<div align="center"> </div> This series sees the sixth seed New Jersey Nets take on the second seed Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers have the home court advantage, and will therefore play the seventh and final game at home if necessary. The schedule for the series is as follows: Game 1: Sun., May 6 @ CLE, 1 ET, ABC - 77-81 Game 2: Tue., May 8 @ CLE, 8 ET, TNT Game 3: Sat., May 12 @ NJN, 5 ET, ESPN Game 4: Mon., May 14 @ NJN, 7 ET, TNT Game 5: Wed., May 16 @ CLE, TBD, TNT Game 6: Fri., May 18 @ NJN, TBD, ESPN Game 7: Sun., May 20 @ CLE, TBD, TNT [div=50%]<font color="#0B355E"> The Nets have played well against the Toronto Raptors, dispatching of the third seed team in 6 games. The obvious key for the Nets is their combo of Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson. If the three of them can play to their full potential, the Cavs ought to struggle to beat them. PG – Jason Kidd Jason Kidd had a phenomenal series against the Raptors, as he averaged a triple double, consisting of 13.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 12.5 assists. If he can continue this rich vein of form, he should be able to deal with the Cavaliers appropriately, and send a dagger through their hearts. His defense will have to be similarly brilliant if he is to help deal with Larry Hughes, if Hughes is at the top of his game. SG – Vince Carter Vince Carter, in many ways, will hold the key to the Nets’ chances in this series. Yes, Jason Kidd may get a triple double, but it is with Carter that the Cavs’ defense will be truly stretched. If Pavlovic is chosen to guard him, Carter will breeze past him in an instant, and if they choose to defend against him using the defensive prowess of Larry Hughes, he can pull up for a three point shot, or even take him to the bucket. Carter is a fantastic player who, when motivated enough, can stand his own against any team or player in the world. SF – Richard Jefferson Jefferson is a very capable player at the Small Forward position, who can be a game-winner in certain situations. Regardless, he is the third-option for the Nets, but his main job over the course of this potentially lengthy series will be defending LeBron James, hoping to contain the phenom to sub-par averages in both points and assists. Whether he can do so remains to be seen, but I personally think that he will be simply helpless to prevent LeBron’s repertoire of powerful, athletic and finesse moves. I also think he ought to be able to score sufficiently for the Nets, whilst also grabbing a few rebounds per game. He is somewhat of an X-Factor for the Nets, as he has a crucial and potentially pivotal job to play in this series. PF – Mikki Moore Moore ought to struggle with the presence of Drew Gooden coming towards him, and signifies a major weakness in New Jersey’s arsenal: the lack of an inside scorer. The Nets rely on Kidd, Carter and Jefferson and have not enough of an inside game they can use to dominate games in which they are struggling to shoot threes or penetrate the defense. Moore is a capable player, but is not good enough to be starting for a team competing for a spot in the Conference Semi-Finals. C – Jason Collins Collins is a hard-working player who has a good basketball IQ. His offensive game, however, is very limited, so he will find it tough to score on the Cavaliers’ inside combination of Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao. His defensive skills are adequate, but he could find himself overwhelmed in games where Ilgauskas is on form. A key factor for the Nets will be limiting the Cavaliers’ offensive rebounds, but I feel that Collins will not be too much of a factor in that sense. Key Bench Player – Bostjan ‘Boki’ Nachbar Nachbar is a capable player, who is averaging over 12 points in this postseason. His outside shooting can be game-changing, and he has been able to sink 7 against the Atlanta Hawks a little over a month ago. If he can continually hit three point shots for the Nets in his 20 minutes per game, he could become one of their key players and scorers. He will, however, often shy away from physical play in the paint, as his 6’9 221 suggests. <u>Nets’ Keys to winning the game</u> <ul> [*]Limit the Cavaliers’ offensive rebounding. The Cavs average 43.5 rebounds per game, second in the NBA, and also lead the League in offensive rebounds. This is a trademark attribute of theirs and, if it is stopped, they could struggle significantly. [*]Contain LeBron James. To be fair, this one goes without saying, as the talisman of the Cavaliers needs to be stopped for teams to stand any chance of defeating them. When LeBron is kept off his game, the Cavaliers will struggle. [*]Get the Big Three going. If the Big Three of World War I were as capable as the Big Three of the New Jersey Nets, the War would have been over by Christmas. As it happens, they weren’t, but the Nets do have an enormously strong trio who can take over any game. Or an entire series. If they do so here, the Cavaliers will struggle. [/list] </font> [/div]<font color="#B94056"> The Cavaliers had a very strong series against the Washington Wizards, as they swept the weakened team 4-0. They always looked comfortable, so should have a lot of energy remaining. The Cavs have no injury worries heading into this series and, should they win game 1, they will be undefeated in the past month. PG – Larry Hughes Hughes is a very capable players, who averaged 19 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the first round of the playoffs. His three point shooting, whilst inconsistent, can sometimes prove to be key for the Cavs, as is his defensive pedigree. Whilst he is yet to replicate his form that resulted in being named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team, he is starting to show signs of his true ability. If he can play defense in a style reminiscent of the 2004-05 season, the Cavaliers could be in with a serious opportunity of making it through this round and beyond. SG – Aleksandar ‘Sasha’ Pavlovic Pavs has been a surprisingly important player for the Cavs this season. He only averaged 7.