<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-cleveland-pass-surprising-test-jazz');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cav pass surprising home test from Collin Sexton, Jazz');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cavs-news-Cleveland-passes-surprising-test-from-Collin-Sexton-Jazz.jpg"></figure><h1>Cav pass surprising home test from Collin Sexton, Jazz</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T21:25:01-08:00">December 23rd, 9:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T21:25:01-08:00">December 23rd, 9:25pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Things have almost seemed too easy for the Cleveland Cavaliers for the better part of this season. Although the Cavs are no longer undefeated, no other NBA team <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-caris-levert-offensive-change-under-kenny-atkinson">can hold a candle to Cleveland’s dominant record</a>. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-injury-issues-arent-throwing-cavs-potential">Cleveland has made winning routine</a> and has found ways to embarrass opponents on either end of the floor. However, when the undermanned and underwhelming Utah Jazz <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/cle/cleveland-cavaliers" rel="noopener">came to town</a>, it gave the Cavs something they hadn’t had much of this season: a shock to the system.</p><p>Throughout the matchup, Cleveland got everything former Cavs players Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and their Jazz teammates could muster. After a competitive first half featured 15 lead changes and eight ties, the Cavs found their offensive rhythm early in the second half, making five 3s during the opening moments of the third quarter, allowing Cleveland to build the night’s first double-digit lead. It went in front by a game-high 17 around the midway point of the third. The Cavs led by 11 going into the fourth.</p><p>However, despite feeling like Cleveland had put Utah away for good entering the final frame, the Jazz wouldn’t go away. Clinging to a three-point lead after former Sexton’s layup with 1:49 left, the Cavs responded with a 6-0 run that created some much-needed breathing room. A lot was built around attacking Sexton, a player with many of the same flaws that plagued him in Cleveland, and making the former Cavs guard’s heroics come back to haunt the Jazz.</p><h2><b>How the Cavs were able to exploit Collin Sexton’s flaws to tune out the Jazz at home<br></b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Donovan-Mitchell-defends-Collin-Sexton-Cavs-Jazz.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After Sexton’s layup made it a one-possession game, Donovan Mitchell baited Sexton, prone to overcommitting on defense, to foul him while attempting a three-pointer. Mitchell was able to connect on two of his three free-throw attempts, making it a two-possession game.</p><p>To keep Sexton from making it close again, the Cavs dared him to be the hero, forcing superstar defender Evan Mobley on him off the switch. Sexton <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&amp;CFPARAMS=&amp;GameEventID=692&amp;GameID=0022400392&amp;Season=2024-25&amp;flag=1&amp;title=MISS%20Sexton%2015%27%20Pullup%20Jump%20Shot" rel="noopener">took the bait and tried to attack</a> Mobley. Unfortunately for Sexton, he could not get anything going against Mobley and, with the shot clock winding down, took an ill-advised mid-range shot.</p><p>Immediately after, Darius Garland caught Sexton’s ball-watching and could easily pass to Georges Niang, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&amp;CFPARAMS=&amp;GameEventID=694&amp;GameID=0022400392&amp;Season=2024-25&amp;flag=1&amp;title=Niang%201%27%20Cutting%20Layup%20Shot%20(8%20PTS)%20(Garland%208%20AST)" rel="noopener">cutting along the baseline</a>. In no time, what was once a one-possession game became a three-possession nightmare for Utah. All it took was the Cavs taking on Sexton’s still glaring flaws as a player and forcing him to play into his bad habits.</p><h2><b>How Cleveland stole Utah’s Christmas win</b></h2><p>Finally, to put a Christmas bow on this home win, Cleveland turned to Niang against Sexton one last time. Knowing that Sexton is prone to overaggressive tunnel vision, the Cavs encouraged him to attack with a full head of steam. However, Niang met Sexton on the perimeter, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&amp;CFPARAMS=&amp;GameEventID=701&amp;GameID=0022400392&amp;Season=2024-25&amp;flag=1&amp;title=Sexton%20OFF.Foul%20(P3)%20(N.Buchert)" rel="noopener">drawing far too much contact</a> from Sexton, wasting one of Utah’s last gasps on offense and securing another home win.</p><p>Although it was close against Utah, Cleveland did what good teams are expected to do. They were able to execute down the stretch against a bad team and showcase why there’s a difference standings-wise between the Cavs and the Jazz.</p><p>It also helped that Cleveland had a cheat sheet for exploiting Sexton’s flaws as a player. But it takes anything and everything to win, no matter the opponent. So, for the Cavs to have a leg up is just good fortune.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cav pass surprising home test from Collin Sexton, Jazz

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-injury-issues-arent-throwing-cavs-potential');   ga('set', 'title', 'Injury issues aren’t throwing off Cavs’ offensive potential');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/0-Injury-issues-arent-throwing-off-Clevelands-offensive-potential0.jpg"></figure><h1>Injury issues aren’t throwing off Cavs’ offensive potential</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-22T11:46:47-08:00">December 22nd, 11:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-22T11:46:47-08:00">December 22nd, 11:46am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Nearly 30 games into the 2024-25 NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled to remain completely healthy. Recently, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson even quipped that whenever Cleveland sees a player return to the floor, they lose another in his place. This joke, sadly, came off the heels of the Cavs welcoming back sharpshooter Max Strus while losing forward Isaac Okoro to a right shoulder injury.</p><p>Regardless, despite the injuries, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-caris-levert-offensive-change-under-kenny-atkinson">Cleveland is still the NBA’s No. 1 team</a>. However, the Cavs dealing with so many injuries throughout the season that it could hold them back. <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?dir=A&amp;sort=OFF_RATING" rel="noopener">Despite boasting the league’s best offense</a>, Cleveland not having all hands on deck could keep it from reaching its full potential.</p><p>Despite this, it feels like these persistent injuries haven’t done anything to slow the Cavs down. Instead, more often than not, it feels like Cleveland’s offensive dominance is inevitable. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-vs-cavaliers-prediction-odds-pick-12-21-2024">In Cleveland’s dominant win</a> over the Philadelphia 76ers, it was the third straight game the Cavs scored more than 120 points. They accomplished this without Okoro and Strus, two integral rotation players.</p><p>“I think we have a good variety,” said Atkinson. “I don’t think it’s one thing. We’re not completely pick-and-roll, we’re not completely transition. We have a pretty good balance in shooting.”</p><h2><b>How the Cavs have found offensive balance despite constant injuries</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Donovan-Mitchell-celebrates-Cavs-offense.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>To Atkinson’s credit, Cleveland’s maintaining balance in their shot profile is what has made them so dominant. On the perimeter, the Cavs have six players shooting better than 40% on more than two three-point attempts per game. This, in turn, has allowed Cleveland to lead the league in three-point percentage, hitting on 40.5% of their attempts per game.</p><p>“When you shoot the three like that, it opens up everything,” Atkinson said. “Every guy we throw out there can shoot pretty much. [Jarrett Allen] is probably your only non-three-point shooter. So it gives us a huge advantage.”</p><p>To complement the three-point shooting-based focus, Cleveland is working to get set on offense and get up their shots quickly. On average, the Cavs take 13.7 seconds of the 24 seconds available to them on offense, <a href="https://stats.inpredictable.com/nba/ssnTeamPoss.php?season=2024&amp;po=0&amp;frdt=2024-10-22&amp;todt=2024-12-21&amp;view=off&amp;sort=aotop&amp;order=ASC" rel="noopener">which is the sixth-quickest</a> in the NBA. The increased pace has also led to a selfless, team-first identity where everyone on Cleveland’s roster is getting a chance to share offensive responsibilities.</p><p>“It doesn’t let the defense set up,” Cavs star big man Evan Mobley said. “By the time you get down the floor in like six seconds, the defense isn’t set. Mismatches that go into it. Once the defense is set it’s hard to score in the NBA. So the faster you play, the easier it is.”</p><h2><b>Is Cleveland’s new-found offensive dynamic sustainable?</b></h2><p>Playing with pace and space has been a consistent recipe for success for Cleveland this season. The Cavs’ surgical approach continually creates and exploits mismatches and opportunities, regardless of who is on the floor. It’s leading to consistency and trust in one another, giving Cleveland an added luxury of continuity whenever they’re forced to deal with on-court adversity.</p><p>“You’re starting to see us have a lot of success and just not getting tired of the repetition,” said superstar Donovan Mitchell. “And sometimes it can be monotonous, over and over and over again, but that’s what makes you a great team.”</p><p>While all signs are pointing toward this Cavs team being a serious title threat, most of what they’re doing doesn’t matter unless it translates to the postseason. Right now, it’s only December and although Cleveland is the top dog, it doesn’t mean anything unless the Cavs win it all.</p><p>“Ultimately, we’ll judge [the offense] by how it transfers to the playoffs,” Atkinson said. “That’s always in the back of my mind, you know, thinking about the teams we’re gonna have to play. How can we even make this better? Because we know the defense, it’s a different deal. So that’s going to be the big challenge.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Injury issues aren’t throwing off Cavs’ offensive potential

