Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Statistical Showdown

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Jan 22, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Boston Celtics power forward Jared Sullinger (7) and small forward Paul Pierce (34) battle for a rebound against Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson (13) in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Without Kyrie Irving, a matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder would likely be a game to mark off on the calendar as a loss for the Wine & Gold. But with Irving, that changes everything. Sure the Cavaliers lost by 15 in the previous matchup with the Thunder, but this is a much different team. The rise of Tristan Thompson and the addition of Marresse Speights makes the Cavs a much more interesting team than they were in November 14^th. That being said, as the stats indicate, there still is a large gap between the West’s second best team and the East’s 13^th best squad.

Statistics

	Points	Points Allowed	Assists	Assists Allowed	Rebounds	Rebounds Allowed
Cavaliers	19.6 (19^th)	101.0 (26^th)	19.7 (27^th)	23.7 (t-28^th)	41.3 (21^st)	42.4 (t-18^th)
Thunder	105.7 (1^st)	97.1 (14^th)	21.8 (18^th)	21.0 (t-7^th)	43.0 (11^th)	40.2 (4^th)

Advanced Statistics

	Offensive Efficiency	Defensive Efficiency
Cavaliers	99.3 (27^th)	106.8 (28^th)
Thunder	109.9 (1^st)	100.0 (7^th)

Four Factors

	eFG%	Free Throw Rate	Turnover Rate	Offensive Rebound Rate
Cavaliers	46.5 % (4^th)	20.0% (20^th)	13.5 % (10^th)	29.1 % (8^th)
Thunder	52.6 % (3^rd)	28.9% (1^st)	14.9% (29^th)	26.9% (16^th)

Players to Watch:

Cavaliers – Thompson

1. Versus OKC: 8.0 rebounds per game

2. In wins: 11.6 rebounds per game

3. In losses: 8.6 rebounds per game

Thunder – Kevin Martin

1. Versus CLE: 66.7 percent shooting from the field

2. Currently is shooting 5.6 percent above his career average from three

3. Currently shooting 3.7 percent above his career average from the free throw line

Key Matchup: Dion Waiters/CJ Miles versus Thabo Sefolosha/Kevin Martin

In the marquee matchup (Irving versus Russell l Westbrook), both players are going to get theirs. Kevin Durant, who will be guarded by Alonzo Gee, is also likely to get his. But the two-guard position could be up in the air – depending on which Waiters and Miles show up. If it is the good Cleveland duo, then we could see a stellar matchup on the wing. If not, the Thunder’s duo could make this a long night for the Cavs. This holds especially true if Miles does not get in his groove early and Waiters takes bad shots, as he is prone to do.