3 Things to watch for in Cavs vs Trail Blazers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are at home for a match against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Avdija is coming off a string of ridiculous games for the Blazers. He put up 31 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in Portland’s most recent loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Avdija had 37 points and 8 assists the game before that.

The sixth-year wing has found his stride with the Trail Blazers. He’s averaging a career-high 25.8 points on nearly 50% shooting, doing it from every area on the court. He’s blossomed into an efficient shooter, crafty playmaker, and positive force on the glass.

Avdija gives Portland its best chance at winning every night. The Cavs will have to contain him if they want to avoid getting into a scuffle with a team they should handily defeat.

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Portland enters this game tied with the Indiana Pacers for the worst three-point percentage in the NBA. They’re shooting 32.3% from deep on the sixth-highest frequency in the league. Similar to the Cavs, who rank 2nd in frequency and 18th in efficiency.

Fortunately for the Cavs, Portland doesn’t have as many counters.

The Blazers also rank in the bottom-10 for rim efficiency and mid-range scoring. The Cavs, on the other hand, shoot the 11th-best percentage at the rim and 19th-best from the mid-range. However, Portland gets to the rim much more often. The Cavs are 23rd in rim frequency, while the Blazers are 5th.

The Cavs should be able to shrink the floor and protect the paint behind Evan Mobley’s rim protection. Barring an outlier performance, this should be an opportunity for the Cavs to flex their defensive muscles. Cleveland is 10th overall in defense.

This has become a theme worth paying attention to. The Cavs have enough talent to beat anyone on any given night. But that talent isn’t enough to win on its own merit. Cleveland has learned this the hard way through 22 games.

Hopefully, their increased effort from Monday against the Indiana Pacers was indicative of a new direction for this team. They had previously been treading water when they should have been a dominant force on a nightly basis. Even with the injuries, this team is better than 13-9.

Effort can change everything. We’ve seen that proven time and time again. Let’s see if the Cavs can build some serious momentum and play this game with an appropriate level of intensity.