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/76ers-vs-cavaliers-prediction-odds-pick-12-21-2024');   ga('set', 'title', '76ers vs. Cavaliers prediction, odds, pick – 12/21/2024');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/76ers-vs-Cavaliers-prediction-odds-pick.jpg"></figure><h1>76ers vs. Cavaliers prediction, odds, pick – 12/21/2024</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-21T08:38:35-08:00">December 21st, 8:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-21T08:38:59-08:00">December 21st, 8:38am</time><address><a>Dominik Zawartko</a>Dominik Zawartko is a Michigan State graduate with a degree in Political Science and English. Having previously worked in the nonprofit and legal sectors, he decided to pursue his true love of writing with ClutchPoints. Dominik's hobbies include painting, cooking food, training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and always having a laugh. His main focus areas are UFC coverage and all things sneakers.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>We’re back to continue our coverage of Saturday’s NBA slate as we head to the Eastern Conference for our next betting prediction and pick. The <b>Philadelphia 76ers </b>will visit the <b>Cleveland Cavaliers </b>as both team continue their season series – Cleveland leads 1-0. It’s time to continue our NBA odds <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba" rel="noopener">series</a> with a 76ers-Cavaliers prediction and pick.</p><p>The Philadelphia 76ers have won five of their last seven games and will host the Charlotte Hornets before heading on the road to Cleveland. They’re still <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-is-joel-embiid-injury-hidden-nba-insider-eye-opening-take">missing Joel Embiid to injury</a> in the lineup, but they’ve been making the most out of a tough situation and they’ll hope for an underdog win on the road.</p><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers have won six of their last seven and will see the Milwaukee Bucks on NBA TV before hosting Philadelphia. They’re currently leading the Eastern Conference with a 23-4 record and a two-game lead over the Boston Celtics. They’ll look to advance to 2-0 against Philadelphia this season.</p><p><b><i>Here are the 76ers-Cavaliers <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba" rel="noopener">NBA odds</a>, courtesy of FanDuel. </i></b></p><h2><b>NBA Odds: 76ers-Cavaliers Odds</b></h2><p>Philadelphia 76ers: +11 (-112)</p><p>Moneyline: +400</p><p>Cleveland Cavaliers: -11 (-108)</p><p>Moneyline: -520</p><p>Over: 220.5 (-108)</p><p>Under: 220.5 (-112)</p><h2><b>How To Watch 76ers vs. Cavaliers</b></h2><p>Time: 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT</p><p>TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, NBA League Pass</p><p><i><b>*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(Get Access | Save $30)</a>*</b></i></p><h2><b>Why the 76ers Could Cover the Spread/Win</b></h2><p>The Philadelphia 76ers last defeated the Charlotte Hornets 121-106 and they’ll have a shot to sweep them in the four-game season series prior to facing Cleveland. The Sixers came up short during the first 114-106 meeting against Cleveland as they were without Joel Embiid once again. They clearly struggle with the size and depth of the Cavaliers’ big men, so getting Andre Drummond and Guerschon Yabusele involved in the paint will be paramount to their success against the Cavs.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="und">25/82. <a href="https://twitter.com/betway?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@betway</a> <a href="https://t.co/QNcHmnlDlm">pic.twitter.com/QNcHmnlDlm</a></p><p>— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) <a href="https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1870161926946492449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><br>It will certainly be a quick turnaround for the 76ers as they’re hoping to see Caleb Martin return from injury as well. The betting lines are indicative of an off road game for Philly, but they stand a chance to win this game if both Tyrese Maxey and Paul George can elevate this offense. They’re also two of the more underrated defenders in the league as well, so expect most of the team’s success to stem from their activity and production.</p></figure><h2><b>Why the Cavaliers Could Cover the Spread/Win</b></h2><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers are rolling along with the best record in the NBA, establishing themselves as the team to beat with recent wins over the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets. Donovan Mitchell is once again playing at an All-Star level and the combination of Evan Mobley (18.4 PPG) and Jarrett Allen (10.3 RPG) down low is elevating this team above all other contenders. The Cavaliers are also extremely deep with playmakers like Isaac Okoro and Caris LeVert coming off the bench.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">⚡️ A commitment to playing fast &amp; with pace. <a href="https://twitter.com/fuboTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@fuboTV</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetEmKnow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetEmKnow</a> <a href="https://t.co/WwuxvOecDX">pic.twitter.com/WwuxvOecDX</a></p><p>— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) <a href="https://twitter.com/cavs/status/1870198743414272379?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><br>Expect the Cavaliers to continue playing at a high pace as they rank second league-wide in points per game (121.5). They’re also leading the league in three-point percentage at 39.9%, so this team is more than willing to find shooters in transition as they try to build their leads. If they’re able to get out to a comfortable lead against the 76ers, we don’t expect them to let-up as they try to make a statement to the rest of the NBA.</p></figure><h2><b>Final 76ers-Cavaliers Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>The Cavaliers lead this season series at 1-0 and their first meeting wasn’t particularly close. With Joel Embiid continuing his injured stint and now losing Caleb Martin, the 76ers will be pressed to find answers down low against the big men of Cleveland. Evan Mobley is seeing another advantageous matchup as he totaled 14 points and seven rebounds the last time these teams met. Expect Jarrett Allen to be a vacuum in rebounding the basketball as he’s out-pacing his averages against Philadelphia.</p><p>Not only do the Cavs own the NBA’s best record, but they’re also covering the spread at a 19-8 rate. They’re an impressive 14-1 at home this season and they’ve gone 11-4 ATS in those games. Philadelphia, on the other hand, has gone just 6-6 ATS on the road this season, not a great mark considering their 5-7 road record.</p><p>I think the difference in this game will once again be the interior play of Mobley and Allen in their mismatches against an injured 76ers front court. Donovan Mitchell is a great defender and should shut down Tyrese Maxey from a massive day, so let’s roll with the Cleveland Cavaliers to cover the spread at home here.</p><p><b>Final 76ers-Cavaliers Prediction &amp; Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers -11 (-108)</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

