<div align="center">[#2] <span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%">@</span> [#6]<span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%">CLE Leads Series 2-1</span>May 14, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET<span style="color:#FF0000">Game on TNT</span></div><span style="color:#990000">Cleveland Cavaliers</span> <span style="color:#CC9933">(2-1)</span><span style="color:#CC9933">PG</span> <span style="color:#990000">Larry Hughes</span> <span style="color:#CC9933">SG</span> <span style="color:#990000">Sasha Pavlovic</span> <span style="color:#CC9933">SF</span> <span style="color:#990000">LeBron James</span> <span style="color:#CC9933">PF</span> <span style="color:#990000">Drew Gooden</span> <span style="color:#CC9933">C</span> <span style="color:#990000">Zydrunas Ilgauskas</span> <span style="color:#CC9933">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#990000">Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson, Eric Snow, Donyell Marshall, Scot Pollard</span><span style="color:#000099">New Jersey Nets</span> <span style="color:#999999">(1-2)</span><span style="color:#999999">PG</span> <span style="color:#000099">Jason Kidd</span> <span style="color:#999999">SG</span> <span style="color:#000099">Vince Carter</span> <span style="color:#999999">SF</span> <span style="color:#000099">Richard Jefferson</span> <span style="color:#999999">PF</span> <span style="color:#000099">Mikki Moore</span> <span style="color:#999999">C</span> <span style="color:#000099">Jason Collins</span> <span style="color:#999999">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#000099">Bostjan Nachbar, Marcus Williams, Eddie House, Cliff Robinson, Josh Boone</span> Injury Report<span style="color:#CC9933">CLE:</span> <span style="color:#990000">None To Report. </span> <span style="color:#999999">NJ:</span> <span style="color:#000099">Nenad Kristic [Knee // Out for Season]</span><span style="color:#999999">NJ:</span> <span style="color:#000099">Eddie House [ Concussion, Hip // Out For Season]</span><span style="color:#999999">NJ:</span> <span style="color:#000099">Mile Ilic [Ankle // Out For Season]</span>Who To Watch Out For<span style="color:#990000">LeBron James</span><span style="color:#CC9933">Playoff Stats: 26.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 8.2 APG</span><span style="color:#990000">Larry Hughes</span><span style="color:#CC9933">Series Stats: 18.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.0 APG</span><span style="color:#990000">Zydrunas Ilgauskas</span><span style="color:#CC9933">Playoff Stats: 15.4 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 0.9 APG </span><span style="color:#990000">Drew Gooden</span><span style="color:#CC9933">Playoff Stats: 13.4 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.7 APG</span><span style="color:#000099">Jason Kidd</span><span style="color:#999999">Playoff Stats: 14.6 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 12.2 APG </span><span style="color:#000099">Vince Carter</span><span style="color:#999999">Playoff Stats: 24.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 4.6 APG</span><span style="color:#000099">Richard Jefferson</span><span style="color:#999999">Playoff Stats: 21.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.2 APG</span><div align="center">Key Match up vs. <span style="color:#990000">Larry Hughes</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#000099">Jason Kidd</span><span style="color:#000000">Edge: Jason Kidd -- J-Kidd is so hot right now. He's close to averaging a triple double. He makes plays and he's the engine that makes the Nets go. Kidd is a Hall of Famer. Hughes will hold his own but Kidd is on top of his game in these playoffs.</span> </div><div align="center">Key Match up vs. <span style="color:#990000">Sasha Pavlovic</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#000099">Vince Carter</span><span style="color:#000000">Edge: Vince Carter. -- Carter can do it all. If he comes with his triple threat game where he's shooting 3's, posting up and driving to the basket. That'll mean trouble for the Cavaliers. He's an underrated passer. He also makes plays and he rebounds. Pavlovic's going to have his hands full.