When the Cleveland Cavaliers take the floor at Staples Center on Friday, it’ll be a completely different Clippers team staring back at them.
Back when the two teams met in November, the Cavs were tasked with the challenge of holding dominant big men Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in check. Just a few months later, Griffin is gone and replaced with defensive-minded players Avery Bradley and Tobias Harris. With Cleveland lacking a lot of size, especially losing Tristan Thompson to injury last week, the situation couldn’t be more ideal.
The Cavs will be facing a Los Angeles team that is currently in the NBA Playoffs in the Western Conference, claiming the eighth seed by just one game over Utah and Denver. They are also in a three-team deadlock with Minnesota and Oklahoma City with no room for error above or below them. Cleveland holds a two-game lead over Washington and Indiana for the third-seed in the Eastern Conference and will look to build upon that on Friday.
With that being said, let’s look at the three keys for a Cavaliers victory on Friday as they look for their third-straight victory.
1. Larry Nance Jr., Get To The Rim- With only DeAndre Jordan serving as a terrorizing presence at the five for Los Angeles, the Cavs could truly have a lot of success in the paint tonight. Obviously, LeBron James will make it one of his objectives to get to the lane and score, but look for Larry Nance Jr. and others to do such as well. Nance Jr. has thrived since being inserted into the starting lineup following the Thompson injury, putting up 17.5 points and fourteen rebounds per game for Cleveland. He gives Cleveland a different look on the floor, one that brings a lot more athleticism and scoring threats at the center position. If Nance Jr. can make Jordan commit to him offensively, the opportunities to score will open up tremendously.
2. Find The Second Unit’s Flow- When the Cavaliers ran with a second unit lineup that featured Dwyane Wade, Jeff Green, and Kyle Korver prominently, the team was tough to stop and it was amongst one of the best bench squads in the league. That’s something the Cavs will have to figure out with the new rendition of the squad.
Currently, the bench is run by Jordan Clarkson and it seems to be going well. However, the rest of the lineup seems to be thrown off just a tad by the new style of play. Before the new additions, it was a slower, methodical pace that had the main goal of finding the open three-point shooter. But with younger guys out there now, it’d be best for Cleveland to get out and run like they were in the first few games after the NBA Trade Deadline.
Clarkson can continue to run the offense and find his shot by himself, but guys like Cedi Osman and Jeff Green will need to find their chemistry and fit with the bench unit. It’s not just a single pass-and-shoot mentality anymore. It’s now frequent ball movement and finding the best option and opportunity to score.
3. Containing Lou Williams- It’s no secret how good Clippers guard Lou Williams is, being the top option for Los Angeles amidst all of the turnover over the last year. Williams has really taken on a leadership role along with DeAndre Jordan and with their grit and determination, they have their team in the playoffs as of today. That has to be recognized.
Someone is going to have to defend Williams and prevent him from finding his shot early. If he does, it’ll make the game tough for the Cleveland guards. It almost seems like Rodney Hood matching up with Williams on that side of the floor would make a whole lot of sense. Hood’s ridiculous length for a guard gives wings trouble frequently and should do the same for Williams. Off the bench, Jordan Clarkson will have his hands full and will have a nice test.
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