76ers vs. Cavaliers prediction, odds, pick – 12/21/2024

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-max-strus-regular-season-debut-against-bucks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs could see Max Strus make regular season debut against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cavs-news-Cleveland-could-see-Max-Strus-make-regular-season-debut-against-Giannis-Antetokounmpo-Bucks.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs could see Max Strus make regular season debut against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T09:17:52-08:00">December 20th, 9:17am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T09:17:52-08:00">December 20th, 9:17am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Riding high after an extended siesta, the still injury-riddled Cleveland Cavaliers will return to action <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-vs-cavaliers-prediction-odds-pick-12-20-2024">when Cleveland takes on</a> the Milwaukee Bucks at home. Last time out, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-calls-bench-star-invaluable">the Cavs defeated</a> the Brooklyn Nets 130-101. The Bucks, meanwhile, just won the 2024 NBA Cup and <a href="https://x.com/Bucks/status/1869232529045397587" rel="noopener">are one of the hottest teams</a> in the NBA.</p><p>This will be the third of four meetings between the Cavs and Bucks this year. Both sides last met in Cleveland, with the Cavs winning 116-114. It was a tough, gritty matchup between two of the Eastern Conference’s best. Cleveland should expect a Milwaukee team looking for revenge in this matchup, especially after making a statement by winning the 2024 NBA Cup.</p><p>So, while the Bucks will be looking for revenge, they’ll also have a massive target on their back after winning the NBA Cup. Unfortunately, both teams are <a href="https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/injury/Injury-Report_2024-12-20_09AM.pdf" rel="noopener">dealing with numerous injuries</a> heading into this matchup, making this a grind for either side.</p><h2><b>Who is unavailable for the Bucks against Cleveland?</b></h2><p>Against the Cavs, the Bucks will be without Damian Lillard (calf), AJ Johnson (NBA G League assignment), Chris Livingston (NBA G League assignment), and Tyler Smith (NBA G League assignment).</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-damian-lillard-status-nba-cup-championship-amid-calf-injury">Lillard has been dealing with calf discomfort for a while</a>, and Milwaukee has elected to rest him against Cleveland. Last year, Lillard strained his right Achilles tendon late in the season and missed several playoff games against Indiana. He also strained the soleus in his right calf while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2022.</p><p>Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo (patella) and Khris Middleton (illness) are probable for the Bucks against the Cavs. Antetokounmpo has been dealing with patellar soreness since training camp, making his availability game-by-game. Middleton, meanwhile, missed the NBA Cup Championship game due to a nagging, non-COVID-related illness. However, Middleton has recovered and should be available when the Bucks take on the Cavs in Cleveland.</p><h2><b>Will Max Strus return from injury and make his Cavs regular season debut against the Bucks?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Max-Strus-defends-Cavs-Bucks.jpg"><figcaption>Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Like the Bucks, the Cavs will be without a key contributor. Cleveland forward Isaac Okoro <a href="https://x.com/cavs/status/1869793126019428664" rel="noopener">recently suffered a right AC joint strain</a> in the Cavs’ win over the Brooklyn Nets. Okoro is expected to miss at least the next two weeks, where he’ll be re-evaluated.</p><p>Losing Okoro is a significant blow to an already thin Cavs wing rotation. Okoro is having a strong season in his fifth year in the league, shooting 49.5% from the field and 49.2% from deep – both career-highs. His perimeter defense remains his best asset, but the ability (or inability) to hit shots is what Cavs fans have taken umbrage with. Okoro has excelled on both sides of the ball this season, which makes the injury much more discouraging.</p><p>A silver lining in the Okoro-sized cloud hanging over Cleveland is that sharpshooter Max Strus could make his much-anticipated regular-season debut. After missing most of the preseason with a hip injury, Strus has also missed 27 consecutive regular-season contests with a nagging ankle injury. However, after working his way back to the court, Strus is considered questionable and will likely be a game-time decision.</p><p>Strus was able to practice with the team on Wednesday and Thursday. How Strus responds to the increased activity will determine whether he can play in either or both of the Cavaliers’ games this weekend.</p><p>“Super,” said head coach Kenny Atkinson when asked about how Strus looked in practice. “Feedback was really good today. I’d say we had a moderate practice. He got through it fine. Now, what does it look like when he wakes up? That’s really going to be the trigger on what happens in the next two games. He looked phenomenal the last two days.”</p><p>Strus has seemed like a perfect fit for the Cavs’ offense, which is currently the second-best in the league. His shooting and cutting should amplify what has already been a potent attack. So, although Okoro is sidelined, Cleveland getting Strus back is a bittersweet reward.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs could see Max Strus make regular season debut against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-caris-levert-offensive-change-under-kenny-atkinson');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs sixth man Caris LeVert shares offensive changes under Kenny Atkinson');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cavs-news-Cleveland-sixth-man-Caris-LeVert-shares-offensive-changes-under-Kenny-Atkinson.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs sixth man Caris LeVert shares offensive changes under Kenny Atkinson</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-19T20:00:44-08:00">December 19th, 8:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-19T20:00:44-08:00">December 19th, 8:00pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cleveland Cavaliers sixth man Caris LeVert and Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson have been linked to each other since their professional careers began. LeVert’s rookie season with the Brooklyn Nets was also Atkinson’s first time as an NBA head coach. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-calls-bench-star-invaluable">As LeVert’s game grew, so did Atkinson’s coaching acumen</a>. However, according to Atkinson, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-update-caris-levert">he didn’t correctly utilize LeVert</a> while they were together in Brooklyn to the best of the multi-level scoring threat’s abilities.</p><p>“I failed at Brooklyn, or we failed at Brooklyn trying to get him to change his shot profile,” Atkinson said. “We tried, we tried, we tried over and over. We tried everything. ”</p><p>While with the Nets, LeVert routinely settled for midrange jump shots. In an ideal, modern NBA offense, that’s counterintuitive to on-court success. Atkinson wanted to alter LeVert’s shot profile organically. However, in their roughly three seasons together, it couldn’t manifest. While that might be disappointing for Atkinson, LeVert did share with Cleveland media that it was <a href="https://youtu.be/UhJxhJgoGHs?si=6D9xQo1uDob2Wf7e" rel="noopener">more than just altering his shot diet</a>.</p><p>“I think in Brooklyn, I was in a different role: I was the first option,” said LeVert. “So, as a first option, you’re kinda taking tougher shots, and you’re not getting a lot of catch-and-shoot opportunities.”</p><p>So, curiously enough, when Atkinson was named the successor to J.B. Bickerstaff as Cleveland’s head coach, it led to a reunion with LeVert. However, it was more than just a cheerful Cavs-themed reunion. Instead, for Atkinson, it was a chance to make right on something he felt he had failed LeVert in doing.</p><h2><b>Diving deeper into Kenny Atkinson re-inventing Cavs swingman Caris LeVert’s offensive game</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Caris-LeVert-dribbles-Cavs-Wizards.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Roughly a quarter of the way into the season, Atkinson has refined LeVert’s shot profile on offense. In 21 appearances, LeVert <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1627747/shots-dash?PerMode=Totals" rel="noopener">has only taken six midrange attempts</a>. He attempted 52 shots from that vicinity a season ago. Additionally, he’s not relying on the floater as much as he did last season. He took 75 in the 2023-24 campaign yet has taken just six this campaign. Under Atkinson’s guidance, however, LeVert became an analytical darling, relying heavily on three-pointers and looks at the rim.</p><p>“I’m taking more 3s and trusting my catch-and-shoot,” LeVert said. “We’re moving the ball better, leading to more open shots for everybody. I feel like I’ve always been a great shooter, so it’s cool to be able to get open looks and knock them down.”</p><p>That sudden increase in efficiency has made LeVert a dynamic, potent threat off the bench. In total, 143 of LeVert’s 168 shot attempts this season have come either behind the 3-point arc or at the rim, and this change to his shot profile has paid dividends. LeVert is shooting 48.8 percent from 3-point range and 53.0 percent from the field, both career-highs.</p><p>“It’s changing his value,” Atkinson said of LeVert. “His value to our team, his value for future contracts. You have to be efficient in this sport. That’s what teams are looking for, and that’s what we’re looking for.”</p><p>That value LeVert gives the Cavs has had a trickle-down effect on the rest of the team’s bench. Statistically, Cleveland’s reserves have averaged 38.1 points per game this year, the eighth-best in the NBA. The Cavs’ reserves rank among the league’s best bench units. They’re third in reserve field goal percentage, fourth in bench three-point percentage, third in reserve assists, and eighth in bench unit steals.</p><p>“With Kenny, it’s just been great,” said LeVert. “When he first got the job, I think one of our first goals was to take another step forward, wherever that was. And I think we’re still building towards that. But I think he’s been just a great coach, big brother, whatever you want to say throughout my career. It’s definitely cool to reunite with him.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs sixth man Caris LeVert shares offensive changes under Kenny Atkinson