</span> </div><div align="center">Key Match up vs. <span style="color:#990000">LeBron James</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#000099">Richard Jefferson</span><span style="color:#000000">Edge: LeBron James -- LeBron James is Mr.Everything for Cleveland. He can make plays, get his own points and help everyone else get theirs, too. He's a younger, bigger, faster Jason Kidd. Jefferson won't just sit there, he's going to defend and challenge but his right ankle isn't 100 percent. If he was healthy, it would be a matchup to look forward to. </span> </div><div align="center">Key Match up vs. <span style="color:#990000">Drew Gooden</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#000099">Mikki Moore</span> <span style="color:#000000">Edge: Even. -- You know what you're getting in Gooden -- a solid rebounder, someone who'll get his points and someone who will knock down shots. Moore has been the recipient of Kidd, Jefferson and Carter. You don't pay attention to Mikki and he has a double double at halftime. This is key position to the series. Whichever guy plays well out of these two could decide the series. </span> </div><div align="center">Key Match up vs. <span style="color:#990000">Zydrunas Ilgauskas</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#000099">Jason Collins</span><span style="color:#000000">Edge: Zydrunas Ilgauskas. -- Z can score and he can pass but on the other end, if Z is in the pick and roll, he can be liability. Collins is not a scoring threat but he rebounds and he does the dirty work. Z is also coming off a great series and his confidence is high.</span> </div>Game Notes<span style="color:#990000">LeBron James has posted four consecutive double-doubles for the first time in his career (regular season and playoffs). He has averaged 26.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game in those games. He has dished out at least seven assists in all seven playoff games and ranks fourth in the playoffs in assists per game (8.7). Larry Hughes scored a team-high 23 points on Saturday night at New Jersey. It was his second-highest scoring output during the 2007 Playoffs (27 in Game 2 vs. Washington). The Cavaliers are a perfect 3-0 in series in which they have led 2-1 after three games. The three previous times were the Conference Semifinals in 1976 against Washington, the first round against New Jersey in 1992 and the first round against Washington in 2006. With a win tonight, Cleveland would tie its franchise record for road playoff wins in a season (three wins each in 1992 and 2006). Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are tied for seventh in the NBA in field goal percentage (.532) while both rank in the top 10 in rebounds per game (Ilgauskas - eighth at 10.7 and Gooden ? 10th at 10.3) LeBron James is currently averaging 26.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game during the playoffs. Oscar Robertson is the only player to average at least those numbers for an entire playoff year (Robertson did it three times from 1962-64).</span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Series Info</span></span>Gm 1: <strike>Sun., May 6 @ CLE, 1 ET, ABC</strike> <span style="color:#990000">CLE</span>Gm 2: <strike>Tue., May 8 @ CLE, 8 ET, TNT</strike> <span style="color:#990000">CLE</span>Gm 3: <strike>Sat., May 12 @ NJN, 5 ET, ESPN</strike> <span style="color:#000099">NJN</span>Gm 4: Mon., May 14 @ NJN, 7 ET, TNT Gm 5: Wed., May 16 @ CLE, TBD, TNTGm 6*: Fri., May 18 @ NJN, TBD, ESPNGm 7*: Sun., May 20 @ CLE, TBD, TNTBold-Next Game*-If Necessary<strike>Cross out- Games over</strike>
Jason Kidd has 12 rebounds by the half, you know it's gonna be another tripple double. It just amazes me how great Jkidd is and yet he dosen't get all the props he deserves.
Bang, bang, bang! Cleveland is drilling from 3 right now, 2 from LeBron and 1 from Hughes all in a row. I'm glad to see LeBron hit them especially. He has been very quiet offensively all night, he hasn't been attacking to create his own shot tonight. Hopefully those 2 shots right there spark something for him, because Cleveland is not going to win this game without LeBron creating for himself at all. EDIT: Wow Mikki Moore, he has been great tonight.
