Can Cleveland score enough to stick with KD and Kyrie?

The Cavaliers climbed to the top half of the East before the All-Star break with the power of a fine defense led by the inner duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The rookie candidate of the year will be in the starting line-up against Brooklyn, returning from an ankle injury in time for the last two games of the regular season. Former Nate Allen, however, will not do so as he continues to recover from a broken finger. Cleveland’s defense has been bent since Allen fell on March 6. Prior to his injury, the Cubs had conceded just 107.5 points per 100 possessions, but have since conceded 118.7 points per 100. This does not bode well for their chances of withstanding an attack in Brooklyn just outside the top. 10 in the NBA since Kyrie Irving returned to full time play and has set fire to opponents with 124.5 points per 100 – a mark far higher. Utah’s top offensive record in the league as the Jazz is above the Lakers in 23rd place — with Irving and Kevin Durand on the court. If Cleveland fails to defeat the Nets, they will have to fight the fire. This is not their strongest color (only 19th place in points per possession), but it is not out of range. The Cavs have scored above average in each of their last two encounters with Brooklyn and have plenty of shooters who can reach and set the wrong numbers if the Nets’ defense fails. All eyes will be on point guard Darius Garland, an All-Star champion in his first game of the season, averaging 25.3 points and eight assists per game against Brooklyn this season. One would expect, however, that the Nets would adjust their coverage to get the ball out of their hands, which would require other Cavs to go up and shoot. Lauri Markkanen, who shot 38.5 percent from three-pointers in Cleveland wins this season, and just 32.6 percent from a distance in defeats, could be a good reason. The same could be done by Kevin Love, who is fresh and puts 32 and 10 in just 15 minutes in the final of the Cleveland season and has the goods to punish Brooklyn by leaving the floor and knocking on the glass. The Nets were one of the worst defensive teams in the league with rebounds all season, even after Andre Drummond was added to the trade deadline. (I would also watch Cedi Osman. The swingman’s minutes dwindled and dwindled late in the season, but he had nine games with 20 or more points off the bench this season and twelve with four or more 3s.) Without Allen, who averaged 16.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game with 67.7 percent of his shots as one of the top NBA players, Cleveland’s best bet could have been to condemn the torpedoes. and increase the difference. Look for Garland, Love, Markkanen and everyone else in wine and gold to let it fly.

Can KAT be the best player on the floor against the Clips?

Hi: Do you want to see someone who is not having a good time? Karl-Anthony Towns had an amazing campaign to lead the Timberwolves behind the 0,500 and on the verge of the playoffs, but the Clippers gave him absolute matches in three games earlier this season. Ty Lue messed up his coverage at the All-Star Center, showing him a little of everything: head-to-head with Ivica Zubac or Isaiah Hartenstein, cross-country coverage with a faster, more accurate defender (often Nicolas Batum or Terance O Mann) pushed him to the perimeter, some belt coverage, many fronts in the post and a solid diet with double teams coming from all angles. It worked: Los Angeles kept the Towns at just 15.3 points per game on those 16-to-38 shots, including 6 to 18 from long range, with more errors (nine) than assists (seven). The Clips won all three games with double-digit percentages, including two by 20 or more. beat Minnesota by 51 points in 100 minutes with the Towns on the floor. However, there is some good news: All three of these games came in the first month of the season, before Minnesota found its footing. The Wolves boasted the West’s fourth-best record and the NBA’s fifth-best net record since Jan. 1, powered by No. 1 in the league. 1 attack — a unit led by Townes, who averaged 24.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game on virgin shots during this period. He was brilliant as the main axis of the Minnesota attack. Short-circuiting his toy by throwing it in the kitchen sink may not have been as easy as it was in early November, when he and the Wolves were still trying to figure out who they were. now, his confidence is at an all-time high. Play him straight on the perimeter now and risk being dusted off by a player leading to all centers on points scored per game. Creating belts may not be such a good choice against a Minnesota team that gets and makes the most 3s in the NBA and has a turn full of role players — Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Taurean Prince, Jaylen Nowell, Jordan McLaughlin and others. . —Who have been hitting their long balls for months. Take the ball out of KAT’s hands to make someone else beat you, both D’Angelo Russell (top 12 scorer this season) and Anthony Edwards (whose weak knee looked very good in the last of the full game) you may be too happy to oblige. The Clips enter the playoffs with a hot streak, winning four of the five since Paul George returned to the lineup. shoots a hot 52.5 percent from the deep since he returned (though, perhaps he worries, only 32.5 percent inside the arc) and Los Angeles outscores opponents by 21.8 points per 100 with the two-way star swingman on the floor. Lou relies on a combination of a solid, agile defense and George’s ability to lead the game — drawing attention to play for others and getting the ball in the can and making hard-to-challenge shots when needed — to carries the Clips. Minnesota can rely on a similar formula. Towns just needs to be who he was for most of this year and not the one who was against Los Angeles in the beginning.

