National Basketball Association

Cleveland Cavaliers Vs. Brooklyn Nets: Season Preview

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Dec 8, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (left) talks with Jay Z (right) during the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to assert their dominance over the Brooklyn Nets once again. Here’s what to expect from the matchup this upcoming season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to take the season series against the Brooklyn Nets once again this upcoming season.

Cleveland handled their business against the Nets last year by taking three out of the four contests they played. While Cleveland took care of the Nets for the most part last season, they didn’t blow them out like many would have expected.

The Cavs barely escaped with a two-point win in their first matchup last season. LeBron James saved the day by hitting a game winning hook shot with a second left to play. He finished the game with 26 points. Kevin Love matched LeBron’s scoring output while also grabbing seven rebounds.

The Cavs took the second contest of the year with a 91-78 win over the Nets on Jan. 20th. This was the Cavs first game after being dismantled at home against the Golden State Warriors in a game that changed the Cavaliers’ season. While this game against the Nets is one that most Cavs’ fans forgot about, this might have been one of the most important regular season contests of the year.

Upcoming Schedule

The Cavs won this one, but they did not look impressive while doing it. LeBron and Love both contributed 17 points. Tristan Thompson added 14 points of his own while grabbing 10 boards. This game was monumental not because of the outcome, but because this game was key in David Griffin’s decision to fire David Blatt. Griffin noticed a lack of connectedness even in the win. This was one of the main reasons Blatt was fired. The Cavaliers probably aren’t NBA champions if this move isn’t made.

Cleveland lost their third meeting with the Nets in late March in what might have been one of the lowest points of the year. Cleveland looked terrible and dropped the game 104-95.

This was an awful performance for multiple reasons. First of which was it came on the heels of a game in Miami where the Cavs were blown out and James spent most of halftime talking to his buddy Dwyane Wade. The Cavs looked flat this whole game. LeBron was great in the first three quarters, but failed to record a single point in the final frame.

Considering the playoffs was only a few weeks away and the fact that the Nets were one of the worst teams in the entire league made this a real cause for concern. Many thought that the Cavs wouldn’t be able to flip the switch for the postseason. Fortunately, those people were proven wrong.

Cleveland won their final contest against Brooklyn with a convincing 107-87 win just a week later. James contributed 24 points and 11 assists while moving up to 12th on the All-Time scoring list in the process.

Apr 23, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lin (7) reacts after scoring during the second half in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat at Time Warner Cable Arena. Hornets win 96-80. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

Brooklyn Nets Roster Turnover

Key Additions: Jeremy Lin, Luis Scola, Randy Foye, Trevor Booker, Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, Anthony Bennett
Key Subtractions: Shane Larkin, Thaddeaus Young, Wayne Ellington, Henry Sims

There is always a lot of turnover with bad NBA teams. The Nets are no exception to that rule. With Brooklyn’s future still handcuffed by the trades they made years ago to land Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. The only way that the Nets can try to improve themselves is through free agency. Unfortunately, they didn’t improve much from last season.

Adding Jeremy Lin and Luis Scola are the big moves of the offseason. The Nets do not have a strong core to build around, so Brooklyn will be asking a lot from Scola and Lin.

Lin has carved out a nice career for himself after becoming a star in New York. He showed that he can be a productive member of a playoff team last year in Charlotte. He averaged 11.7 points per contest with the Hornets. His main weakness in his game is his inability to shoot a consistent jumper.

Lin has stated that his main focus this offseason will be to improve his jumper. He is doing this by completely changing his shooting form. If he can improve his jump shot, he has a chance of being a very good player in this league.

Lin should get a chance to start in Brooklyn. He has a chance to prove that he can carry this team. Lin seems to always play good against the Cavs for whatever reason. We’ll see if he can do that again this year.

Scola has been a solid player in this league for many years. He will be 36 at the start of this next season. While Scola is getting older, he showed that he can still play at a relatively high level last year. He averaged 8.7 points with the Toronto Raptors last year.

Randy Foye is a nice pickup. He proved that he can be an average backup for the Oklahoma City Thunder last year. However, Brooklyn doesn’t have the talent that OKC had last season. Much more will be asked of Foye this year than there was last year.

Trevor Booker is another good journeyman that Brooklyn brought in to fill out the roster. Booker is a solid role player, but considering the Nets do not have a core to build around adding Booker seems like it is more about filling out a roster than it is addressing an actual need.

Cavs’ fans don’t need too much of an introduction to Joe Harris and Anthony Bennett. Both players are trying to prove they belong in the NBA. It’s no secret that both players have had their share of lows in their professional careers. I’ll be rooting for both of these players to make the team.

The Nets have lost many players from last year’s team, but they won’t significantly hurt Brooklyn. Players like Larkin, Ellington, Young, and Sims are solid players, but they aren’t players you can build a franchise around.

We’ll see if these moves help Brooklyn become a respectable team in the Eastern Conference.

Mar 24, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Bojan Bogdanovic (44) defends Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The Season Series

Game One: Cavs Vs. Nets – Friday, Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m. (FSOH)
Game Two: Cavs @ Nets – Friday, Jan. 6, 7:30 p.m. (FSOH)
Game Three: Cavs Vs. Nets – Friday, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m. (FSOH)

Brook Lopez is a good NBA player, but he doesn’t have much help. I don’t see the Cavaliers having a tough time taking care of the Nets this year.

Last season Lopez averaged 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game for the Nets. He will likely have a similar stat line this season with little help around him.

Adding Lin should help in terms of taking the load of scoring for Lopez, but he should still be the go-to-guy. Due to the lack of trade assets, the Nets could use a good, healthy year from Lopez to trade him while his stock is high, possibly even to the Cavs.