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/bucks-vs-cavaliers-prediction-odds-pick-12-20-2024');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bucks vs. Cavaliers prediction, odds, pick – 12/20/2024');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Bucks-vs.-Cavaliers-prediction-odds-pick.jpg"></figure><h1>Bucks vs. Cavaliers prediction, odds, pick – 12/20/2024</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-19T15:00:56-08:00">December 19th, 3:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-19T14:50:06-08:00">December 19th, 2:50pm</time><address><a>RB Hayek</a>RB Hayek has been writing about sports for over a decade and is currently a member of ClutchPoints' Betting team. In addition, he is also a published author of thriller novels, available on Amazon. Rob went 29-31 against tge spread in November and 43-17 overall.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Milwaukee Bucks will battle the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday at RocketMortgage Arena. It’s a Central Division showdown as we continue our NBA odds <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba" rel="noopener">series</a> and make a Bucks-Cavaliers prediction and pick.</p><p>The Bucks lead the head-to-head series 132-103. However, the Cavaliers lead the head-to-head series this season, winning 114-113 in Milwaukee on November 2 and again winning 116-114 on November 4 at home. The Cavs are 6-4 over the past 10 games against the Bucks, including 4-1 over the past five games against them at home.</p><p><b><i>Here are the Bucks-Cavaliers <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba" rel="noopener">NBA odds</a>, courtesy of FanDuel. </i></b></p><h2><b>NBA Odds: Bucks-Cavaliers Odds</b></h2><p>Milwaukee Bucks: +7.5 (-106)</p><p>Moneyline: +265</p><p>Cleveland Cavaliers: -7.5 (-114)</p><p>Moneyline: -330</p><p>Over: 224 (-110)</p><p>Under: 224 (-110)</p><h2><b>How To Watch Bucks vs. Cavaliers </b></h2><p>Time: 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT</p><p>TV: FDSO and FDSW</p><p><i><b>*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(Get Access | Save $30)</a>*</b></i></p><h2><b>Why the Bucks Could Cover the Spread/Win</b></h2><p>NBA fans and Milwaukee Bucks fans got to cheer loudly this week as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-fans-go-wild-milwaukee-nba-cup-dominance-vs-thunder">Bucks won the NBA Cup,</a> becoming the second team ever to win the in-season tournament. It was a joyous time for the Bucks, as they all earned some extra cash for their performance in this tournament. Additionally, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo-reveals-nba-cup-winnings-already-gone">Giannis Antetokounmpo already spent his </a><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo-reveals-nba-cup-winnings-already-gone" rel="noopener">money</a>, and he was one of the primary reasons for their success in the NBA Cup.</p><p>Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks with 32.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game while also shooting 61.4 percent from the floor. Also, he has been good on defense, averaging 1.6 blocks per game. Damian Lillard has also been great, averaging 25.7 points and 7.5 assists per game, shooting 45 percent from the floor. Meanwhile, Bobby Portis averages 13.1 points per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the floor. Brook Lopez has also been solid, with 11.2 points per game.</p><p>The Bucks have been solid at shooting the rock, ranking seventh in field-goal shooting percentage, including third from the triples. However, they have struggled at the charity stripe, ranking 29th in free-throw shooting percentage. The Bucks have also struggled on the boards, ranking 22nd in rebounds. Yet, they have done a good job at holding onto the rock, ranking 10th in turnovers. The defense has remained solid, with the Bucks ranking seventh in blocked shots.</p><p>The Bucks will cover the spread if Antetokounmpo and Lillard can continue producing from all over the court. Then, they must contain a high-octane Cleveland offense.</p><h2><b>Why the Cavaliers Could Cover the Spread/Win</b></h2><p>After a hot start, the Cavs are the best team in the NBA, and I believe it will only continue. Overall, they continue to play well and have one of the best players in the league leading the charge.</p><p>Donovan Mitchell has been consistent, averaging 23.3 points per game. Also, he shoots 44.8 percent from the floor, including 40.4 percent from the three-point line. Darius Garland has been a good secondary option, averaging 20.3 points per game. Meanwhile, Evan Mobley has continued to be solid. Mobley averages 18.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Furthermore, he is shooting 56.4 percent from the field, including 41.1. percent from the three-point line.</p><p>Jarrett Allen has been the other big man spreading the floor. So far, he averages 13.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while shooting 69.5 percent from the field. Caris LeVert has been a solid contributor. He averages 12.3 points per game while shooting 53 percent from the floor. Ty Jerome has been good, averaging 10.7 points per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the hardwood.</p><p>The Cavaliers are the best team in the association in shooting the basketball, ranking first in field-goal shooting percentage, including first from beyond the arc. Additionally, they have been decent at the charity stripe, ranking 14th in free-throw shooting percentage. The Cavs struggle consistently on the boards, ranking 18th in rebounds. Conversely, the Cavaliers do an excellent job at holding onto the basketball, ranking fifth in turnovers. But the defense has been mixed, as the Cavs rank 2oth in blocked shots.</p><p>The Cavaliers will cover the spread if Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Allen can remain consistent with their shots. Then, they need some good defensive work to stop the Bucks.</p><h2><b>Final Bucks-Cavaliers Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>The Bucks are 11-14-1 against the spread, while the Cavaliers are 19-8 against the odds. Moreover, the Bucks are 5-6 against the spread on the road, while the Cavaliers are 11-4 against the odds at home. The Bucks are 4-2-1 against the spread when facing the Central Division, while the Cavaliers are 3-2 against the odds when facing the division. Also, the Bucks are 9-12-1 against the spread when facing the Eastern Conference, while the Cavs are 14-8 against the odds when facing the conference.</p><p>The Bucks are the NBA Cup champions. Yet, as we learned last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning the in-season tournament does not give you any boost, especially against a contender. I can see the Cavaliers cover the spread.</p><p><b>Final Bucks-Cavaliers Prediction &amp; Pick: Cavaliers -7.5 (-114)</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bucks vs. Cavaliers prediction, odds, pick – 12/20/2024