Who controls the pace of the game: Hawks or Hornets?

The ninth and 10th seed in the East — owners of two of the NBA’s top five attacks since the All-Star break — go with their point guards. The confrontation between them will probably take place as well. Trae Young is a watchmaker, a careful craftsman who likes to consider his options and deal with the meticulous disassembly of defense sets. Therefore, his Hawks are ranked just below the middle of the herd in the average length of their offensive properties, according to Inpredictable. close to the league average in terms of their share of half-court games, according to Cleaning the Glass. and no. 1 with a ball in points scored per game on the half court, which is a function of Young’s unparalleled ability to find the pressure point in a set defense and push until he calls his uncle. The LaMelo Ball, on the other hand, is a yellow Lamborghini neon designed to move fluidly at maximum speed and to draw maximum attention while doing so. Therefore, his Hornets have the fourth fastest average offensive possession in the NBA and the third largest share of games coming in transition, and have the no. ranking. 1 with a dot in points per possession added through the transition game — a function of the Ball’s unparalleled 0-to-100 gift and early offense hunting and snapshots at every opportunity. Small-ball Charlotte is a defensive team below average half court that has no defenders at the point of attack to throw at Young. Atlanta is the second worst transitional defense team in the NBA and does not have the athletic ability to compete. Only four teams make the rounds more often than the Hornets. no one makes rounds less often than the Hawks. It’s a real style make fights with two of the league’s most telegraph young lawnmowers — a player who has already proven his faith in a run in the Eastern Conference finals and a player who wants to follow his example after win his first All-Star nod this season. Whoever can set the pace and rules of engagement will put his team to survival and move on.

How much can Brandon Ingram give to New Orleans?

Ingram completed his job to pull New Orleans out of a disastrous 3-16 start amid the despair that developed into a losing season for injured superstar Zion Williamson. His 3-point shot slipped from his 2020 All-Star levels as his defenses reached him, but Ingram played the best ball of his career this season, averaging just under 23 points. , six rebounds and six assists per game. while he flourished as a key playmaker in a team that needed him to set the table: He was the Pelicans’ pacemaker all season: They have 29-26 (43 wins for a full season) when playing and 7-20 (a 21 win clip) when not playing, and go on to beat opponents by 3.3 points per game. 100 when he is on the field (equivalent to the net score of the 76ers for the whole season) to surpass the opponents with 7.4 points per 100 when he is not (which would be just above the Pistons). That’s why it’s a big deal that a right thigh stretch has limited him to just five games in the last five weeks… and why it’s a big deal that Pelicans coach Willie Green told reporters that the plan is for Ingram to be available on Wednesday. If Ingram is close to 100%, the Spurs will have to deal with two top scorers and shooters. The Pelicans have scored 119.5 points per 100 with Ingram and CJ McCollum in the middle of the season on the floor together, a percentage …