This game sees the 8-2 Cleveland Cavaliers take on the 4-5 New Jersey Nets at the Izod Center which, incidentally, will never see LeBron James in a home jersey (and neither will Brooklyn - ). Cleveland Cavaliers C Zydrunas Ilgauskas PF Ben Wallace SF LeBron James SG Delonte West PG Mo Williams Key Bench Players: Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao, Wally Szczerbiak @ C Brook Lopez PF Yi Jianlian SF Bobby Simmons SG Vince Carter PG Devin Harris Key Bench Players: Jarvis Hayes, Ryan Anderson, Keyon Dooling, Sean Williams New Jersey Nets Key Matchup: SF - LeBron James v Bobby Simmons As of late, the Cavs have been on a tear, supported to no end by the incredible play of LeBron James. In the past 6 games, all of which have been won by the Cavs, he has scored at least 38 points in four games, and has led the Cavs to a seven game winning streak. It will be up to Bobby Simmons to try to, somehow, contain LeBron James, but if he gets into "one of those moods" I just can't see anyone in this League, least of all Bobby Simmons, containing him. Cavaliers' Keys to Victory Score 100 points - the Cavs lead the league in points per 100 possessions and, in games where they score at least 100, they are 6-0. In games where the Nets' opponents score 100+, they are 2-2. So, if the Cavs manage to score 100, they look to be in pretty good shape, especially as in only one of the games where they have scored 100, have they conceded 100 (and they won that game). Rally behind LeBron - I hope that LeBron will be out to prove his loyalty to the Cavaliers tonight, with a big performance over the Nets. If he can pull that out the bag, then hopefully first of all Nets fans will get the message (though the press will probably twist the story to be "LeBron shows the Nets what it would be like to have him") and secondly it would clearly give the Cavs a great chance to win the game. If the likes of West, Boobie, Szczerbiak, Mo and Ilgauskas have their shooting touch on tonight, I can't see the Nets even staying close to the Cavs. Play tight D - the Nets do have some good offensive players, and if you slack off them they will punish you. It will be important to play tight defence on all the players, but most importantly Vince Carter, who is the type of player who, like LeBron, can win a game by himself, though he is less capable of this nowadays. Home Team's Keys to Victory Stifle the role players - what might be a good tactic for the Nets is to try to make LeBron play them alone. If they can stifle the role players and force LeBron to go it alone, they might be on the right track, for LeBron and the Cavaliers are at their best when they can spread the floor. Conversely, we could, if the game goes in that way, see LeBron rival Kobe's 81 (or am I being a bit too optimistic?). Maintain good shooting from downtown - the Nets are currently the fourth best three point shooting team in the League, compared to the Cavs who are twentieth. If they can exploit this difference and hit a good number of threes tonight, they might just be able to stay in touch with the Cavs. Rebound hard - the Cavs give up the fewest rebounds per game in the NBA, so you have to be on top of your rebounding game if you are to come away with anything from underneath the glass. Unfortunately for the Nets, Brook Lopez, Yi and the rest of the frontcourt don't match up well with Ilgauskas, Wallace, Varejao and James on the boards. If, however, they can equal or better the Cavs' rebound total, I wouldn't write the Nets off immediately. Prediction LeBron and the Cavs have met the Nets 23 times since 2003. The Cavs have won 10 games, and average 92.9 points per game, whilst the Nets have won 13 and average 95 points per game. LeBron has played in all 23 meetings (including Playoff games) and averages 27.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.5 assists gainst the Nets. Due to the two teams' relative form, it might not even take an "average" game from LeBron in order for the Cavs to beat the Nets which, in my opinion, they should do relatively easily. 104-92