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/10-best-candidates-for-presenting-lebron-james-in-basketball-hall-of-fame-ceremony');   ga('set', 'title', '10 best candidates for presenting LeBron James in Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/0Ranking-the-10-best-candidates-who-can-present-LeBron-James-in-the-Basketball-Hall-of-Fame0.jpg"></figure><h1>10 best candidates for presenting LeBron James in Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-18T09:29:28-08:00">December 18th, 9:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-18T09:29:28-08:00">December 18th, 9:29am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/spencersee10" rel="facebook">Spencer See</a>Spencer See is a part-time writer at ClutchPoints focusing on the NBA, evergreen content and celebrity lifestyle. He is also a lifelong fan of LeBron James. In his free time, he either goes fishing or watches basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite giving Father Time a tough workout, LeBron James is already nearing 40 years old. As a result, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-passes-fellow-lakers-legend-kareem-abdul-jabbar-for-most-points-in-nba-history">the NBA’s all-time leading scorer</a> has slowly teased the idea of retirement.</p><p>Given his stacked list of accolades, there’s no question that The King is a lock to be inducted into the Basketball of Fame. With James hanging up his basketball sneakers in the near future, it’s worth taking a look at the possible candidates who can present James at the Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony.</p><p>Check out the gallery below.</p><h2><b>1. Dwyane Wade</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LeBron-James-and-Dwyane-Wade-at-the-2019-All-Star-Game.jpg"><figcaption>Bob Donnan-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>There’s no question that James and Dwyane Wade were like peanut butter and jelly during their days with the Miami Heat. They led the franchise to four-straight NBA Finals appearances for back-to-back NBA titles. With so many great moments together, there’s no doubt that Wade should be the best player to present James at the Basketball Hall of Fame when the time comes.</p><h2><b>2. Kyrie Irving</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LeBron-James-and-Kyrie-Irving-at-the-2017-NBA-Finals.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Another superstar who deserves to present James at the Basketball Hall of Fame is Kyrie Irving. The NBA All-Star played an instrumental role with James in making history by leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to its first NBA title in historic fashion.</p><p>The duo conspired to help the Cavs climb out of a 3-1 NBA Finals series deficit for the first time in NBA history. Although they had their differences shortly after, leading to Irving’s departure, the NBA champion and James have reconciliated since then.</p><h2><b>3. Anthony Davis</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LeBron-James-and-Anthony-Davis-waiting-to-enter-the-game.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Another superstar that played well with LeBron James was All-Star big man Anthony Davis. Davis was a revelation for the Los Angeles Lakers inside the NBA Bubble, helping the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-la-dominate-heat-to-take-2020-nba-title">Lakers capture championship banner No. 17 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic</a>.</p><p>Davis and James played great music together for the franchise’s first title in a decade. Moreover, the duo also towed the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/los-angeles-lakers-in-season-tournament-championship-indiana-pacers-lebron-james-anthony-davis-mvp">Lakers to become the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament Champions</a>. Furthermore, both Davis and James were also recently part of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-barack-obama-drops-perfect-message-to-team-usa-after-gold-win">Team USA’s gold-medal-winning campaign</a> at the 2024 Paris Olympics.</p><h2><b>4. Stephen Curry</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LeBron-James-and-Stephen-Curry-celebrate.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>James and Stephen Curry were heated rivals during the 2010s as both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors faced off in the NBA Finals for four-straight years, with the latter winning three. While they were heated rivals, both Curry and James were responsible for the greatest Finals duels in the 2010s.</p><p>What better way to have one of the most impactful players present James into the Hall of Fame. Moreover, both superstars became good friends during their time together for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics en route to a gold medal.</p><h2><b>5. Kevin Durant</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LeBron-James-and-Kevin-Durant-at-the-gold-medal-game.jpg"><figcaption>Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It’s safe to say that Kevin Durant and LeBron James are both the best small forwards during their peak. Although these two elite superstars went head-to-head as rivals on the court, there was never a shortage of respect between the two.</p><p>Both forwards have given a handful of competitive duels, highlighted by three NBA Finals series matchups. Moreover, both Durant and James have also helped Team USA win two Olympic gold medals.</p><h2><b>6. Chris Bosh</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Chris-Bosh-hugs-LeBron-James.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Playing third fiddle as part of the Big Three in South Beach, Chris Bosh deserves to be at least one of the presenters for James at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Bosh played a key role in the Heat’s back-to-back NBA championships in 2012 and 2013. There’s no doubt that welcoming James as a <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/boshch01.html" rel="noopener">fellow Hall of Famer</a> wouldn’t be a terrible choice.</p><h2><b>7. Kevin Love</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LeBron-James-and-Kevin-Love-interaction.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Another third fiddle in James’ championship teams was Kevin Love. The All-Star big man also had a key role in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first-ever title run in 2016 at the expense of the 73-9 Golden State Warriors.</p><p>Furthermore, Love also stuck with James throughout The King’s second Cleveland stint. He became the second fiddle after Irving’s departure in 2017. But more importantly, Love’s intangibles were crucial to the Cavs’ historic 2016 run.</p><h2><b>8. Tim Duncan</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LeBron-James-tries-to-get-by-Tim-Duncan.jpg"><figcaption>Soobum Im-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs sent James home in the NBA Finals on two occasions, in 2007 and 2014. Duncan was a thorn in James’ championship quests, making him a worthy rival to present The King at the Hall of Fame. In fact, it was Duncan himself who predicted that the NBA would be James’ league in the upcoming years after their 2007 NBA Finals clash.</p><h2><b>9. Michael Jordan</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LeBron-James-and-Michael-Jordan-interact.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Both Michael Jordan and James have been in the heated GOAT debate for several years now. In order to defuse the debate, having His Airness himself present James into the Basketball Hall of Fame would be an interesting situation for their hardcore fans.</p><p>With James’ stacked resume, there’s no doubt that Jordan would be willing to present James into the exclusive Hall of Fame the same way he did for the late Kobe Bryant.</p><h2><b>10. Bronny James</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LeBron-James-shakes-hands-with-son-Bronny.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-bronny-james-nba-history-timberwolves">LeBron James and his son Bronny became the first-ever father-and-son duo to ever play together</a> in the NBA. Although the younger James still has plenty to prove in the NBA, it wouldn’t be a surprise if James asked his very own son to present him into the Basketball Hall of Fame. It will certainly be another special moment for the James household.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

