GT: Charlotte @ Cleveland Fri Nov 15th 7:30PM EST

[BigSlam]

Tonight is the night #15 goes off for 30+

You know it's coming.

[catch20two]

We need this win with the Heat and Bulls afterwards. If we end up 3 games under .500 then let the tank begin.

[Eoghan]

Yeah, if we don't win this one we could be in for a rough patch. I hope Bynum plays so we can see whom has the worst cardio between him and Big Al.

[fatlever]

no chance we beat the cavs 4 times in a row over span of a month (counting preseason). kyrie is due.

cavs win by 8. 95-87. kemba's slump continues.

[catch20two]

Sadly I think the Kemba slump continues. He almost always slump against Kyrie until the last couple recent matchups. I just hope he doesn't shoot over 8 shots until he's made at least 3.

[HornetJail]

no chance we beat the cavs 4 times in a row over span of a month (counting preseason). kyrie is due.

cavs win by 8. 95-87. kemba's slump continues.

Kyrie has sucked this year. He will undoubtedly score 35 on us and break out of his slump. Just for us.

What an honor.

[Liver_Pooty]

We win by 15.

[MPM]

Sadly I think the Kemba slump continues. He almost always slump against Kyrie until the last couple recent matchups. I just hope he doesn't shoot over 8 shots until he's made at least 3.

Nothing sadder than watching a PG try to shoot his way out of a slump, rather than focus on facilitating the offense (drive and dish, perhaps?). Oh well, love ya Kemba. I actually think he's due for a good game - would like to see him step it up against Kyrie, who is in the running to become co-captain of my All-Star A-hole team (currently captained by Dwayne Wade).

[Snidely FC]

Guess who was born in Cleveland.

Spoiler:

Yep, Catwoman! Go 'Cats!

[MPM]

Guess who was born in Cleveland.

Spoiler:

Yep, Catwoman! Go 'Cats!

Excellent selection, Snidely. And excellent pic of her.

[MPM]

Look out, Cleveland. Here comes Big Al.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m45aHSNEm10[/youtube]

[mrknowitall215]

Game #9: Bobcats @ Cavs 2-on-2 Preview

1- STATS. The wins that these teams have come across this season have resulted from defense + rebounding, because both are horrifically inefficient shooting the ball. Charlotte is 28th in true shooting % at 49.2 vs. Cleveland’s 48.7% (dead last). Is this going to be an uglier game than Wednesday night in Boston?

Spencer: Whew, it’s possible, but I doubt it. You have one player who traditionally just makes the game of basketball appear as a fine art – Kyrie Irving. Irving alone will make this game more bearable to the eyes, but don’t shun the stats – both of these clubs have been a nightmare offensively. Charlotte has now gotten Al Jefferson back to 100% health, presumably, so that will hopefully pay dividends in the scoring department over time. The Cavs have to get Irving going if they want to improve on the offensive numbers and open up the floor for everyone else.

Mathew: I don’t think so. Both teams are not quite as poor on the offensive side of the ball as they have shown to date this season. Conversely, I don’t know if either of them are truly the type of defensive teams that the numbers bear out so far. Therefore, I look for a little bit of convergence tonight with the offenses looking a bit sharper.

2- PG WOES? Kyrie has gotten off to a rough start this season — currently shooting 38.6% from the floor + is sporting a 46.6 TS% (48th among PG’s). Kemba has been worse — 35.2 FG% + 43.7 TS% (55th among PG’s). This is too small of a sample size and too early to panic, right?

Spencer: As I sift through the stats, I can’t find a true outlier that explains why Irving is struggling so much other than the fact that defenses have all eyes on him. After going back and reviewing the film from Cleveland’s game in Minnesota on Wednesday night, the T’Wolves were all in on forcing Irving into outside shots. ICE (force away from pick) the PnR’s + be very aware of the gaps when the ball is in his hands – the Wolves executed this nicely.

Kemba is not shooting the ball with any confidence right now. That, as much as anything else, is contributing to his ineffectiveness from the field currently. In Boston on Wednesday Kemba was short on most of his jumpers and settled for a bunch – had open looks, but as the ball came out of his hands it’s as if he knew it wasn’t going in. Note: It’s unreal how many offensive rebounds Charlotte came down with towards the end of the game on Wednesday to hang on for the win.

Mathew: Yes and yes. Both will be fine, though it’s not unreasonable for both players to take a look at their respective games to see why they have struggled so much to date. Much of it is likely variance (randomness), but there are also some things that both can probably do better moving forward to improve upon their performances (Kemba is shooting .235 on 3PA’s, for example).

3- PICK IT. As ugly as the Bobcats have played since hosting NYK at home last Friday, they’ve still managed to start 4-4. Charlotte won the first matchup between these two in the Queen City earlier this season. Do the Cavs even it up tonight?

Spencer: It’s hard for me not to take Cleveland at home. Charlotte has just simply looked too brutal offensively for me to justify picking them to win their second straight road game. Again tonight, it’s going to take an above average defensive, taking care of the ball and rebounding effort for the Bobcats to squeak out a W.

Mathew: I think they do. The Cavs got blown out on the road on Wednesday night so I expect them to show up against the Bobcats. The Cavs are “supposed” to make the playoffs this year so the thought of falling to 3-6 via a loss to the Bobcats should put some fear in them. Give me the desperate team tonight.

http://queencityhoops.com/blog/2013/11/ ... 2-preview/

[Eoghan]

No Bynum. I guess we don't have to worry about him elbowing MKG in the chest or anything.

[fatlever]

Look out, Cleveland. Here comes Big Al.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m45aHSNEm10[/youtube]

thats awesome.

man i am going to miss cat videos next year.

[LamarMatic7]

the Cavs have been just awful on offense, Brown seems to have no idea what their rotation should be. I expect a win from our guys but I know well that it might not happen.

[HornetJail]

No Bynum. I guess we don't have to worry about him elbowing MKG in the chest or anything.

Bynum pisses me off when he's on the court and when he's off it.

When he's on it, he's making bitch moves like punching people out (Wallace, Barea, anybody?).

While he's out, it's a reminder that he collects 8-figure checks every year for being 7 feet tall without doing ****.

[fatlever]

cavs and bobcats bottom two teams in the league in field goal %. both just below 41%. bobcats playing at 2nd slowest pace in the league (cavs middle of pack).

would be a miracle if both teams cracked 100 tonight.

[LamarMatic7]

Cavs are 2nd worst in offensive efficiency (93.5 points per 100 poss.), we're 3rd (95.6).

the stats page I'm looking at has Cats as 5th slowest team though, fats.

[LamarMatic7]

Over/under for this game is set at 189.5. It's not the lowest of the night though, as Raps-Bulls and Pacers-Bucks are even lower.

[fatlever]

Cavs are 2nd worst in offensive efficiency (93.5 points per 100 poss.), we're 3rd (95.6).

the stats page I'm looking at has Cats as 5th slowest team though, fats.

which stats page are you using? so many good new ones these days.

i was looking at bball-ref that has us rankted 28th in pace, so 3rd, not 2nd, which is what i think i said.