<font size="1">by Wave and King James</font> Memphis (6-8) @ Cleveland (4-12) Saturday, 7:30 pm ET Gund Arena, Cleveland Ohio TV: NBALP, WMC Radio: WHBQ-560AM Previous Game Grizzlies 98 @ Timberwolves 102 Cavaliers 88 @ Pistons 92 Head Coaches Paul Silas/Hubie Brown Probable Starters Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Jake Tsakalidis Michael Stewart/Pau Gasol Ira Newble/Mike Miller Ricky Davis/James Posey LeBron James/Jason Williams Injury Lists Cleveland Cavaliers Dajuan Wagner - Shoulder Memphis Grizzlies Troy Bell - IL Theron Smith - IL Ryan Humphrey - Concussion Keys To The Game Cleveland - The Grizzlies can score, they hustle and claw their way to every loose ball, so getting back on defense will be key for the Cavs. Not letting Mike Miller and Pau Gasol operate will also play an important part in this game. LeBron James must do everything he can to keep Jason Williams in front of him to keep him out of the lane. Offensively the Cavs must not stop feeding the ball to Ilgauskas, it is frustrating how they start these games off giving him the ball, seeing him get off early, then seeing Big Z just get lost out there, so keep feeding and give him a clear block to operate on. For the first time this year, I would like to see Paul Silas isolate James on the block against Williams, LeBron has such a size advantage over these other point guards we must take advantage of that. Fellow rookie Jason Kapono has showed that he can score in this league, but at times he is very hesitant to shoot. If Jason shoots the ball fearlessly, he can be what the Cavaliers desperately need, our outside shooting threat. <ul> [*]Get back on defense [*]Feed Ilgauskas [*]Attack the basket [/list] <font face="Georgia"><div style="padding-left: 20px;"> - <font color="DarkRed"><u>K</u></font><font color="darkslategray">ing </font> <font color="DarkRed"><u>J</u></font><font color="darkslategray">ames</font></div></font> Memphis - Memphis needs to remain focused as always. They are on a three game losing skid and they don?t want to add to it. It?s important that they don?t go into the game looking at it as an easy win. Right now, the main concern which Hubbie Brown has is the second line. In the past, the second line has been the reason for the team winning games, but lately no one in that second line has shown up on offense. Earl Watson?s lack of ball control has a lot to do with this. Although there was doubt as to whether or not Jason Williams was the defined starter, it is pretty clear that is no longer an issue as Earl Watson ranks number one for ?Turnovers Per Forty-Eight Minutes?. The Grizzlies need better production from just about everyone on their team right now. Their opponents are averaging better feild goal, three point, and free-throw percentages. The only other concern about the Grizzlies is one that I?ve talked about before. Memphis also needs to work on maintaining leads. Against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, and Houston Rockets the Grizzlies took a large lead (by eight or more points) early on in the game only to lose it by the third quarter. The way that the Grizzlies will win this game is by using their size to their advantage. The Grizzlie?s frontline (C, PF, SF) has a little more than three inches on the Cavaliers and they also have the weight advantage. They need to be able to limit LeBron James? offensive productivity which is why I hope Hubbie Brown assigns James Posey to guard LeBron James. The height advantage that James would have over Williams should be overbearing. <ul> [*]Stay focused and don't let the lead slip. [*]Get productivity out of the second line. [*]Lock LeBron James down with James Posey on deffense. [/list] <font color="Blue"><div style="padding-left: 20px;"> ~~Wave~~</div></font> Key Matchup - Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Pau Gasol This won?t be the match-up that everyone is focused on, but it should be the most interesting matchup none the less. The two players are remarkably similar in height and weight. Gasol stands at 7-0 and 240 lbs. while Ilgauskas stands at 7-3 and 260 lbs. These two players are the biggest that their respective teams have to offer, but they have two entirely different games. Gasol has more of a finesse game while Ilgauskas is very raw. I am certainly excited to see how the big fellas do when matched up. X-Factors - Ricky Davis/Stromile Swift (Lorenzen Wright) Both of these players (Davis and Swift/Wright) are having problems with their team. While Davis? situation is more public, not many people quite know what is going on with Lorenzen Wright and Stromile Swift. They are in perfect health, but both of them have gone games without playing any minutes whatsoever. It is really odd because both of them are playing great though. I listed them as X-Factors because when these guys play, they absolutely bring their (Davis included), but it?s always uncertain whether or not you?ll see these guys on the floor. I feel like the outcome of the game will be determined with these guys.