10 best candidates for presenting LeBron James in Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-calls-bench-star-invaluable');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kenny Atkinson calls this Cavs bench star ‘invaluable’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cavs-news-Kenny-Atkinson-calls-this-bench-star-invaluable.jpg"></figure><h1>Kenny Atkinson calls this Cavs bench star ‘invaluable’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-17T12:35:43-08:00">December 17th, 12:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-17T12:35:43-08:00">December 17th, 12:35pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Against the Brooklyn Nets, the Cleveland Cavaliers did what great teams are expected to do. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-reveals-nets-firing-fueled-coaching-rebirth">Cleveland flipped a switch in the opening quarter</a> on the road against Brooklyn, building a respectable 20-point lead heading into the second frame. Much of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-vs-nets-predictions-odds-pick-12-16-2024">sudden surge was sparked by the Cavs’ bench</a>, spearheaded by star sixth man Caris LeVert.</p><p>In the first quarter alone, LeVert had nine points on 3-4 shooting, leading the team in scoring to open the game. LeVert finished the game against the Nets, his former team, with 19 points on 6-10 shooting, one rebound, and four assists. The Cleveland swingman was one of seven players that scored double digits for the Cavs. However, in the eyes of Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson, LeVert’s <a href="https://x.com/cavs/status/1869042371821744310" rel="noopener">performance stood out the most</a>.</p><p>“A big part of when I came in was to make another push, and he’s been bought in,” Atkinson said of LeVert. “But even tonight, I felt like he passed up two or three, and his teammates are like, ‘Come on, Caris!’  But it’s the curse of a great ballhandler. He’s got such great handles. His whole life, he’s been catching it and putting it down. Darius [Garland] has some of it, too.</p><p>“For some reason, they don’t want to take the easy three. They like to make it a little more difficult. But it’s changing his value. His value to our team, his value for future contracts. You have to be efficient in sports. That’s what teams are looking for. That’s what we’re looking for. And, man, he has turned a corner.”</p><h2><b>Cavs sixth man Caris LeVert had added motivation against the Nets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Caris-LeVert-dribbles-Cavs-Nets.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After facing the Nets for the first time as a head coach, Atkinson admitted he was extra motivated to beat the team that fired him. From 2016 to midway into the 2019-2020 season, Atkinson was Brooklyn’s head coach, going 118-190.</p><p>But now that he’s with Cleveland, Atkinson has guided the Cavs to an NBA-best 23-4 record. So, for Levert, who played for the Nets under Atkinson, there was revenge on the sixth man’s mind heading into the matchup.</p><p>“As a competitor, that’s something that’s always in the back of your head,” LeVert said. “Not just Kenny. But (assistant coach) Trevor (Hendry) was here as well. Jordan Ott. DeMarre (Carroll). Myself. J.A. [Jarrett Allen] Got a lot of guys who were here and did some special things. Definitely cool to come here and get a dub.”</p><h2><b>It was a team effort for Cleveland to earn Kenny Atkinson a win against Brooklyn</b></h2><p>Like Levert, Allen, who also played in Brooklyn under Atkinson, understood the meaning of this matchup. So, heading into tipoff at Barclays Center, Allen admitted that the Cavs players aimed to earn Atkinson a dominant win over the Brooklyn team that let him go.</p><p>“We respect Kenny. Kenny has our backs. He fights for us every single day on and off the court,” Allen said postgame. “I think we wanted to get this one for him.”</p><p>So, thanks to the efforts of Allen and LeVert, it was a triumphant homecoming for Atkinson. Although his first formal reunion with the Nets as head coach was brief, Atkinson and the Cavs got precisely what they had hoped for. They exacted vengeance, reminding Brooklyn what they’re missing out on at head coach.</p><p>“I’m competitive,” Atkinson said before the game. “When you have setbacks, you remember things. Players do the same thing. If something happens or a team beats you or you get fired, you’re motivated. You’re motivated to prove people wrong. That’s kind of how I took it.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kenny Atkinson calls this Cavs bench star ‘invaluable’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/ben-simmons-struggles-nets-blown-out-first-game-after-dennis-schroder-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ben Simmons struggles as Nets blown out in first game after Dennis Schroder trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Blowout-loss-to-Cavs-following-Dennis-Schroder-trade-shows-how-ugly-tank-could-get.jpg"></figure><h1>Ben Simmons struggles as Nets blown out in first game after Dennis Schroder trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-17T06:45:11-08:00">December 17th, 6:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-17T07:44:00-08:00">December 17th, 7:44am</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-news-sean-marks-reveals-motivation-dennis-schroder-trade-tank-speculation-grows">Brooklyn Nets committed to a tank when they traded Dennis Schroder</a>. Their first game without the veteran floor general showed how ugly that could get.</p><p>The Nets trailed by as much as 35 points during the first half of Monday’s 130-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jordi Fernadez’s squad looked frazzled and uninspired in a game that was decided by the end of the first quarter.</p><p>“We got punched in the face, and then we didn’t have the togetherness, the fight, to get back and keep punching,” Fernandez said. “It is extremely disappointing because whoever wears our jersey will fight more than that, and if not, you will not be part of this club, whether you start, you come off the bench, or whatever the case may be. We didn’t compete out there. We were not selfless, and for sure, we didn’t support each other. So with that being said, it’s very simple. I just want to see a better fight.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jordi Fernandez on tonight’s loss:</p><p>“We got punched in the face and we didn’t have the togetherness, the fight, to get back and keep punching. It is extremely disappointing because whoever wears our jersey will fight more than than, and if not, you will not be part of this club.” <a href="https://t.co/3wvHtBlOKI">pic.twitter.com/3wvHtBlOKI</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1868858362022314172?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While Fernandez ripped the Nets’ effort, which left much to be desired, their disjointed offense without Schroder never allowed them to get in the game.</p><h2>Ben Simmons-led offense falters in Nets’ first game post-Dennis Schroder trade</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Brooklyn-Nets.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Nets scored 40 first-half points on their way to a 32-point halftime deficit. They had the same amount of turnovers (13) as made field goals (13) at the break. Cleveland scored 34 points off turnovers on the night, while Brooklyn shot 34-of-81 (42 percent) from the field.</p><p>With Ben Simmons replacing Schroder as the Nets’ lead point guard, the team lacks a high-level shot-creator in its starting lineup. Schroder excelled running pick-and-roll and creating off the dribble. Simmons struggles to do either because he isn’t a shooting threat.</p><p>That lack of shot-creation at point guard puts immense pressure on Brooklyn’s supporting cast. With Keon Johnson, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Nic Claxton alongside Simmons in the starting five, the team <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1868866967844933762" rel="noopener">has a glaring scoring deficit</a>.</p><p>“I definitely feel I have to do more there, but it’s definitely by committee,” Cam Johnson said when asked how the Nets will replace Schroder’s offense. “Dennis was the guy that had the ball a lot of the game. The ball then goes to Ben’s hands a lot, and figuring out how to cut and move and find open windows and create space on the floor is going to be really important for us. That’s the name of the game now. We have who we have, and I respect our group, and I know that we’ll take this one personally.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Cam Johnson how the Nets will try to replace Dennis Schroder’s P&amp;R ball-handling and self-creation:</p><p>“I definitely feel I have to do more there, but yeah, it’s definitely by committee. Dennis was the guy who had the ball in his hands a lot of the game. The ball then goes to… <a href="https://t.co/xlxziLP3Gi">pic.twitter.com/xlxziLP3Gi</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1868866967844933762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Schroder’s offensive impact was resounding. The Nets scored 10.1 more points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor, the fourth-highest mark among NBA point guards. That impact is why Brooklyn exceeded expectations early this season, and it’s why <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grading-nets-warriors-dennis-schroder-trade">general manager Sean Marks traded the 31-year-old</a> as soon as the calendar flipped to Dec. 15.</p><p>Brooklyn posted a 122.4 offensive rating and a +6.8 net rating when Schroder and Simmons shared the floor this season. However, their offensive rating plummets to 108.8 with an -8.3 net rating when Simmons is on the floor without Schroder.</p><p>Simmons is averaging 5.1 points on 4.1 shots per game this season, both career lows. The three-time All-Star has attempted 84 field goals, ranking dead-last among 115 NBA guards to play over 450 minutes. Those deficiencies were evident as he played a season-high 31 minutes vs. Cleveland.</p><p>“I had too many errors. Turning the ball over,” Simmons said of his performance. “But I feel like I was getting more comfortable getting to the rim, finding my guys. You obviously don’t want to lose like that, but you know now we’re gonna take something from it and learn… There’s more opportunity for me now, just being at that point guard position [without Dennis]. So just finding my ways [to make an impact]. I’m gonna go talk to coach about some different looks and things like that that I see out there.”</p><p>Simmons posted 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting with eight assists and six turnovers in the loss. Cam Johnson led the Nets with 22 points and five assists on 5-of-10 shooting.</p><p>Fernandez did not have an update on Cam Thomas’ status on Monday. The fourth-year guard has been sidelined for the last three weeks due to a hamstring strain. He led Brooklyn in scoring at 24.7 points per game on 46/39/87 shooting splits before sustaining the injury.</p><p>The Nets will have two days off to regroup before traveling to face the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Ben Simmons struggles as Nets blown out in first game after Dennis Schroder trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-reveals-nets-firing-fueled-coaching-rebirth');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson reveals how Nets firing fueled coaching rebirth');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Nets-news-Kenny-Atkinson-reveals-how-Brooklyn-firing-fueled-coaching-rebirth.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson reveals how Nets firing fueled coaching rebirth</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-16T17:17:40-08:00">December 16th, 5:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-16T17:44:57-08:00">December 16th, 5:44pm</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It’s been nearly four years since <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-what-the-heck-is-the-deal-with-firing-kenny-atkinson">the Brooklyn Nets fired Kenny Atkinson</a>. He now has his eyes on a championship while leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA-best 22-4 record.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-vs-nets-predictions-odds-pick-12-16-2024">Atkinson will return to Barclays Center</a> as a head coach on Monday for the first time since his Nets tenure. Ahead of the matchup, he revealed how his Brooklyn exit has fueled him.</p><p>“I just look at it as part of the story, a part of my growth,” Atkinson said. “You have good things happen, and you have setbacks. And it’s like a player: how do you bounce back? And it was definitely a bounce back. I think, in the long run, the journey after Brooklyn really helped me grow as a coach. Who knows, if that doesn’t happen, maybe I’m not in Cleveland. Maybe I don’t improve as much as a coach if that didn’t happen. So I kind of look at it more as a positive now.”</p><p>“But I will tell you, I’m competitive. And when you have setbacks, you remember things. Players do the same thing. If something happens or a team beats you or you get fired, you’re motivated. You’re motivated to prove people wrong, and that’s kind of how I took it. It’s a chip on your shoulder or whatever you want to call it. There’s definitely some of that. I think any competitor feels the same way.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kenny Atkinson on being fired by Nets:</p><p>“You remember things, players do the same thing. If something happened or a team beat you or you get fired, you’re motivated to prove people worng. That’s how I took it. You can say a chip on your shoulder… There’s definitely some of that. <a href="https://t.co/5BNbg70ALb">pic.twitter.com/5BNbg70ALb</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1868799746565087719?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Atkinson led the Nets to the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed in 2018-19, a team widely regarded as the most beloved of the Brooklyn era.</p><h2>Kenny Atkinson returning to Brooklyn with league-leading Cavaliers</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Kenny-Atkinson_a75b96.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Nets signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency the following summer. It wasn’t long before Atkinson was on the outside looking in. His conviction about starting budding center Jarrett Allen over DeAndre Jordan, who joined the team alongside Durant and Irving, reportedly <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/33719050/lessons-brooklyn-nets-controversy-filled-season-superteam-era-over" rel="noopener">became a source of turmoil</a>.</p><p>Brooklyn fired Atkinson in March of the 2019-20 season. Not long after, the team hired Steve Nash.</p><p>During that time, Irving appeared on Durant’s podcast and disputed reports that the star duo contributed to Atkinson’s firing. Yet, in the same breath, he explained why he felt Nash could “coexist” with him and Durant.</p><p>“First off, I want to give a shoutout to Kenny Atkinson. Some people came out and were like ‘Ky and KD got Kenny fired.’ Look, that was completely false,” Irving said. “Listen, Kenny was great for the group that he served and I was very appreciative of what he was giving us throughout the season when we were playing. We always heard and saw how great Nash was as a player; but also when you get to know him as a person, you understand why he can coexist with us.</p><p>“We don’t need someone to come in with their coaching philosophy, change everything we’re doing, change up the wheel, and we’re going to start running on the first day of practice. No; I want somebody that’s going to understand that I’m a human being first, I serve my community first. And then basketball is something I come and do every day because I love… That’s no disrespect to Kenny or any coaches I played [for]. It’s just Steve coming in at this moment and following up with putting together a great coaching core was going to make us more successful… It’s going to change the way we see coaches. I don’t really see us having a head coach. KD could be a head coach; I could be a head coach.”</p><p>After highly successful assistant coach stints with the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors, during which he turned down a head-coaching offer from the Charlotte Hornets, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-land-ex-warriors-kenny-atkinson-as-next-head-coach">Atkinson landed the Cavaliers job</a>.</p><p>He’s returning to Brooklyn alongside Allen and Caris LeVert, two of his most successful development stories with the Nets. DeMarre Carroll, a trusted Brooklyn veteran during the 2018-19 season, is an assistant coach with the Cavaliers. Former Nets assistants Trevor Hendry and Jordan Ott also joined Cleveland’s staff.</p><p>Atkinson’s Nets exit has stuck in the minds of the Cavaliers’ players and coaches with Brooklyn ties. LeVert said the group <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/12/16/sports/cavaliers-stars-want-to-get-win-vs-nets-for-kenny-atkinson/" rel="noopener">knows how much a win would mean to their head coach</a> during his return to Barclays Center.</p><p>“Yeah. I think as competitors, you always think about those things,” he told the New York Post’s Brian Lewis ahead of Monday’s matchup. “You know, myself, JA, Kenny, DeMarre — DeMarre wasn’t really traded away, but Trevor Hendry, who was also on staff as well, JO, Jordan Ott, we got a lot of guys who were here. So, as competitors, I think that just naturally comes to mind. So for sure. Definitely.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson reveals how Nets firing fueled coaching rebirth

