GT: Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers

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<p align="center"><font face="Verdana">November 14, 2007 @ 7:00pm EST
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Sun Sports HD, FSOhio</font></p>
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<p align="center"><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">Cleveland Cavaliers
(4-4)</font></p>


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<p align="center"><font color="#0084c7"><font face="Verdana">Orlando Magic
</font><font face="Verdana">(6-2)</font></font></p>


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<h4 align="center"><font face="Verdana">Projected Starters</font></h4>
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<font face="Verdana" color="#b90456" size="2">PG Daniel Gibson SG Larry Hughes

</font><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456" size="2">SF LeBron James PF Drew Gooden C Zydrunas Ilgauskas
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<font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#0084c7">PG Jameer Nelson SG Keith Bogans

SF Josh Howard PFHedo TurkogluC Dwight Howard
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<h4><font face="Verdana">Season Stats</font></h4>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">Scoring</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">97.6PPG</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">Field Goal %</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">43.6%</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">3-Point %</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">35.8%</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">Rebounds</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">46.0 RPG</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">Assists</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">18.6APG</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">Scoring</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">101.9PPG</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">Field Goal %</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">45.7%</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">3-Point %</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">39.9%</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">Rebounds</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">44.3 RPG</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">Assists</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">21.4APG</font></td>
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<h4><font face="Verdana">Team Leaders</font></h4>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">Points</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">James26.6 PPG</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">Rebounds</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">Ilgauskas 12.3RPG</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">Assists</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#b90456">James7.1 APG</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">Points</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">Lewis20.8 PPG</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">Rebounds</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">Howard14.4 RPG</font></td>
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<td class="strong"><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">Assists</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana" color="#0084c7">Nelson 6.0APG</font></td>
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<h4><font face="Verdana">Key Matchup:C - <font color="#b90456">Zydrunas Ilgauskas </font>v <font color="#0084c7">Dwight Howard</font></font></h4>


<font face="Verdana">v
The Cavaliers need to contain the monster that is Dwight Howard. He is already one of the most prolific rebounders in the NBA, and it is up to a Lithuanian veteran to stop him tonight. One potential way to stop him from scoring too many might be to play Hack-a-<strike>Shaq</strike>Dwight, since Howard is not a strong Free Throw shooter. That being said, if the game goes to a battle from the line, the Cavs will want to bury their heads in the sand. If they can stop Howard from dominating the post, they stand a strong chance of winning this ballgame.</font></p>
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<h4><font face="Verdana">Keys to the Game</font></h4>
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<ul>[*]<font face="Verdana"><font color="#b90456">Hack a Dwight -As aforementioned,if Howard starts to dominate the game, they must send him to the Free Throwline to make his points. If he starts hitting his Free Throws, cry.
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[*]<font face="Verdana"><font color="#b90456">Outreboundthe Magic- The Cavs and the Magic are both teams who usually outrebound their opponents, giving them a huge advantage over their opponents. It will take every ounce of Ilgauskas' experience if he is to outrebound Dwight Howard tonight, though.</font></font>
[*]<font face="Verdana"><font color="#b90456">Support LeBron- At times this season, the Cavs have had virtually no support for LeBron. In these games, they have lost, sometimes miserably. If they can get good support for their star, they are very difficult to beat.</font></font>[/list]
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<ul>[*]<font face="Verdana"><font color="#0084c7">Lock down on LeBron - If LeBron plays poorly, the Cavs will find it difficult to win, almost regardless of how the rest of the team play. Therefore, the recipe is simple; lock him down and lock the Cavs down.</font></font>
[*]<font face="Verdana"><font color="#0084c7">Rebound hard - Dwight Howard's strength, size and athleticism mean that he can outrebound almost anybody. If he can exceed Ilgauskas' total, he will make victory a lot more likely for Orlando tonight.</font></font>
[*]<font face="Verdana"><font color="#0084c7">Shoot well- When the Magic struggle with their outside and perimeter shooting, they also struggle to win the game, no matter how well Dwight Howard might be playing. If they shoot strongly, they add another dimension to their game, making them very difficult to beat.</font></font>[/list]
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<h4><font face="Verdana">The Cavs since 2003 v Orlando</font></h4>
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<td colspan="2"><font face="Verdana">The two teams have met 14 times. The Cavs average 97.6 points and have won 9 games, whilst the Magic average 96.1 points and have won 5 times. LeBron James averages 26.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists against the Magic. These numbers are solid, but he may need slightly more if he is to propel the Cavs to victory tonight.</font></td>
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<h4><font face="Verdana">Prediction</font></h4>
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<font face="Verdana">The Cavs ought to have a really vocal crowd tonight, as they welcome the team back after going 3-3 on a West Coast Road Trip. This crowd support should be enough to comfortably see them past the Magic.</font></p>


<font face="Verdana" size="4"><font color="#b90456">97 </font>- <font color="#0084c7">91</font></font></p>
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Tough game for the Cavs even though they're home tonight.</p>

Orlando are on a roll right now and Howard is unstoppable.</p>

I'll choose the Cavs this time.</p>

Cleveland 105 - 104 Orlando</p>

James 32pts 7rbs 4asts
Howard 24pts 15rbs 4blks</p>

 

I'm not really sure about that shape; Ilgauksas is pretty hot on the boards at the moment. Yes, Howard has buckets of athleticism, he's strong, agile and big, but Ilgauskas is experienced against even Shaq in his prime. I'm not suggesting he'll be able to stop Howard, but I think he can slow him down, and don't be surprised to see him getting 3 or 4 offensive rebounds. I think the Cavs probably need the quartet of Gibson, Hughes, Gooden and Z to score around 50 points to win the game. Whether that will happen is another matter.</p>

 

I said it would be a 1pt game and it was. Cleveland should have won this one.</p>