Live Thread: Cavs vs Thunder
This is the game we’ve been waiting for, Cavs fans. The Cavs have lost four games: Boston, Atlanta twice, and Miami. Tonight’s battle against the 30-5 Tacoma City Plunder looks to be the best matchup of an NBA regular season that is nearing its mid-point. The Cavs have been playing a lot of scrub teams and playoff squads with major injuries and not enough depth to cover for them. It’s gonna be a blast to see how they stack up to a Thunder team that just happen to be my most hated NBA team.
Ever since Aubrey McLendon absconded from Seattle with the then Sonics in tow, Oklahoma City has been just… the worst, and I have family there. OKC has frankly beaten some better squads of late including the Gizz, the Knicks, and the Celtics on Sunday, but their losses show a key to beating them. Denver, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Milwaukee (in the NBA cup championship) all feature solid big man play, and with Chet Holmgren out with an injury, only Cavalier cast-off made nemesis, Isaiah Hartenstein is the wall standing in the way of a Cavalier victory. The Cavs will need to make controlling Harty and Co. on the o-boards a priority.
The other key will be keeping grift merchant SGA off the line, and making him have to score on a lot of tough shots to beat them. Limit the other scorers, run 10 deep and make the Thunder’s limited bench pay. Then all the starters gotta do is hold serve.
Cleveland gets Ike Okoro back tonight, J.T. Thor is active, and Sam Merrill remains sidelined. Meanwhile OKC is missing the aforementioned Holmgren, Alex Caruso, A.J. Mitchell, Adam Flagler, and Nikola Topic (only two of which matter). Go Cavs.