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavaliers-vs-nets-predictions-odds-pick-12-16-2024');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavaliers vs. Nets predictions, odds, pick – 12/16/2024');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cavaliers-vs.-Nets-prediction-odds-pick.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavaliers vs. Nets predictions, odds, pick – 12/16/2024</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-15T19:37:09-08:00">December 15th, 7:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-15T19:37:09-08:00">December 15th, 7:37pm</time><address><a>Cameron Zunkel</a>Cameron Zunkel is a former college athlete for the University of Illinois, Springfield. During that time, he earned his masters degree in Communication. After graduating in 2022, Cameron signed to play independent professional baseball with the Joliet Slammers, but his time was cut short due to injury. Nonetheless, his love for baseball and all sports never faded.Cameron loves the sports media and sports journalism side of things and does some light writing for a Chicago Cubs blog, as well. To go along with that, he loves sports betting and fantasy sports. He also loves digging on the research and creating content for both sports betting and fantasy sports!</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers head to New York to take on the Brooklyn Nets Monday night. It’s time to continue our NBA odds <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba" rel="noopener">series</a> with a Cavaliers-Nets prediction and pick. We will also let you know how to watch the game.</p><p><b><i>Here are the Cavaliers-Nets <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba" rel="noopener">NBA odds</a>, courtesy of FanDuel. </i></b></p><h2><b>NBA Odds: Cavaliers-Nets Odds</b></h2><p>Cleveland Cavaliers: -9.5 (-108)</p><p>Moneyline: -430</p><p>Brooklyn Nets: +9.5 (-112)</p><p>Moneyline: +340</p><p>Over: 219.5 (-110)</p><p>Under: 219.5 (-110)</p><h2><b>How To Watch Cavaliers-Nets</b></h2><p>Time: 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT</p><p>TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, YES Network</p><p><i><b>*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(Get Access | Save $30)</a>*</b></i></p><h2><b>Why the Cavaliers Could Cover the Spread/Win</b></h2><p>Cleveland’s hype has fallen off a little bit, but there is really no reason for that. They are 22-4 on the season, and they are one of the best teams on both ends of the court this season. Offensively, the Cavaliers are second in the NBA with 121.2 points per game. They are also the only team to be shooting over 50 percent from the field, and they have the highest three-point percentage in the league at 39.9 percent. If the Cavaliers can continue to be one of the top offensive teams, they will be able to win this game.</p><p>Cleveland has allowed the 11th-fewest points per game this season at 111.2 points. Along with that, opponents have the eighth-lowest field goal percentage against them. The Nets score the 11th-fewest points per game, so the Cavaliers should be able to keep their scoring to a minimum in this one. To make matters worse for Brooklyn, Cam Thomas remains out with an injury, and they just <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-warriors-serious-pursuit-dennis-schroder-trade-with-nets">traded away their next best scorer in Dennis Schroder</a>. As long as the Cavaliers stay tough on defense, they will be able to win this game by a large margin.</p><h2><b>Why the Nets Could Cover the Spread/Win</b></h2><p>Brooklyn has to be able to play good defense Monday night. They did play the Cavaliers tough in their first matchup, though. In that game, the Nets lost, but they held the Cavaliers to just 105 points. Cleveland shot the ball well, but the Nets did a great job at slowing down the pace and making sure the Cavaliers did not get a lot of chances to score. Cleveland had just four offensive rebounds, and they turned the ball over 14 times. If Brooklyn can have a similar game Monday night, they will have a great chance to cover the spread.</p><p>The Nets make the third-most threes per game in the NBA, and they have the fourth-best three-point percentage. This is important as the Cavaliers do not do a great job defending the three. In their first meeting, Brooklyn knocked down 15 shots from beyond the arc. Brooklyn may not have Schroder anymore, but there are other players on the team capable of hitting shots from deep. If the Nets can hit their threes, they will have a chance to cover the spread.</p><h2><b>Final Cavaliers-Nets Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>I do not think the Nets are a good team this season, and they are even worse now that Schroder is headed to Golden State. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, are the best team int he NBA. They can score, defend, and they are healthy for the most part. For that reason, I am going to take the Cavaliers to not only win this game on the road, but cover the spread, as well.</p><p><b>Final Cavaliers-Nets Prediction &amp; Pick: Cavaliers -9.5 (-108)</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavaliers vs. Nets predictions, odds, pick – 12/16/2024

