This game sees the 37-40 New Jersey Nets take on the 46-32 Cleveland Cavaliers at The Quicken Loans Arena. Interestingly, this is a potential opening round playoff meeting, if the Cavs can catch the Chicago Bulls in second place in the East. It could, therefore, be an ideal opportunity for Mike Brown to trial some playoff strategies against a potential playoff opponent. <font color="#0B355E"> The Nets are still without Center Nenad Krstic after he tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament in December. Eddie House and Mile Ilic, too, are out, but their absences should be virtually insignificant. <u>PG</u> – Jason Kidd Between Kidd and Carter, the Nets will have to pick up the ground that their big men will undoubtedly lose to the Cavaliers. The two are capable, however, as they became the first pair to record triple doubles in the same game since MJ and Pippen. If Kidd can come up with a similarly all-round performance tonight, he will surely get Carter going, hence the Cavs could be in big trouble. <u>SG</u> – Vince Carter When on form, Carter is one of very few unstoppable players in the NBA. Move too close to him, and he’ll take you to the hoop. Try to foul him, and you could be staring at conceding a three point play. Step off him, and he will pull up for a three point shot. Double team him, and he can pass it away to an open teammate. He is the danger man for the Nets, and the Cavs must try to stop him somehow. <u>SF</u> – Richard Jefferson Undoubtedly, Jefferson is a very capable player, but he can’t quite compete with LeBron James’ size and physical strength. He will need to use every ounce of his body and more if he is to stop LeBron James from running away with the game. Jefferson must try to counter LeBron with very strong offensive play to try to reduce the deficit that the Nets will be in due to this matchup. Like Carter, Jefferson can score in many ways, though not to the same magnitude as the more athletic, more explosive guard. <u>PF</u> – Mikki Moore Moore is a solid player, capable of putting together some huge games, but may struggle with the rebounding prowess that Drew Gooden possesses. Moore averages just 5.6 rebounds per game to go along with 9.6 points, but he could struggle to match those averages if Gooden guards him the way that he can. Moore must use his height advantage well if he is to surpass his averages. <u>C</u> – Jason Collins Collins ought to really struggle against Ilgauskas. He attempts under two field goal attempts per game, and scores just over one third of them. He will give up 2 inches to Ilgauskas too and, in addition, only gets 4 rebounds per game. As such, Ilguaskas’ polished game should be too much for Collins to handle. <u>Nets’ Keys to winning the game</u> <ul> [*]Contain LeBron James. LeBron James will defeat any team on any night if he is allowed to. Play tough defence on him, and cut out any easy opportunities, and you have a much improved chance to defeat the Cavaliers. [*]Exploit the Cavaliers’ free throw difficulties. As has been well-documented, the Cavaliers have been shooting free throws awfully this season, making under 70% of those which they attempt. If the Nets can win the battle at the line, they will have a base for a victory tonight. [*]Ensure that both Vince Carter and Jason Kidd get going quickly and venomously. The pair are ruthless when on form, and could destroy the Cavaliers’ chances very early on. As such, it is a quintessential point that the two are on-form and firing on all cylinders tonight. [/list] </font> <font color="#B94056"> The Cavs have had a slightly unstable recent run of performances, as they are 5-5 in their past 10 games, despite having an 8 game winning streak in March which was, surprisingly, halted by the Charlotte Bobcats. Fortunately for the Cavs, though, they have no major injury worries, though LeBron James will still be noted as a caution by the Cavs staff due to the tendonitis that has bothered his knee recently. <u>PG</u> – Larry Hughes At long last for the Cavaliers, Larry Hughes has finally undergone a season which has not been overshadowed by lengthy spells on the sidelines due to injury. Yes, he has missed 12 games, but is on course for his first 70-game season since 2002, and just the third of his career. He is playing solid, but not fantastic, basketball for the Cavs this season, averaging 14.