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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Milwaukee Bucks: preview, predictions and statistics

One of the best games the Eastern Conference has to offer right now. The leader receives the newest NBA Cup champion and the most successful team in the entire NBA. The Bucks have built their new reality on the basis of a fairly friendly schedule, but they come from a sufficient trial by fire to already propose them as contenders for any level not occupied by the Boston Celtics. The same one that the Cavaliers occupy.

Date and time of the Cavaliers vs. game dollars

Data: December 20th, early morning of the 21st in Europe.

Tempo: These are the start times for the Cavaliers vs. Dollars depending on time zone.

Spain (peninsular), and Italy 01:30
Dominican Republic, United States (Boston, New York and Miami), Puerto Rico and Venezuela 19:30
Mexico (central), El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua 18:30
Mexico (Pacific) and United States (Los Angeles) 16:30
Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay 21:30
Colombia, Ecuador, USA (Chicago and Texas), Peru and Panama 19:30

headquarters: Rocket Mortgage Arena (Cleveland, Ohio).

Cavaliers quintets vs. dollars

Isaac Okoro will be out for a couple of weeks in Cleveland. The Bucks arrive from Las Vegas with the only doubt about Khris Middleton, who was unable to play last Tuesday's final. He wasn't starting either.

Cavaliers Bucks
Dario Ghirlanda Damian Lillard
Donovan Mitchell André Jackson jr.
Dean Wade Taurean prince
Evan Mobile Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jarrett Allen Brook Lopez

Latest news for the Cavaliers: injuries and form

The aforementioned Okoro enters the infirmary and Max Strus and Craig Porter Jr. remain outside.

After an impasse like the one imposed by the NBA Cup, it is difficult to recap the status of the teams that did not compete in the final phase. The Cavaliers haven't played in five days. Since last December 16th, when they beat the Brooklyn Nets. Their aura of invincibility dissipated after starting the season undefeated in their first 15 games. But they still won 7 of their last 10 and only lost to the Celtics and Hawks, their kryptonite.

The Cavs continue to be one of only three teams in the top ten in offense (1st) and defense (9th), along with Boston and OKC. Their weapons (especially offensive) should better suit Milwaukee and its interior power. One of the keys will be trying to ensure the Bucks can't hide Damian Lillard on defense, so Mitchell and Garland should be aggressive from the start.

Player to Watch: Evan Mobley

The interior has the key to opening that defense manned by Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Atkinson would do well to order him to go out with the ball a lot and look for the American center in the open field without letting the Greek pair him up. In recent weeks he has been seen increasing his volume to triple it in some matches. Maintain good percentages. Maybe it's worth a try tonight.

Latest news for the Bucks: injuries and form

Thirteen wins in the last sixteen games. Among them, a game that is already in statistical limbo but worthy of an NBA Cup title. The Bucks' superiority last Tuesday gives reason to be very optimistic about them. But they were already doing things well.

The main point of his improvement is obvious, but we'll get to that later because he's actually been there since day one of the season. Those that have not been constant have been the current versions of Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green or the weight that Andre Jackson has in the defensive improvement of the Wisconsin team. Milwaukee needed an attack dog of a certain size like him to avoid bleeding in both triple and penetration situations.

Lillard, good since the beginning of the season, is very busy defending without the ball and connecting with Giannis in a way that hasn't happened since his arrival. Not only in the direct connection with him, but in leaving him space without falling into shift work. Doc RIvers didn't do anything extraordinary, he simply connected players who seemed disconnected one by one. And fuel the competitive voracity of those who have to.

Player to Watch: Giannis Antetokounmpo

The world had forgotten about Giannis, but over the past four years he has continued to be one of the three best players on the planet. Maybe he wasn't when he won his two MVPs, but he was since he began his assault on what is currently his only ring. Right now it's not crazy to place him as the leading candidate for the third of his career. So far this year he has been under 30 points only seven times and has not dipped below 50% shooting on any occasion. Defensively, for a couple of weeks he has been at a level reminiscent of the Defensive Player of the Year award and which has ended up serving as a glue for the entire fabric of the Bucks.

Knights vs. Bucks: Match History

Third match that these two teams will play this season and number 236 in history. Currently, Milwaukee largely dominates with 132 wins compared to Ohio's 103. This season for now is an empty box in favor of the Cavs, who caught Milwaukee in that ghostly first stretch of the season giving them two decisive victories in the final moments. In the previous two campaigns he was 4-4.

Cavaliers vs. Prediction dollars

The Cavs are not the Thunder. As against all teams, Giannis has averaged more than 30 points in his last ten games against the Cavs. But placing Evan Mobley at the start and Jarret Allen in help or even Dean Wade on the outside to put the two interiors in the trenches is not the same as placing Jalen Williams or Alex Caruso as the first block for the Greek. Which, by the way, almost did more damage from the distribution than from the goal.

Leader of the League. No, this time the information isn't about Giannis. Taurean Prince leads the league in three-point shooting percentage. Their volume, however, is not too high, standing at just over three and a half per game. But generating more than 7 points per game with so few attempts is serious enough. 51.6% receive data from abroad. Interestingly, second in this group is Isaac Okoro with 49.2% and even fewer attempts. Unfortunately he won't be able to play today's match.

paradigm shift. The Bucks have traditionally been a team that allows a lot of 3-pointers and a low percentage in the restricted zone. And they showed that version against the Thunder. But the normal thing in this streak is to be the opposite, conceding many points (sixth in the last 10 games) and few triples (third from last with a poor percentage in addition). Which version will we see tonight?

Where to watch Cavaliers vs. dollars

The match between Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls can be seen in Spain through subscription to NBA League Pass.

(Cover photo by Benny Sieu-Imagn Images)

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