The Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Houston Rockets at home at 7 pm tonight. Let’s check on a few things to watch for in this game.
Houston’s Physicality
The Rockets are a strange team. They’ve surrounded one of the most elegant
scorers in NBA history with a group of Pro Wrestlers, as Kevin Durant’s finesse is supported by the brute strength of Alperen Sengun, Steven Adams, Amen Thompson and others.
Houston enters this game with the most efficient offense in the league and it’s in large part thanks to their unbelievable offensive rebounding. They are grabbing more than 40% of their own missed shots, nearly six percent better than the next best team.
Combine a world-class shot creator like KD with a gang full of elite rebounders, and it will be hard for any team to keep up.
The Cavs are currently 16th in defensive rebounding percentage. Historically, they are a team that has struggled with rebounding against physical opponents. This will be a huge test for them.
Forcing turnovers
The Cavs might not have an advantage on the glass. But you can win the possession battle in more than one way. Houston has had a hard time taking care of the ball — and Cleveland is one of the best teams in the league at generating turnovers.
The Rockets don’t start a traditional point guard. Truthfully, the only real point guard that they play more than 10 minutes a game is redshirt sophomore Reed Sheppard. It makes sense why they rank in the bottom 10 for turnover percentage. There aren’t many high-end, efficient playmakers on the roster.
On the other end, Cleveland is experimenting with being a more aggressive defense. They were relatively risk-adverse last season, staying in their shell and daring teams to break them. Now? They are flying around the court, gambling for steals and winning their bets. The Cavs are 6th in generating turnovers and 8th in defensive rating this season.
Three-point shooting
Cleveland leads the NBA in three-point attempts per game. The Rockets are dead last, attempting 15 fewer threes per game than the Cavs.
We’ve talked about the possession battle, highlighting rebounds and turnovers. But one thing that can triumph over all is three-point variance. A large disparity in three-point shooting can make up for a bad night on the glass or a poor night generating turnovers.
We know the Cavs are going to let it fly. Houston, in contrast, would prefer to beat the Cavs up in the paint. It’s possible that Cleveland simply holds down the fort and wins this battle. But this would also be the ideal night to get hot from deep. It could be their best chance at making up for the damage Houston can inflict on the boards.
