<font size="14">VS</font> <font color="darkred">CLEVELAND CAVALIERS</font> (9-6) @ <font color="DeepSkyBlue">DENVER NUGGETS </font> (8-6) Thursday, December 2 8:30p.m. The Pepsi Center COACHES Paul Silas / Jeff Bzdelik PROBABLE STARTERS Jeff McInnis / Andre Miller Ira Newble / Greg Buckner LeBron James / Carmelo Anthony Drew Gooden / Kenyon Martin Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Marcus Camby 6th MAN Eric Snow / Earl Boykins Players To Watch LeBron James / Carmelo Anthony (injured, but probable to play) FAST FACT : The Nuggets swept the Cavs last season series 2-0. Injury List Cleveland : Sasha Pavlovic, Scott Williams Denver: Mark Pope, Arthur Johnson, Voshon Lenard <font color="darkblue">King?s Keys</font> * Good defensive effort will be needed. The Nuggets have five players averaging twelve points or more and they have a few other capable scorers. Their scoring options, especially Martin and Anthony (if he plays), must be contained. * Our big men will have a hard time with Martin and Camby, both very good defenders. Camby?s speed and athleticism may prove to be bothersome to the slow-footed Z. Don?t rely too heavily on Z and Drew for production. * Perimeter defense is important when facing the Nugs. They have some good shooting threats. Don?t let them get any easy shots off. * Don?t get caught up on the Melo vs. Bron match-up. LeBron will need to stay focused on team-oriented ball and not worry about topping Carmelo. Anthony is injured and may not even play, so this may not be a factor. He has said he expects to be ready to play, but he is still day to day. * Energy and intensity. This will be the Cavs? third game in four days on the road. But we can?t afford to look tired and sluggish out there. If we start looking lethargic, expect the Nuggets to take advantage of it. FINAL THOUGHT : The less hyped up this year, but still anticipated nationally televised LeBron and Carmelo match-up will be interesting to watch. But the performance of both teams as a whole will be much more important. The Cavs should be able to win this game as long as they can bring the intensity and focus. They will need to work hard on both ends of the floor if they want to close out this western road trip with a win. With or without Melo, the Nuggets are still a threat, especially on the road.
The real matchup of the night is Ira Newble and Greg Buckner. LoL Just Kidding. This game will be fun to watch and I hope the Cavs win. Good luck tonight! I hope LeBron puts on a show with 30 points. My Precition is Cavs win 93-86.
K-mart looks so lost on the court, and his jump hook is always short. Carmelo is missing jump shots and settling for dumb shots. Too many turnovers for them too.The Nuggets have no energy and spirit whatsoever in their own court. The Cavs are impressive. The McInnis-Lebron combo is real strong.
Bron with 17 Points, 8 Boards and 9 Assists... Once again, flirted with a triple double. Gooden did well on the boards, Traylor is playing well of the pine and Harris is beginning to find his stroke. If he can get it going, the Cavs can move him on to the starting unit and give them some consistent outside scoring.
Melo vs Bron 2005 Game 1 Carmelo Anthony 29 min 4 reb 0 ast 5 to 14 pts LeBron James 41 min 8 reb 9 ast 5 to 17 pts
Great game by the Cavs, I saw the highlights on ESPN, King had a breathtaking windmill dunk that was like flying ! Melo, on the other hand, didn't look like himself... maybe his mind was troubled by another negative press... he needs to pick up an I-don't-care attitude all the off-court troubles are definitely affecting the way he plays.
