<div align="center">@<span style="color:blue">Washington Wizards 42-40</span> @ <span style="color:red">Chicago Bulls 50-32</span> The 5th seeded Wizards opened their playoffs against the 4th seeded Cavaliers on Saturday, which was a disaster for the Wizards. They had no answer whatsoever for LeBron James scoring 32 points, 11 boards and 11 assists in his first playoff appearance. LeBron James controlled the game for all 48 minutes, setting up great plays which really hurt the Wizards. On the other hand, the Wizards struggled big time, forcing up the bad shots, getting outrebounded, and being destroyed in the paint by James, Gooden and Zydrunas. The good news is that some of the unexpected guys like Jeffries and Daniels showed up and put on a decent performance, so look for them to be a presence again in game 2. Date: 4/25/06Time: 7:00 pmTV: CSN, FSOhio, and TNT<u>Washington Wizards 2005-2006 Statistics</u><u>PPG: 101.5|Game 1: 86</u><u>RPG: 41.2|Game 1: 36</u><u>APG: 18.6|Game 1: 15</u><u>BPG: 4.1|Game 1: 8</u><u>SPG: 8.0|Game 1: 7</u><u>FG%: 44.7 %|Game 1: 40.8%</u><u>Washington Wizards Head Coach</u>Eddie Jordan<u>Washington Wizards Starting Lineup</u>Guard: Gilbert ArenasPPG: 29.3 (Game 1: 26 points, 7-20)RPG: 3.5 (Game 1: 6 Rebounds)APG: 6.1 (Game 1: 3 Assists)Guard: Jared JeffriesPPG: 6.4 (Game 1: 15 points, 5-7)RPG: 4.9 (Game 1: 5 rebounds)APG: 1.9 ( Game 1: 0 assistsGuard: Caron ButlerPPG: 17.6 (Game 1: 11 points, 4-14)RPG: 6.2 (Game 1: 6 rebounds)APG: 2.5 (Game 1: 2 assists)Forward: Antawn JamisonPPG: 20.5 (Game 1: 11 points, 4-13)RPG: 9.3 (Game 1: 7 rebounds)APG: 1.9 (Game 1: 2 assists)Center: Brendan HaywoodPPG: 7.3 (Game 1: 7 points, 2-3)RPG: 5.9 (Game 1: 5 rebounds)APG: 0.6 (Game 1: 6 assists<u>Key 6th Man</u>Guard: Antonio DanielsPPG: 9.6 (Game 1: 14 points, 6-6)RPG: 2.2 (Game 1: 5 rebounds)APG: 3.6 (Game 2: 6 assists)<u>Keys To The Game</u><u>Stop LeBron</u>: This is a no-brainer. As long as LeBron James is on the floor, he is able to make great passes and drive to the hoop very easily. Whenever the Wizards double-teamed him, he was able to get out of it and basically he didn't run out of gas for the 48 minutes he played. The Wizards have got to rotate better on defense espcially with a trap defense, which they should improve for game 2.<u>Control The Paint</u>: The Wizards were destroyed in the paint in Game 1. LeBron got his way when he drove to the hoop, whenever one missed, Gooden or Ilgauskis was there for the putback with a team total of 20 offensive rebounds (52 total). The Wizards also need to attack the paint more often, then forcing up bad shots outside. Hopefully, they'll do better in game 2.<u>Force Turnovers</u>: The Wizards are first in the league in forcing turnovers with the defensive alerts they have, but they were only able to force 12 turnovers. The Wizards need to tip the balls on passes and give them a hard time finding a good shot and doing so will get a good fastbreak for an easy 2.<u>Wizards Player Of The Game</u>Predicted Stats: 24 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists-------------------<u>Cleveland Cavaliers 2005-2006 Statistics</u><u>PPG: 97.6|Game 1: 97</u><u>APG: 19.0|Game 1: 21</u><u>RPG: 42.3|Game 1: 52</u><u>BPG: 4.8|Game 1: 4</u><u>SPG: 6.9|Game 1: 6</u><u>FG%: 45.4%|Game 1: 43.7%</u><u>Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach</u>Mike Brown<u>Cleveland Cavaliers Starting Lineup</u>Guard: Eric SnowPPG: 4.8 (Game 1: 14 points, 5-7)RPG: 2.4 (Game 1: 4 rebounds)APG: 4.2 (Game 1: 2 assists)Guard: Larry HughesPPG: 15.5 (Game 1: 2 points 1-9)RPG: 4.5 (Game 1: 4 rebounds)APG: 3.6 (Game 1: 2 assists)Forward: LeBron JamesPPG: 31.4 (Game 1: 32 points, 12-27)RPG: 7.0 (Game 1: 11 rebounds)APG: 6.6 (Game 1: 11 assists)Forward: Drew GoodenPPG: 10.7 (Game 1: 7 points, 3-9)RPG: 8.4 (Game 1: 10 rebounds)APG: 