Nets a few seasons ago, struggling to put together back-to-back good games. However, when Levert is hitting, he is tough to stop as he has multiple weapons in his arsenal. He can hit pull-up shots off the drive, shoot off the catch, and is a solid finisher around the rim. He has largely been used as a three-point threat, similar to the role Curry plays on the Nets, although with more midrange shots mixed in than the deep-pulling Curry brother.
If LeVert can outplay Curry for the night, then he should make the task of defeating a team led by Kevin Durant a little less daunting.
Evan Mobley vs Andre Drummond: battle of the big men
Evan Mobley has been a Rookie of the Year front runner for a majority of the season as well as receiving looks for Defensive Player of the Year at one point in the season. He will likely be matched up against Drummond for a majority of the game, which may be difficult for the rookie big man.
Drummond has always been a great rebounder and good in the pick and roll. The former Cavalier is also a solid defender, which may be difficult for a young Mobley. If Mobley can slow him down and remove him as a lob option while also being solid as a weak side defender and keeping Drummond’s defensive attention on him, the Cavs will have a much better shot at winning the game.
Darius Garland vs Kyrie Irving: a point guard matchup for Cleveland to love
Darius Garland is the best point guard Cleveland has had the pleasure to watch play 41 games in their city since Kyrie Irving himself was crossing players up in the 2017 NBA Finals.
While no wing player on the Cavaliers has the skillset or the talent to match up with a guy like Durant, Garland may have a shot at matching, or even surpassing, the output Irving could have in this game. Irving is an incredibly skilled player, but is not quite the playmaker that Garland is, making this matchup between the two great guards drafted by the Cavaliers one of the most interesting of the play-in tournament. If Garland is able to keep up with Irving’s scoring the Cavaliers should at least keep it close.
dark. Next. Cavs vs Nets: Play-in preview, odds, burning questions, X-factor, prediction
If all three of these matchups go in favor of the Cavaliers, they may just be able to take down Goliath, or at least keep the game incredibly close.