This game sees the 1-2 Indiana Pacers take on the 3-2 Cleveland Cavaliers at The Quicken Loans Arena. Indiana Pacers C Jeff Foster PF Troy Murphy SF Danny Granger SG Marquis Daniels PG T.J. Ford Key Bench Players: Brandon Rush, Roy Hibbert, Jarret Jack @ C Zydrunas Ilgauskas PF Ben Wallace SF LeBron James SG Delonte West PG Mo Williams Key Bench Players: Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao, Wally Szczerbiak Cleveland Cavaliers Key Matchup: SF - Danny Granger v LeBron James This matchup pits the leading scorers of the respective teams against one another. They average similar levels of points (around 25 points) but the reaction to the start of their seasons has been somewhat different. A lot of good words have been written about Granger's performances, but by contrast there has been a lot of negativity around LeBron. He's had a slow start, but has looked to be back to himself in the last two games. Granger will have to stop LeBron's resurgence, but that will be nigh-on impossible for the fourth year man out of New Mexico. Pacers' Keys to Victory Try to contain LeBron - LeBron has been steadily improving this season, culminating in 41 points on Wednesday against the Bulls. His offensive aggression and free throw shooting are looking good in the past two games, but one thing remains the same; his three point shooting is woeful. He is shooting 0-13 from downtown for the season, so the Pacers might want to lure him into shooting from outside often, in the hope that he will continue his poor shooting. If, however, he starts hitting the shots, the Pacers will be in huge trouble. Minimise turnovers - the Pacers are the seventh most turnover-prone team in the league this season, and they're playing a Cavs team who are playing superb defence this season. If they continue to make a lot of turnovers tonight, combined with tight defence from the Cavs, they might struggle to get anything going on offence. Shoot well from the free throw line - Cavs fans thought they knew bad free throw shooting, but the Cavs' free throw percentage is actually pretty healthy at 78.2% this season. The Pacers are shooting only 71% this season and when playing a team like the Cavaliers teams really need to get all the points they can get. If they miss free throws on a regular basis, they might as well just hand the game to the Cavaliers. Cavaliers’ Keys to Victory Get LeBron to maintain recent play - LeBron started off the season poorly, but against the Mavs and Bulls he returned to his usual self. After his 41 point performance on Wednesday, LeBron will be looking to go from strength to strength, and I think Indiana provides a perfect opportunity to really make a statement to the rest of the League. Maintain good defence - the Cavs have conceded just 89 points per game this season, and that's not because they have simply played poor teams; they have come up against the Celtics, Hornets, Mavs, Bulls and Bobcats, so there's been some pretty strong opponents. If they can keep up their solid defence, the Pacers will really struggle tonight, and the Cavs might get a relaxed win just as they did against the Bobcats. Shoot better - the Cavs have not been a good shooting team for a while now, but they need to improve on their 41% from the floor (32% from three) if they are truly to be considered as contenders. Prediction The Cavs and Pacers have met 20 times since LeBron entered the League in 2003. The Cavs have won 12, and average 96.4 points per game, whilst the Pacers have won 8 and average 94.5 points. LeBron James has not missed a game against the Pacers (though has returned from injury against them) and has scored at least 25 points against them in each of the last 9 meetings (bar the game where he played off the bench in a return from injury). He averages 25.7 points, 7.1 boards and 6.1 assists against the Pacers. The Cavs have looked very strong in their past two performances, and should be able to maintain a similar level tonight. If they can, I just can't see the Pacers challenging them tonight. 84-96