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the first round, but he is capable of more, and is a streaky scorer. That is to say, once he gets going on offense, he lights the floor up and can hit jumpshot after jumpshot after jumpshot, resulting in a quick surge in points for the Cavs, potentially making their lead unassailable. The Cavs will be hoping for more of these hot streaks to occur in this series, though Pavlovic could struggle against the superstar Vince Carter. SF – LeBron James LeBron James, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, is a phenomenal player capable of virtually anything. He can take over a game late in the fourth. He can distribute the ball with incredible accuracy. He can play the passing lanes well to earn fast break buckets. He can rebound the ball well. He can power his way to the hoop and earn a three-point play. He is, however, generally a sub-par free throw shooter, though he hit 81.3% of his attempts in the first round, as well as getting 27.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. If LeBron can be on top form against the defense of any of the Big Three, the Cavs should be able to take a commanding lead in the series. PF – Drew Gooden Gooden will be a key player for the Cavs in this series particularly. He is teaming up with Ilgauskas and Varejao to tackle New Jersey’s sub-par post play of Mikki Moore and Jason Collins. Gooden had 14.5 points, 10 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the series against Washington, and shows no signs of slowing down in this New Jersey, as he will be matching up with Mikki Moore rather than Antawn Jamison. If he can replicate, or better, his performances against Washington, the Nets could really struggle against him. C – Zydrunas Ilgauskas Ilgauskas is a very polished post player, who can grab offensive rebounds seemingly at will. He averages 19 points, 11 rebounds and 1.5 blocks against the Wizards in the opening round of the playoffs and will, as always, be an integral part of the Cavaliers’ arsenal in this series. The pressure will really be on the 7-3 Lithuanian as the Cavaliers will look to him to break through the Nets, scoring solidly in the opening quarter to try to build a solid lead. On top of that, he will be required to grab offensive rebounds and keep alive the Cavaliers’ incredible trademark of second chance opportunities. Key Bench Player – Anderson Varejao Varejao is most certainly an extravagant player. His energy levels have the potential to dishearten teams, whilst energising his own beyond belief. He averaged 3.3 points and 6 rebounds in the first round, but will look to build upon that in this round against the Nets. He is most certainly capable of doing so, as is evident by his 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game averages in last season’s playoffs, where he played a key part in the Detroit series. If he can up his game and energy levels in this season, the Cavs shouldn’t have as much trouble as some may think in this series. <u>Cavaliers’ Keys to winning the game</u> <ul> [*]Crash the offensive glass. The Cavaliers have a trademark of grabbing a lot of offensive rebounds and as such obtaining a lot of second chance opportunities. If they win the battle on the offensive glass, and obtain more second chance opportunities than the Nets, they should be able to kill them off without too much trouble. [*]Contain the Big Three, but especially Jason Kidd. The trio of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson is fantastic, but it is orchestrated by their playmaker Jason Kidd. If he is contained, less opportunities will become easily available for Carter and Jefferson, who will then become frustrated and may therefore be weaker on offense. [*]Get LeBron James going. LeBron James is the player who can make all the difference to the Cavaliers. The difference between going home early and making it all the way. If he is on form, he is almost unstoppable. If he is not, the Cavs are an easy target. [/list] </font> <u>Prediction</u> The Cavs and Nets have met 14 times since LeBron entered the League in 2003. The Cavs have won 6, averaging 95.4 points, whilst the Nets have won 8, averaging 98.7 points. LeBron James averages 27.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists against the Nets. The series will ultimately come down to whether the Cavs can contain Jason Kidd better than the Nets can contain LeBron James or vice versa. Whichever team wins the respective battle will likely win the entire series. <font color="#0B355E">2</font>-<font color="#B94056">4</font> <font size="6">Current Score: <font color="#0B355E">0</font>-<font color="#B94056">1</font></font>
