Bron vs. Melo II Cleveland Cavaliers (4-13) @ Denver Nuggets (10-6) Tuesday, Dec. 2, 9:00 pm Eastern Pepsi Center, Denver CO TV: NBATV, WUAB Previous Game Grizzlies 122 @ Cavs 115 2OT Nuggets 98 @ Clippers 86 Streaks Cleveland: Lost 6 Denver: Won 3 Season Series Wed, Nov.5, Nuggets 93 @ Cavaliers 89 Head Coaches Paul Silas/Jeff Bzdelik Probable Starters Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Francisco Elson Carlos Boozer/Nen? Ira Newble/Carmelo Anthony Ricky Davis/Voshon Lenard LeBron James/Andre Miller Players To Watch LeBron James/Carmelo Anthony James: 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists Anthony: 17.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists Injury Lists Cleveland Cavaliers Dajuan Wagner Bruno Sundov DeSagana Diop - out Denver Nuggets Jeff Trepagnier Mark Pope Keys To The Game Cleveland - These heartbreaking 4th quarter losses have got to make the Cavs play with a lot more determination and emotion. Cleveland just gets too lackadasical once they have a lead, and execution at crunch time is just disastrous. With that in hand, Denver loves to run at home in that thin Denver air, many players have complained about being short of breath while playing, which helps the Nuggets that are already used to those game conditions. Ira Newble will have the defensive assignment of Carmelo Anthony, and the key is to make him take jump shots with a hand in his face, but Melo will try and take it to the basket every time he touches it. Do not let Voshon Lenard shoot open 3's, in fact, never leave him at all, because he will kill you. Hold those 2 to off nights and you stand a chance of winning, but many don't like to play Denver's sloppy style of basketball, to beat them you must outwork them. LeBron James must continue to be aggressive and push the basketball, or this team stands no chance. Denver - Slow the game down and turn this into a half court scrap fest. Cleveland's half court game may be strong early when they go to Z, but they tend to get away from that as the game goes on. I give the ball to Melo early and isolate him with Ira Newble in hope of getting a few early fouls called to get him out of the game. I involve Voshon Lenard in pick and rolls as the Cavs still don't have solid communication when defending it, so it could get him some open shots from deep. Andre Miller must drive to the basket and create scoring opportunities for him and his teamates. The King's Take Very close game I will call here, I sense that LeBron James is really pissed off (can I say that?) right now and he now knows that he must take control of the ball club. I predict that the Cavs will come out and show a lot of emotion in this one. Buckle your seat belts for a barn burner. Tossup (Not to knock Denver, but Cavs are due)
I'm going to tip the Cavs here, they do look very mad at the moment and I think this is the game that could bring out the best in them. Denver are playing very good basketball too, I say Cavs by 6. Melo vs Bron should be an absolute pearler too, Bron is hot at the moment but can't get the Ws.
dont buy the 'cavs are due' thing. no one is due. earn the win. the nuggets are doing it, the cavs arent. not to say they cant win though but they arent due. if that were true, the nuggets would be DUE about 55 wins per year for the next 10 years. and i dont agree the nuggets need to slow the game down. the opposite is defintely true. we dont play slow down ball anymore. that half court stuff was last year and thats not our team anymore. and all i know is that before last game EVERYONE picked the cavs to win...and denver still did. that was before we were playing well. and that was at cleveland. i think we have a shot to win.
Denver have a great shot to win, no doubt about that. However I think this is the game that will bring the best out of the Cavs. They're hurting, and they'll have to work very hard if they want to win. It will be a great test.
The Cavs can run, and a running style plays right into the hands of LeBron James. I believe if you slow the game down, you have a much better chance at winning because the Cavs are so poor in the half court set. Just my way of looking at it.
The Nuggets will run as much as possible...When they play their game they are so tough to stop on the break.Lebron is playing amazing as is Melo.However the difference is the Nuggets are getting the wins.
Looking forward to this matchup! Its gonna be great. I think a key player that Cavs have to put solid D on is Marcus Camby. He was torching the Mavericks the other night. Still Carmelo and Voshon Lenard look like big scoring threats so the the guards and SF's have to watch them. They only beat us by 4 last time we met against the Nugs, but we have improved so this should be a great game.
