Kings vs. Cavaliers Preview – By the Numbers
By: Will Z
De’Aaron Fox and the Kings return home to face on the 8-2 Cavaliers team, who has climbed into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference early on in the year. The Kings will have their hands full with the Donovan Mitchell and the new look Cavs.
Cleveland is legit. Their 115.1 Offensive Rating is the 4th best in the NBA, and their 104.7 Defensive Rating is 2nd best. No one has a better Net Rating than the Cavs, who are at a lofty +10.5. They have the 5th best FG% at 47.8%, have the 2nd best 3P% at 39.9%, take the 5th most FTA’s per game at 24.6, and make them at an 80.9% clip. Cleveland has 5 players on their roster that have a 3P% over 38% on high volume attempts. Dean Wade – 48.6%, Mitchell – 45.1%, Caris LeVert – 43.8%, Kevin Love – 42.2%, and Cedi Osman – 38.1%. Not only do the Cavs score at great clips, but they also rebound extremely well. They grab 45.6 boards a game (7th), allow 39.3 (29th), and only give up 10.6 2nd Chance Points a night, 2nd least in the league.
Individually, Mitchell has picked up right where he left off in Utah, and maybe even improved. He’s averaging career highs in Points – 31.2, Assists – 6.0, Blocks – 0.7, FG% - 50.5%, 3P% - 45.1%, and FTA – 6.4. Just amazing production for the All-Star guard.
The Kings are coming off of another tough loss, but showed more improvement against the defending champs. They only allowed 5 2nd Chance Points and 44 Points in the Paint to the Warriors, both season lows for Sacramento. They’ve done a great job all year in limiting Fastbreak Points as well, only allowing 11.4 a night, 3rd least in the NBA. Transition defense can say a lot about effort and hustle, and Mike Brown has the Kings getting back on defense with purpose, which is great to see.
Another thing that the Kings have improved upon recently is holding on to the ball. In their last 3 games, they’ve only had 11, 14, and 12 turnovers, and for the season are down to 14.9 a night, 18th most in the NBA. Not bad for a team that was averaging the 5th most Turnovers per game just a week ago.
So, what is the path to success to beating this strong Cavaliers team? Three-point shooting. In their two losses, the Cavs opponents have shot 44.6% (Clippers) and 43.4% (Raptors) from deep, making 17 and 13 threes respectively. Those are the highest 3P% the Cavs have allowed all year, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence at all that they happen to be the games they have lost. The Kings are a team built to shoot, and they may have to get hot from outside tonight to win. Luckily for us, Sacramento ranks 5th in the NBA with 14.1 threes per night, so they have the chance to win on any given night if they get going from outside.
The other path to success? Just let Fox keep cooking. Donovan Mitchell isn’t the only one averaging a ton of career highs. Fox is averaging career highs in Points – 26.5, Rebounds – 5.4, FG% - 54.5%, 3P% - 37.2%, and FT% - 86.4%. Against the Warriors, Fox didn’t have a single FGA in the Restricted Area, which has been his bread and butter all season (86.2%), but he did get to the line a season high 12 times. If he can get to the line at that volume with his improved Free Throw shooting, it will be a total game changer for the Kings.
