NBA Matchups: November 22

Brooklyn Nets at Cleveland Cavaliers

Team Totals: Nets 107.5, Cavs 101.5

Injury Report: Cedi Osman (D, back), Joe Harris (O, ankle), Bruce Brown (O, hamstring)

Nets projected starters: James Harden, Patty Mills, DeAndre’ Bembry, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin

Cavs projected starters: Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Lauri Markkanen, Dean Wade, Jarrett Allen

Nash quotes: Said Bruce Brown had a fall and Nash didn’t have an update on him, said Harden’s free throw spike recently is because the referees are learning how to call fouls and Harden is still just too good/strong to not get the calls, said their defense has arrived sooner than the offense.

Bickerstaff quotes: Said he expects Markkanen and Allen to play after they practiced this weekend, said they need more ball movement with some of the injuries on the team (Sexton mainly), said they told Rubio to play like the Olympic version of himself, said he continues to ask a lot of his team with all the injuries, said they have to get in the paint more.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Cavs continue to play extremely slow at a dead-last 15.4 seconds per possession on offense while the Nets are also in the bottom half. The Nets also play in halfcourt more than any team in the NBA. This should be a pretty slow game and there’s a good chance the Nets get this game to garbage time.

*James Harden is back with 12.6 free throw attempts per game in his last five, averaging 28.4 points, 7.0 boards, 8.8 dimes, and 3.0 treys in 36.8 minutes. Even with KD on the court in this span, Harden has still smashed with a 27/7/10 line per 36 in 122 minutes over the last five games. The Cavs will try Isaac Okoro on him, and he’s likely getting smoked. Harden could still go nuts even with KD active.

*KD’s shoulder injury is something to watch after playing through it for at least a week before he didn’t play against the Magic on Friday. It wasn’t really affecting his usage last week, so he should be looking at a fairly normal role. He’ll likely see a lot of Dean Wade and Lauri Markkanen, so he could also turn in a big game. I’d still prefer Harden.

*With Bruce Brown out, the Nets will have to mix it up with DeAndre’ Bembry, James Johnson, and Jevon Carter. The Nets really lack a perimeter defender without Brown, and we just saw DeAndre’ Bembry draw a big Steph assignment last week. I’d guess Bembry gets the call again, but he’s still a risky play. If James Johnson starts, he’d have the highest upside. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jevon Carter start, too.

*The Nets continue to defend extremely well, but losing Brown does make them a little vulnerable. Garland does get his roll man Allen back, so it’s possible he can keep the Cavs in this game. He likely has to play at a high level to make this game close, so I’d look to him if I wanted to use Harden or KD.

Charlotte Hornets at Washington Wizards