0.7 (Game 1: 0 assists)Center: Zydrunas IlgauskasPPG: 15.6 (Game 1: 10 points, 4-7)RPG: 7.6 (Game 1: 6 rebounds)APG: 1.2 (Game 1: 1 assists)<u>Key 6th Man</u>Forward: Donyell MarshallPPG: 5.3 (Game 1: 19 points, 8-18)RPG: 9.2 (Game 1: 7 rebounds)APG: 1.0 (Game 1: 2 assists<u>Keys To The Game</u><u>Shut The Trio Down</u>: The Cavaliers have done a great job containing the trio in game 1 by limiting them to 48 points combined, while they average 67 combined points a game. Larry Hughes was able to make Gilbert rush his shots, they were able to stop one of the Wizards' weakness, shooting the 3-pointer. They were 3-22 behind the 3-point line in Game 1, so if the Cavaliers are able to stop them once again, then it should be a win for them.<u>Get To The Line</u>: The Cavaliers only shot 22 times from the free throw line and seeing this, you want to see them attack the glass more often and getting the trio in foul trouble, like they did in the 3rd quarter, where Arenas only played 3 minutes then, Jamison had 4 fouls and Butler with 4 fouls then too. The Cavaliers this year are ranked top 10, in both free throws attempted and free throws made categories, so we should see how they will do in game 2. <u>Second Chance Opportunities</u>: The Cavaliers were able to retrieve 20 offensive rebounds, which was a big factor for the Cavaliers in their game 1 victory. You are going to wonder how Eddie Jordan is going to have his frontcourt do better in game 2, so the Cavaliers frontcourt are going to have to do what they can to get the offensive boards, if they want to frustrate the Wizards.<u>Cavaliers Player Of The Game</u>Predicted Stats: 29 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists<u>Prediction</u>Post Below.</div>
Man, I really hope things turn around in Game 2. We need to win a game in Cleveland. Anyways, I wont be suprised if the Wizards come out hot and run their plays with accuracy. The same thing happened last year with Chicago. Gilbert came up flat in Game 1 but stepped in Game 2 even though we lost. But Chicago was a good defensive team then, so it was hard to score against them. Cleveland isnt even known for their defense, they just had a specific gameplan on containing the big 3 and it worked out for them. Here are my keys to the game for the Wiz on Tuesday: - Crash the boardsThe Wiz made Marshall look like Dwight Howard out there. We need more toughness on grabbing the boards, guys like Haywood need to get those from Z because 'Wood has a monster wingspan and should be able to get boards easily. Cavs outrebounded us by 16 in this game, we cant let that happen in Game 2. - Share the ball I saw the Wizards, when they were making comeback, jacking up shots when there was plenty of time on the shot clock. We need to break down the defense, whether its driving to the hole and then kicking it out, or finding the open man when you're double-teamed. The big 3 have the share the ball amongst themselves as well, for them to be efficent in this game. And lastly, - Get back on defense in transition; dont let the crowd get back into this gameCleveland is a pretty explosive team on the break, thanks to LeBron. Those fast break opportunities they took advantage on got the crowd really into it, which enabled them to win the game easily, no matter what kind of comeback the Wiz were having. If LeBron is going for a monster dunk, foul him, but dont give him the chance to make the shot. Give him a hard foul. If the Wiz can do this, they can steal Game 2 from the Cavs.
Uhh well, watching game one, I dont see much from the Wizards. But its the playoffs.My opinion is that LBJ has gotten comfortable in the playoffs abnormaly fast. I think he and the cavs are probably going to takeover round one and if hughes gets his a game on next game, i dont know whats going to happen to the wizards.
