Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavs Preview-12.29.23
Happy Holidays!
The (23-8) Milwaukee Bucks take on the (18-13) Cleveland Cavaliers Friday Night in Cleveland, Ohio at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. This is the first time these teams will play this season. So far so good for the Bucks. After a slow start that had fans questioning if their new Head Coach and new star player were going to work, those questions seem answered.
No one really seems to worry, or bother, with NBA division standings. But if you do care then this is the first-place team in the NBA’s Central Division vs the second-place team in the Central.
It is #1 vs #2. It is Giannis vs Donovan (both are listed as game-time-decisions), Great Lakes Brewery vs Lakefront, Summerfest vs the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame….
Keys for the Milwaukee Bucks
Continue to establish the interior
When Milwaukee rebounds, Milwaukee wins! On Christmas Day against the Knicks Milwaukee eeked out a small rebounding advantage (44-41). They lost. In the previous win again, against New York, Milwaukee dominated on the boards (53-41). They won by a ton.
Milwaukee currently averages 44.5 team rebounds a game, 10th overall in the NBA. If the Bucks box-out and keep a pesky Cleveland team off of the offensive glass, this bodes well for a Bucks win. Giannis leads the team in rebounding (10.8 per game). That is currently 6th in the NBA.
Shoot the three well (The ole’ Coach Bud days)
Something feels so right with the Bucks offense. When it comes down to it, this team can flat out score. Having Damian Lillard there certainly helps. Lillard is shooting a “workmanlike” 37.5% from three.
When the Bucks walloped the Knicks they shot 59% from three. When Milwaukee got walloped by the Pacers they only shot 26%. If you split the difference at around 40%, the Bucks win.
Malik Beasley and MarJon Beauchamp are Milwaukee’s top two three point shooters by percentage. (46.2% and 45.5%). If they can knock down 5 or 6 threes between them, that’s only going to help.
Cam Payne has really upped his percentage from three (40.7%) Why not get a couple solid threes from him as well? Why not?
Related: The Brutal Injury Report for the Game
The Opponent- The Cavaliers
Cleveland has looked good but not great so far. They have won five of their last six. The Cavs are young and streaky. They are only 9-7 at home. It has been an up-and-down season already for them.
It is always good to tinker around with an NBA roster. Look at this year’s surprise team: the Minnesota Timberwolves. Everyone thought pairing Rudy Golbert with Karl Anthony-Towns was never going to work. Now it is. They might win the Western Conference.
But for Cleveland it feels like the pairing of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland has run its course. Those two simply have not paired well together.
Donovan Mitchell has been a star. Mitchell is averaging 27 points per game. He is also averaging around 36 minutes a game and is shooting over 46% from the field. Mitchell is a game time decision for tonight’s game. Cleveland gave up a ton to get him.
Darrius Garland has really turned it up. He is leading the team with 6 assists per game. He is lightning quick and will look to push the tempo.
But together they play “undersized”.
The same goes for their big man tandem. It looks like both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are going to play. They both play “big” meaning they do a good job of rebounding and protecting the rim. But in terms of scoring and shooting that is just not as great. Neither shoots the three well.
The Cavs grabbed Max Struss from the Heat. He has been playing well of late and averages 14 points a game.
Related: Game One Preview from last season
Things to tell your buddies while you’re watching the game
- Brook Lopez is second in the NBA in blocks per game (2.9).
- Milwaukee leads the all-time series 130-99.
- Milwaukee to Cleveland is only a 435 mile drive. According to my MAPS app, it’s only a 7 ½ hour drive.
- Former Bucks Herb Kohl passed away. He was 88 years.
- The Bucks are second in the NBA in scoring (125.2). Cleveland is 23rd (112.2). I’d still take the over.
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