This game sees the 2-2 Chicago Bulls take on the 2-2 Cleveland Cavaliers at The Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers are coming off the back of two disappointing losses on the road in Charlotte and at home against the Hawks. They are beginning to lose against teams they should be beating and, above all, are having real problems shooting Free Throws. Their new system of running many screens appears to be disillusioning key player Zydrunas Ilgauskas, as his numbers have seen a considerable fall since last season. In contrast, the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks comprehensively on Monday night. Their new, high profile addition, Ben Wallace, is settling in well making his usual energetic defensive plays night in night out. I should be an interesting game, and one the Cavs need to win to gain some early momentum.. <div align="center"><font color="#EE1C24"> <u>BULLS</u> C Ben Wallace PF PJ Brown SF Luol Deng SG Ben Gordon PG Kirk Hinrich</font> @ <font color="#B94056">C Zydrunas Ilgauskas PF Drew Gooden SF LeBron James SG Larry Hughes PG Eric Snow <u>Cleveland Cavaliers</u> </font></div> <u>Key Matchup</u> – SG – Ben Gordon v Larry Hughes v In tonight’s key matchup of the game, Ben Gordon faces up to Larry Hughes at the 2-guard spot. Both players have had solid starts to the season; Gordon averaging 18 points on 47% shooting (21% from downtown), 2 rebounds and 4 assists whilst Hughes is scoring 28.5 points on 46% shooting (42% from beyond the arc) to go along with 4 rebounds and 2.5 assists. They are both capable of dominating games, making key plays to aid their team to victory. Gordon is a very capable player but, as he has the edge on defense, I believe that Larry Hughes should be able to come out on top as he should be able to shut Gordon down. If not, however, Gordon could score in excess of 35 points en route to a Bulls victory. [div=50%] <font color="#B94056"><u>Cavaliers’ Keys to Victory</u> <ul> [*]Make the simple plays count. Work around the Bulls and small holes will open up. LeBron James has the talent to pass through these holes or work his way through them for easy points. In doing this, they should get lots of high percentage shots. [*]Play through Drew Gooden and LeBron James, primarily. The pair are in good form on offense and this should be exploited. With the ball in their hands, double teams should be in abundance, thus easy opportunities will be available for their team-mates. [*]Get Zydrunas Ilgauskas the ball where he wants it. Ilgauskas has been practicing a long range hook shot with either hand, but has not had a chance to consistently use it. If he gets the ball where he wants it, his form will increase, which makes opposing teams guard him more heavily which should open up chances for his team-mates. [/list] </font> [/div] <font color="#EE1C24"><u>Bulls’ Keys to Victory</u> <ul> [*]As per usual, they must contain LeBron James. If his production is low, the Cavaliers will have very few alternatives for the points they need. [*]Exploit the Cavaliers’ woeful performances from the charity stripe. If need be, they should foul them on their easy opportunities, to see the momentum being sucked right out of the Cavaliers and the crowd.. [*]Play with tempo and intensity. The Bulls team, especially Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Ben Wallace, are highly geared up to playing high tempo, intensive basketball. They can force the Cavaliers to make errors with good defense and then make easy buckets at the other end. [/list]</font> <u>Prediction</u> Since the 2003-04 season, the Cavaliers have had a relatively successful time against the Chicago Bulls, having beaten them 8 times out of 12. In these 12 games, LeBron James averages 26.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists. If he can get such numbers again, the Cavaliers will stand a chance but, given their current form, I do not think they will be able to win this game. I predict a close game, but the Bulls will pip the Cavaliers to the W. <font color="#EE1C24">95</font>- <font color="#B94056">93</font>
The bulls have been tough for the cavs the last few seasons. I remember they had this great OT game last season i think it was. the way the cavs have played the last 4 games, their good against good teams and bad against bad ones.
Hey does Shannon get any tick? I hope he gets a little this game. Hes a chicago native and I hope he has a great rookie season. As for the game I think its gonna be a close game both teams have alot of talent. The bulls should bring some momentum into this game while the cavs are trying to break a losing streak. I see lebron being guarded by 4 players (deng, noc, thabo, and Griffen). The bulls will look to wear Bron down with our great defenders. Then he will have a hard time guarding deng and noc because they are both looking to draw fouls. I think that Nocioni will have a great game in the second half to lead the bulls to victory. I got the game at about 84-80 Bulls!!!!
At last the Cavs put something together on offense. They shot well from the field and equally well from 3 point range. They managed to shoot 83.3% from the free throw line and, although LeBron James scored only 19 points (as opposed to his average last season), he managed to set up many points for a huge Cavs win. Major props to Aleksandar Pavlovic, Donyell Marshall and Anderson Varejao for scoring a combined 46 points off the bench.