God I love Jason Kidd.....One of the best rebounding PG's in NBA history...especially considering he isnt that tall. He is also the 2nd best passer in the NBA for sure right behind Steve Nash and to be honest, I dont think hes much worse than Nash what so ever...If he wasnt such an inconsistent scorer, he would be such a scary player. He is all of that stuff and then you add in his great defense. He was guarding Lebron in the block earlier this game and giving no ground at all. I love it...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ May 14 2007, 07:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>EDIT: Wow Mikki Moore, he has been great tonight.</div>Mikki Moore has been playing great tonight, but I am wondering if with 5 fouls now we are going to see him start playing less agressive here in the final minutes when he gets back in. When Lebron came around that pick, there is no reason why someone should not have stepped up and tried to cut him off from the basket farther away, rather than wait for him to get to the basket so it's easier to pick up a foul.They need Pavlovic to step up and hit a shot at some point in this final 5 minutes, as he has been ice cold. If he hits just one or two three's, it will open up for Lebron a bit more in this final quarter.edit: If Lebron James wants to be a great all-time player, he is going to have to start hitting free throws, late in games on the road. Missing those, and having only one basket in the entire fourth quarter, in a close game is not very good looking. He is going to have to develop that at some point.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (valo35 @ May 14 2007, 09:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>edit: If Lebron James wants to be a great all-time player, he is going to have to start hitting free throws, late in games on the road. Missing those, and having only one basket in the entire fourth quarter, in a close game is not very good looking. He is going to have to develop that at some point.</div> Yeah it bugs me that LeBron hasn't attacked at all tonight. He has been shooting all jumpers, missing free throws, and he hasn't even tried to get to the basket. Kenny Smith stresses this every time LeBron and/or T-Mac are on TNT: they need to finish plays more than they start them down the stretch... both try to create for others before they create for themselves late in games, and that becomes a disadvantage to their team even though they may be thinking they are doing the "right thing." On a side note, Vince just threatened Sasha. If you read his lips, he said "I'm gonna kick your ass. You know I'm gonna kick your ass, right?" But of course, it's all talk.
Carter has stepped up and just hit some big free throws, so now the Cavaliers are going to have to make these free throws to put it at a 3 point game. If Lebron James gets the ball, this is where he is going to have to make up for the rest of the quarter.And on that in-bounding play, I know it doesn't matter because they still have a timeout left, that timeout should have never had to be taken. They should have found a way to get someone open before that timeout.Edit: And Lebron missed one, it's only a two point game, but no worries, Vince Carter messed around and fumbled the ball out of bounds. That has got to suck if your the Nets.
People always say "Oh shut up, Eric Snow is garbage. Give me a break." Well... that's why I like him.
Vince Carter really has not impressed me these playoffs. He was on fire near the end of the regular season but in the playoffs he's just faded away. Should've let Jefferson take that last shot.
Even though the game could have decided by one single possession, New Jersey was playing Cleveland's pace the entire game, and setting up a half-court offense is just not New Jersey's game. Carter was awful, Kidd was quietly good, and Jefferson didn't get it going, either. The only guy that really played great for NJ was Mikki Moore, what a game for him. Tough defense by Eric Snow on Carter that last play, that's his game.
This was the Nets' game to win. But, like in the regular season, they couldn't finish in last quarter, not hitting a FG in last 7min of game, missed FT's, then Carter's blunder at the end.At these times I wish we still had Krstic.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Nitro1118 @ May 14 2007, 10:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>This was the Nets' game to win. But, like in the regular season, they couldn't finish in last quarter, not hitting a FG in last 7min of game, missed FT's, then Carter's blunder at the end. At these times I wish we still had Krstic.</div> Yeah, that was such a huge blow. If New Jersey had a healthy Krstic, there is no doubt in my mind they would win this series. Nitro, when exactly is Krstic going to be back on the court? I know he'll be ready for the start of next year, but how long until he can work out at full speed again?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ May 14 2007, 09:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Yeah, that was such a huge blow. If New Jersey had a healthy Krstic, there is no doubt in my mind they would win this series. Nitro, when exactly is Krstic going to be back on the court? I know he'll be ready for the start of next year, but how long until he can work out at full speed again?</div>Not exactly sure. I'm pretty sure he tore his ACL, and if McNabb is any indication, I'm guessing around August-September he will be at/near full strength.