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/ranking-best-herb-jones-trade-destinations-if-pelicans-go-nuclear');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ranking best Herb Jones trade destinations if Pelicans go nuclear');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Ranking-best-Herb-Jones-trade-destinations-if-Pelicans-go-nuclear.jpg"></figure><h1>Ranking best Herb Jones trade destinations if Pelicans go nuclear</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-13T07:45:47-08:00">December 13th, 7:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-13T07:45:47-08:00">December 13th, 7:45am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2024-25 season could not be going any further from how the New Orleans Pelicans envisioned it would go entering the season. Ravaged by injuries once again, which has been the story for the team over the past five years, they have fallen off a cliff, bringing the rear in the Western Conference as they currently have a 5-20 record — the second-worst win-loss tally in the association — following their Thursday night <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-evp-david-griffin-stand-pat-despite-zion-williamson-brandon-ingram-injuries">loss to the Sacramento Kings</a>.</p><p>Given how bad things have been going for them throughout the season thus far, there will be a temptation to hit the reset button in hopes of fashioning for themselves a much better future. It is becoming clear at this point that it is very difficult to rely on the likes of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram as the team’s best players given how much time they spend on the mend, and their issues are being compounded by the fact that Ingram is about to hit free agency and that the two sides appear to be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-trade-brandon-ingram-new-contract">far apart on a new contract</a>.</p><p>Something has to give for the Pelicans, and perhaps when they decide to blow it up, a key member of their roster in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-2-pelicans-drawing-trade-interest-amid-brandon-ingram-saga">Herb Jones becomes available for trade</a>. And if Jones becomes available on the trade market, expect contending teams to be circling the Pelicans like vultures.</p><h2><b>5. Los Angeles Lakers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Lakers-forward-LeBron-James-23-blocks-Hawks-Dyson-Daniels.jpg"><figcaption>© Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Lakers are in desperate need of a defensive stopper at the point of attack, and Herb Jones provides exactly that. Jones is only making around <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/74142/herb-jones#:~:text=2023%2D2026%20Free%20Agent,dead%20cap%20value%20of%20%2412%2C976%2C362." rel="noopener">$13 million this season</a>, making it very easy for the Purple and Gold to match salaries with the Pelicans in a potential trade. However, the Lakers may have more pressing needs than to add the 26-year-old forward.</p><p>If anything, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/6-trades-lakers-must-consider-before-season-slips-away">Lakers need a major talent infusion</a>, perhaps another All-Star scorer such as Zach LaVine, to help LeBron James and Anthony Davis shoulder the offensive workload. They are also in dire need of a quality center, as their frontcourt depth (Jaxson Hayes, Christian Koloko, Christian Wood) simply won’t cut it. Jones will be a very nice get, but he seems to be more of a luxury piece, the finishing touch to an already-complete roster. And the Lakers don’t have that at the moment.</p><h2><b>4. Indiana Pacers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Tyrese-Haliburton-Pacers-upset.jpg"><figcaption>Robert Goddin-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>All the good vibes surrounding the Pacers following the 2024-25 season are gone; <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-broken-record-latest-pitiful-performance">Tyrese Haliburton’s body language says it all</a> as the Pacers weather the storm of a rough 10-15 start to the campaign. They continue to struggle on the defensive side of the ball, although they haven’t been nearly as good on offense as they’ve been over the past few seasons to make up for it.</p><p>Now, while Herb Jones wouldn’t be the panacea to their offensive struggles, he should be the perfect fifth starter for the Pacers — helping replace the production of the injured Aaron Nesmith and then some. While acquiring a backup big man is more pressing for the Pacers, Jones should finally help put an end to the defensive woes they’ve been having.</p><h2><b>3. Denver Nuggets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Nuggets-center-Nikola-Jokic-15-drives-to-the-basket.jpg"><figcaption>© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Nikola Jokic continues to be at his best, playing at an MVP level and stuffing the stat sheet on a nightly basis. But the Nuggets have not been as good as they’ve been in recent seasons. Heading into Friday, the Nuggets have a 12-10 record, and they don’t look like a team that will seriously challenge for a championship considering Jamal Murray’s struggles, the team’s lack of spacing, and their unforgivable lack of depth.</p><p>Herb Jones makes sense as a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-nuggets-want-to-make-a-trade-but-theres-a-problem">target for the Nuggets</a> even though he isn’t exactly the most accurate shooter from distance. The Nuggets need wing depth badly, and Jones’ $13 million salary won’t be difficult for Denver to match. They may not have the assets, however, to snag Jones from the Pelicans, even though he would fit really well with the team.</p><h2><b>2. </b><b>Milwaukee Bucks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Bucks-Giannis-Antetokounmpo-1.jpg"><figcaption>Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Speaking of another team with an MVP-caliber player despite performing (a bit) below expectations, the Bucks are a team with laughable depth on the wings. Acquiring Herb Jones will be a game-changer; imagining a playoff starting five of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton alongside Jones makes the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/why-herb-jones-contract-with-pelicans-is-best-in-nba">Bucks a frightening team to face</a>.</p><p>Alas, the Bucks are a team that’s currently above the second tax apron, and it is impossible for them to bring in Jones without giving up one of their core four. But if they can somehow find a way to duck the second tax apron (dumping Pat Connaughton’s contract), then they might be in business — especially if they dangle their 2031 first-round pick.</p><h2><b>1. Cleveland Cavaliers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Trae-Young-drives-Cavs-Hawks.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>If there’s any team that would benefit the most from trading for Herb Jones, it’s the team that currently has the best record in the NBA in the Cavs. One may argue that, if it ain’t broke, they better not do anything to fix it. But Jones’ skillset means that he fits seamlessly on any team, and he would be a major upgrade for the team as their best point of attack defender — making him the perfect fifth starter at small forward even with the impending return of Max Strus.</p><p>Once Isaac Okoro is eligible to be traded, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-cleveland-trade-targets-depth-issues">Cavs can build a package</a> around him while dangling their 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 first-round pick swap.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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Cavaliers News: Get the latest Cleveland Cavaliers news, scores, stats, standings, fantasy games, and more from ClutchPoints.

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• Ranking best Herb Jones trade destinations if Pelicans go nuclear

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Latest Cavaliers News

Cav pass surprising home test from Collin Sexton, Jazz

Injury issues aren’t throwing off Cavs’ offensive potential

76ers vs. Cavaliers prediction, odds, pick – 12/21/2024

Cavs could see Max Strus make regular season debut against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

Cavs sixth man Caris LeVert shares offensive changes under Kenny Atkinson

Bucks vs. Cavaliers prediction, odds, pick – 12/20/2024

10 best candidates for presenting LeBron James in Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony

• Kenny Atkinson calls this Cavs bench star ‘invaluable’

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• Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson reveals how Nets firing fueled coaching rebirth

• Cavaliers vs. Nets predictions, odds, pick – 12/16/2024

• Ranking best Herb Jones trade destinations if Pelicans go nuclear

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Cavaliers NEWS