Cavs vs. Thunder Game Preview: Historic matchup of the league’s best
The Thunder come to Cleveland in a battle of conference titans.
In what could be a preview of this summer’s NBA Finals, the Cavaliers will welcome the Thunder to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for a battle of the best teams in the league.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (31-4) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (30-5)
Where: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse - Cleveland, Ohio
When: 7:00 p.m, Wednesday - January 8
TV: ESPN, FanDuel Sports Network (previously Bally Sports Network)
Line: Cavs -2.5
Cavs Injury Report: Sam Merrill - QUESTIONABLE (ankle), Isaac Okoro - QUESTIONABLE (shoulder), Emoni Bates - OUT (G League), JT Thor - OUT (G League), Luke Travers - OUT (G League)
Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen.
Expected Thunder starting lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Isiah Hartenstein
Thunder injury report: Chet Holmgren - OUT (hip), Alex Caruso - OUT (hip), Nikola Topic - OUT (knee), Ajay Mitchell - OUT (toe), Ousmane Dieng (G League), Branden Carlson - OUT (not with team), Adam Flagler - OUT (G League), Dillon Jones - OUT (G League)
What to watch for
Best offense versus best defense
Both of these teams have top-ten offenses and defenses, but each team is the best on one side of the ball. The Thunder have the best defense in the NBA while the Cavs have the best offense, a true test of Goliath versus…another Goliath?
The Thunder shut down the Boston Celtics on Sunday, holding them to 27 points in the last two quarters. Celtics star Jayson Tatum didn’t score at all in the second half either, and Boston shot 9-46 from beyond the arc - uncharacteristically poor. The Thunder have a great mix of team and individual defenders, led by Lu Dort. When healthy, Alex Caruso and Chet Holmgren would be around to make life even more miserable for opposing offenses, but thankfully the Cavs won’t have to worry about them for this matchup.
Cleveland’s league-best offense isn’t well-documented (as some Cavs players have noted), but the proof is in the data. The Cavs lead the league in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, true shooting, and effective field goal percentage. They score the second most points per game and are sixth in pace, both stark contrasts from years past. Darius Garland is having an All-Star-level return to form, Evan Mobley has burst onto the scene with his aggressiveness and shooting, and Donovan Mitchell is the stable engine that drives the offense with good rim pressure and lethal shot-making.
One stat to watch for
For as good as the Thunder are on defense, they give up the fourth-most three-point attempts per game and the most corner three attempts per game. That bodes well for the Cavs, who attempt the sixth-most threes (overall) and corner threes per game. That could mean some extra attempts for Dean Wade, Georges Niang, and Isaac Okoro - who may be available.