The Cavs remain perfect after a complete annihilation of the Golden State Warriors on Friday evening. They’ll try to back that up the following night.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (10-0) vs. Brooklyn Nets (4-5)

Where: Rocket Mortage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, OH

When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 9

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (previously Bally Sports)

Advertisement

Line: Cavs -13

Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Cavs injury report from yesterday: Max Strus – OUT (ankle), Emoni Bates – OUT (knee)

Expected Nets starting lineup: Dennis Schroder, Cam Thomas, Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nic Claxton

Nets injury report from yesterday: Bojan Bogdanovic – OUT (foot), Day’Ron Sarpe – OUT (hamstring), Trendon Watford – OUT (hamstring)

Advertisement

Fear the Sword will be hosting a live stream watch party for select games this year on Playback. Join Tony Pesta as he reacts to all the action.

What to watch for

Cavaliers offense

The Cavs registered the highest-scoring first half (83 points) in franchise history last night.

Think that’s impressive? Well, Cleveland is also currently posting the highest offensive rating in league history. That might not stay true for the entire season but one thing is clear — this Cavalier team is pouring it on at historic rates.

This start to the year is more than a prolific hot streak. The Cavaliers aren’t receiving scorching hot shooting nights on difficult attempts from their stars. No, this offense is generating easy looks that have been converted at an absurd rate. The law of averages should cause a dip in their efficiency eventually but there’s no reason to think this has been a fluke. We shouldn’t expect a major shift until teams figure out how to stop Cleveland from creating open shots. So far, that’s proven to be quite the task.

Brooklyn enters this game with the league’s 16th-best defense.

A dynamic Brooklyn backcourt

The Nets are in the thick of a rebuild. Still, they have a handful of players who can perform. Cam Thomas and Dennis Schroder have been the biggest standouts.

Thomas and Schroder are combining for 45.5 points per game as one of the more surprising and dynamic backcourt in the NBA. Schroder is a crafty veteran who most of us are familiar with. But Thomas has emerged as a 23-year-old flamethrower. He’s attempting the 10th most field goals per game as a microwave scorer who is never bashful.

Avoiding a lull

It would be fair to assume that since the Cavaliers handled a red-hot team such as the Warriors with ease — that a game against the Nets should be a breeze. While that might prove to be true, the Cavs don’t want to take their eyes off the ball.

Winning 10 straight games can be just as exhausting as it is exhilarating. The second night of a back-to-back, in a matchup that isn’t nearly as exciting (on paper), is the type of game that could cause a lull for anyone.

But the Cavaliers have every reason to keep their foot on the gas. This is a team that few analysts believed in entering the season. They made a statement last night. So much so, that none of their starters played more than 30 minutes. The Cavaliers should be relatively rested and prepared to add another win to their streak.