I think this should be a very entertaining game. LeBron is very hot right now coming off of that 33 point explosion. Melo has been playing good, though, seemingly inconsistent at times as he went from 28 points two nights ago to 12 last night. I think Melo has to have a much better night than his 14 point performance. But, the other thing, this Denver offense has been playing pretty damn good lately. If I'm correct, 2 or their last 3 games they've eclipsed 100. So, if Cleveland is gonna win, their gonna have to play much better defense. They need to play the defense that they played for 3 quarters against Memphis before they collapsed and gave up that 20-0 run in the 4th. I'm going with Denver in this one though. The offense is playing well and the Cleveland defense is still very stagnant at times. It's play is very inconsistent. Same with their offense. Cleveland is not playing very well right now and the Nuggets are playing excellent ball. So, again, I'm going with Denver. I think Melo and LeBron will each have much better games than in their first meeting. But, in the end Denver by 6.
I'm going with Denver in this game. The Cavs are careless with the ball, and the Nuggets scrappy style of play is exactly what the Cavs do not need right now. The Nuggets will be able to force turnovers and push the tempo at home in the thin Denver air. Camby and Nene can neutralize any penetration by the Cavs, so Dre Miller, Barry, and Boykins are going to be able to gamble more up top and force turnovers leading to easy points. Nuggets by 5 if Boozer plays, Nuggets by 8 if Boozer is not in the lineup.
I think Denver will win. It will be funny to see if Lebron has to guard Boykins lol. The smallest point guard vs the biggest. Watch out for NENE in the fast break he is dangerous. Elson has been a great suprise for the Nuggets too. Elson vs Diop or Mihm should be a good matchup of young centers.
What about Melo. This guys FG% was terrible, but 26 pts against Dallas was great. Yet against the Clippers he went 5-16 with 12 pts. If he shoots like he did against Dallas, Denver will have a huge chance, but if LeBron plays like he did last night, the Cavs chance will be even bigger.
I got to go with the Cavs with this. Even though Denver has a better record i think the Cavs will surely have this game. It'll be a good game to watch with both teams having a god given game. Cavs by 11
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting King James:</div><div class="quote_post">The Cavs can run, and a running style plays right into the hands of LeBron James. I believe if you slow the game down, you have a much better chance at winning because the Cavs are so poor in the half court set. Just my way of looking at it.</div> so are we
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TimFlem:</div><div class="quote_post">I got to go with the Cavs with this. Even though Denver has a better record i think the Cavs will surely have this game. It'll be a good game to watch with both teams having a god given game. Cavs by 11</div> surely? based on what?
The Cavs would be better off if Lebron would score 15-20 and have a couple of turnovers than when he has 30 and gets near 10 TO's... those last few killed them in the Griz game. even though he is 6'8", he really shouldnt have 16 boards. Z has to step up and start becoming more agressive. Lebron's biggest skill is his passing ability. If his teammates can nail the open shots, Bron should have near a dozen assists and cavs should come out on top. With all these IF's, i still have to go with the Nugs, 96-84
Funny thing is the Nuggets do not depend on Melo as much as you think.He is the key guy of course but when players like Lenard,Miller and Boykins are hitting they are real tough to beat no matter how Melo is playing.Given the Nuggets home record so far (7-1) I don't see how or why they will lose this.More so looking at the Cavs current losing streak on the road.
Well put allnet, and you are right. I think the Denver fans looked at Carmelo too quick and visualized him to be the star of team and relyed on him too early. Id say to look upon Camby, Boykins and Lenard before Anthony.
nice post all net. very true. we rely on balanced scoring, hustle, bench play, and running up and down the court. we are #1 in rebounds and blocked shots, #6 i think in scoring even though LAST in shooting (figure that one out). i think we force the most TOs in the league too.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NugzFan:</div><div class="quote_post">surely? based on what?</div> The fact that the Cavs are going to win this by 11
Boykins (love my avatar) and Lenard are the clutch shooters for this ball club. They are fearless. Thing is with Lenard, though his shot can be off at times, he will still make that 3 pointer at clutch time to bury the opposition.