<font size="3"><u>Halftime Report</u></font> Okay folks, here is what has happened so far from a Grizzlie fan's perspective. The game started off bad for the Grizzlies, as the Cavaliers jumped out to what was almost a thirty point lead. LeBron James was a large factor in this success as he contributed eleven points in the first quarter before being benched shortly thereafter. Jason Williams left the game early with back spasms. The Grizzlies started getting back in transition on deffense for the second quarter and limited the Cavaliers to their half-court offense. Gasol had a bad start to the quarter. Diop caused him to alter his shot time and time again. Twenty minutes into the game Memphis only had two players with two field goals. The Grizzlies were shooting twenty-one percent while the Cavaliers were shooting fifty-six percent from the field. The Cavaliers were impressive. They took advantage of the Grizzlies' dissoriented deffense. There were several occasions where they were able to drive from the three point line to the basket uncontested. Ira Newbill was a pleasant surprise. He was nailing some really difficult shots. LeBron James came back into the game almost unnoticed and did very little for the rest of the quarter. With about forty-seven seconds left in the half, Shane Battier made a smart deffensive play. He was matched up with Ilgauskas so Ilgauskas thought he'd back Battier down and use his size to his advantage, but Battier took a flop and got the call. Ilgauskas then slammed the ball on the court and got a technical foul. The quarter ended with stellar play from both teams. Score At The Half: <font color="DarkRed">Cleveland Cavaliers - 57</font> <font color="SeaGreen">Memphis Grizzlies - 41</font>
<u>End Of The Game:</u> The Grizzlies made a miraculous twenty point comback that was capped off by Shane Battier hitting a three pointer to put the Grizzlies up by two. The Cavaliers would come back and bite though. With a minute left in regulation, Ricky Davis hit a three to put Cleveland up by the score of 99-95. The Grizzlies quickly gave Gasol the ball who used his quickness against Ilgauskas <font color="Red">(as highlighted in our "Key Matchup")</font> to draw the foul. Gasol hit the first of his two free-throws, but missed the second. The ball was given to LeBron James who had it stolen by James Posey only to be whistled for a foul. James got the ball back and drove for a layup, but missed. The Grizzlies rebounded the ball and quickly darted it to an open Battier who instantly nailed a three pointer to tie the game at 99-99. The Cavaliers tried, but could not get the final shot off because Mike Miller stole the ball. It headed into overtime. Overtime was a tough battle between both teams the whole way through. It went back and forth for the most part, but Ricky Davis hit a few key shots down the stretch that resulted in a three point lead. The ball was given to Memphis with little time left in the game. Then with two seconds left, Mike Miller hit a long three pointer to tie it up at 109-109. Newble inbounded the ball to James who missed the game winner for a second time. It headed into double overtime. With Ilgauskas fouled out, the Cavaliers focused the energy into limiting the productivity of Pau Gasol by denying his right hand, but Gasol was too much for Diop to take. Gasol took advantage of the miss-match and scored four important points to put the game out of reach for the Cavaliers. The Grizzlies had done the impossible. They had come back from a twenty-four point deposit to win the game, 122-115. <u>My Reaction:</u> This was the best game I had seen in a long time. A few things stood out for me. One of those things was LeBron James' career high performances in points (33) and rebounds (15). The kid really proved himself to me and I am sure a lot of other doubtful Memphians. Also, Pau Gasol had a career high in scoring with thirty-seven points. With Jason Williams out with back spasms and Earl Watson playing like garbage, Hubbie Brown turned to Mike Miller to run the point. Although the point position was unfamiliar to Mike Miller, he did a great job and finished with thirteen assists. Maybe we will see him take on that role in the future. I was very proud of how the Grizzlies played hard on every posession. That is what got them back into the game. While Cleveland was getting comfortable in the third quarter of regulation, the Grizzlies were battling their way back slowly but surely. Bo Outlaw was impressive on the deffensive end. He certainly contributed to this win in about every way possible. As for Cleveland, this must be a heartbreaking loss. Their youth showed tonight in their innability to execute in the final minutes. They rushed shots and forced passes. LeBron James also took some unnesicary shots. Anyway, I thought it was a fantastic game and I am very glad I tuned in. <font color="Red">Boxscore </font>
Great win for the Grizzlies. Miller did a great job at point and Gasol was to much for cavs to handle. Jason Williams better be back for next game at Boston!
These are the kind of losses that Cleveland suffers from, so they are not as bad as their record states. I yelled and jump up many times during this game, I was blew away with the action. Pleasure was all mind Wave, look forward to our next game.
Another heartbreaking loss for the Cavs. They had control of this game, but had another miserable 4th quarter, and it eventually cost them the game. Mike Miller had a great game as predicted, scoring 20, and leading his team in assists with 6. He's finally figuring out his role on the team and has improved the last 3 games. LeBron had a career night, but he missed two chances to close out the game. I'm impressed with his rebounding numbers and his strong shooting tonight. All this losing is not cracking this young team, a lot of credit goes to Silas for keeping them competitive every night.
What a game. Easily the best in the NBA tonight. LeBron had a monstrous game. He got it going early on with 11 1st quarter points. Just kept it going. Grizz had dug themselves in a 20 point hole early. But, yea, they were able to come back. And how about Mike Miller? Game tying 3 pointer with 2 seconds left. But, key to the game for Memphis was easily Pao Gasol. This man was unstoppable. He, in my opinion, is the reason why this team won tonight. That and the Mike Miller 3. But, if this team is gonna go far, and I think that they have the talent to do so, they can't dig themselves a deep hole like they did tonight. This team has a lot of firepower, especially if Miller can get hot, than watch out. But, if this team goes far, people like Battier need to step up just like he did tonight and do that on a consistent basis. Nonetheless, fantastic game. Great comeback win for the Grizzlies and a good learning experience for a young Cavaliers team I think.
