@ Day/Date: Sunday, 2/1/04 At: Gund Arena Time: 5:00 pm(PT) TV: ESPN Los Angeles Lakers: 28-17 Quick fact: Lakers have been a dissapointing 4-6 in their last 10. Cleveland Cavaliers: 19-29 Quick fact: Cavs are a stunning 8-2 in their last 10. Probable Starters Frontcourt Shaquille O'Neal/Zydrunas Ilgauskas Slava Medvedenko/Carlos Boozer Devean George/Eric Williams Backcourt Kareem Rush/LeBron James Gary Payton/Jeff Mcinnis Keys to the game <u>Lakers</u> <ul>[*] Grabbing offensive boards will be a huge key for the Lakers this game.[/list] <ul>[*]Scoring production out of Slava and Kareem Rush.[/list] <ul>[*]Play good on-ball defense around the perimeter, and defend the paint as well.[/list] <u>Raptors</u> <ul>[*]Cavs will have to play solid defense, as well as scoring key baskets down the stretch.[/list] <ul>[*]Make some kind of a battle occur on the inside vs Shaq, don't let him score easy points, double him..[/list] <ul>[*]Let the offense flow, and take advantage of being at home, where they have played well lately.[/list] Key Match-up Shaq vs Ilgauskas/Carlos Boozer Obviously, the flow of the offense will put around Shaq on the inside, Cavs will have to grab key boards and play solid defense on Shaq. The 'X' factor Will the combo of Carlos Boozer/Z be enough to take down Shaq inside? My predictions I'll pick the Lakers by 3 in this one, however not so easily, I'm just feeling my team in this one. Even though the Cavs have played outstanding ball lately, I think Shaq will dominate and lead the Lakers to victory. Cavs get scoring production all around, so the Lakers will have to get down and play good defense if they want a chance to win this one.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ANiMuS:</div><div class="quote_post">Cavs' PG is Jeff McInnis, not Jalen Rose </div> I saw that too, but other than that slip up, I like the preview. This is a great test for both teams. The Cavs can show us that they're for real by just competing while the Lakers will need to do much more than that to impress.
Purple n Gold: You also put "Raptors" instead of "Lakers" in "Keys to the Game." Don't worry about it. It happens.
I'll take the Lakers by 9 on this one, Shaq's back and I think he's going to have a big game after that suspension. I also look for Gary to get 10+ assists in that game.
I will take the cavs in this one. Z and diop can "contain shaq"? i hope so and lebron should be able to have his way with rush. Gp and Jeff is a terrible match up for the cavs imo. but its gonna be a close one and the cavs play really good at home. Cavs by 6.
I'll take the Cavs in this one because they've been finding ways to win and the Lakers have been horrible lately.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ANiMuS:</div><div class="quote_post">Cavs' PG is Jeff McInnis, not Jalen Rose </div> Haha, thanks for pointing that out, fixed. What I do is just edit my last review and fill the names in, and forget to do him.
Finally another national television game to watch our Lakers in action. And tonight should be a good one. I think in order for the Lakers to win tonight, they have to get the ball to Shaq early and consistently throughout the game. Because the Lakers have clearly shown without Shaq, they weren't able to score. Just an awful 10 points in the first quarter. Big Z may be tall, but he is a slow defender. So Shaq had that advantage. Secondly, they'll have to stop LeBron James. Just to point out Purple N Gold, Fisher will start in place of the injured Kareem Rush. LeBron has a huge mismatch on Derek, but if Fisher can make LeBron uncomfortable which seems likely because he's a good defender, then there shouldn't be a problem. Slava will definitely have his hands full by guarding Carlos Boozer. He's one of the big reasons why Cleveland is winning basketball games. I'm going with the Lakers by 5. Shaq will be the ultimate difference maker in this one.
"Day/Date: Sunday, 2/1/04" ?? I would love to see the Cavs take this, and something tells me that they might be able to pull off an upset, but at the end of the day, it is the Lakers. Lakers by 11
Look for Shaq to get to the line about 20 times tonight. Should be a close game, but the Lakers will win this one.
Fisher trying to guard LeBron is going to be embarassing. Only thing you can hope for is that LeBron decides to take a lot of jumpers and misses them.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ANiMuS:</div><div class="quote_post">Fisher trying to guard LeBron is going to be embarassing. Only thing you can hope for is that LeBron decides to take a lot of jumpers and misses them.</div> Yes exactly. Lebron should easily take advantage post up and just shot over fisher. But i think we will see a-lot or russell today guarding lebron? I still say cavs by 6+
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ANiMuS:</div><div class="quote_post">Fisher trying to guard LeBron is going to be embarassing. Only thing you can hope for is that LeBron decides to take a lot of jumpers and misses them.</div> Why would Fisher be guarding LeBron? I expect the Lakers to use a combination of George and Fox on him, and possibly the Glove. Fisher will matchup with Wagner or McInnis in this game.
When did Rush get injured? I've missed the last one of two games, is this severe or just some minor injury? I guess the list for injured players just goes on forever for L.A.
^^He was injured in the Pacer game, he landed funny on his ankle and will miss at least 5 games. "Rush was re-evaluated on Tuesday and likely will be sidelined until at least the weekend after spraining his ankle in Monday's loss to the Indiana Pacers. The guard, who was replacing the injured Kobe Bryant in the Lakers' lineup, will receive treatment on a daily basis." The M*A*S*H unit for the Lakers continues to grow.