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and a sub-par 1.3 steals. <u>SG</u> – Aleksandar ‘Sasha’ Pavlovic Pavlovic has had a highly interesting and promising season for the Cavaliers. He started the season playing garbage time, never getting the chance to shine. However, when LeBron James went down with injury, Coach Brown looked to him to take up some of the slack. And was not disappointed, as he averaged 15 points per game across seven games. Since then he has been a solid producer, and his average of 8.6 points is unrepresentative of this, as his playing time was vastly increased after the mid-point of the season. <u>SF</u> – LeBron James What is there to say that hasn’t already been said over and over again about the King? Free throw difficulties? Check, but he is improving. Fatigue from playing for Team USA in the Summer? Check, but he is still performing. Points drop from last season? Check, but he is gaining better shot selection, as is proven by his 27.5 points per game, on 47% shooting. All these things are true and fair, but there are some missing facts. He is capable of winning a game for his time on any given night. He has played more minutes than any other player this season, despite missing some games through injury. On a downside, he has just one triple double this season. Nevertheless, he is capable of anything – that is for sure. Expect the Nets to utilise double teams against LeBron, and for LeBron to find the open man (most likely Pavlovic or Hughes) for an open jumpshot. <u>PF</u> – Drew Gooden As ever, Drew Gooden has had a solid season for the Cavaliers, as a double-double threat night in night out, with 25 this season, as well as numerous near double doubles. He is unlikely to score too many in a game, but his astounding offensive rebounding ability (he lies at #4 in the League, ahead of players such as Amar Stoudemire, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan) provides the Cavs with vital second chance opportunites, and that alone is worth approximately 7 points per game. Expect a solid performance, possibly a doube double, from Gooden, but not too much extra. <u>C</u> – Zydrunas Ilgauskas Like Gooden, Ilgauskas is a fantastic offensive rebounder, and a major reason why they are the number 1 offensive rebounding team in the NBA, averaging 12.7 per game. Unlike Gooden, Ilgauskas is capable of taking over a game with very precise mid-range shooting as well as a highly polished low-post game. He is averaging 12 and 7, but is certainly capable of a 25 point, 14 rebound game if he has a strong advantage in his matchup. <u>Cavaliers’ Keys to winning the game</u> <ul> [*]Play through Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The Nets are still without Nenad Krstic and as such are weak in the low-post, with Jason Collins starting. He is a capable player, but Ilgauskas should be capable of having a big game if they take advantage of the matchup. [*]Crash the offensive boards. One of the Cavaliers’ best attributes is their offensive rebounding prowess, and they must prove this each game by crashing the boards. The Nets are good at preventing offensive boards, but could well crumble due to the Cavaliers’ ability. If so, the Cavs will get a lot of second chance opportunities, and should be worth more or less 20 points. [*]Contain Vince Carter. VC is highly capable of scoring 50 in any game, but can get frustrated if defended well. If this happens, he will not make as many spectacular plays. If he is defended loosely, however, he could demolish the Cavs in a single quarter. [/list] </font> <u>Prediction</u> Since 2003, the Nets and Cavs have met 13 times. The Cavaliers have won 5 games, averaging 95.5 points per game, whilst the Nets have won 8 games averaging 100.5 points per game. LeBron James averages 26.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists against the Nets. It should no doubt be an fascinating game, as games between the two often are, as arguably the League’s best duo go head to head with arguably the League’s best player. <font color="#0B355E">94</font>-<font color="#B94056">99</font>
My prediction: NJ-123 Cle-72 Lebron gets injured and is out for the season after blowing a dunk, landing funny and blowing out his knee.
<div class="quote_poster">XSV Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">My prediction: NJ-123 Cle-72 Lebron gets injured and is out for the season after blowing a dunk, landing funny and blowing out his knee.</div> wtf? anyway go NJ
<div class="quote_poster">XSV Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">My prediction: NJ-123 Cle-72 Lebron gets injured and is out for the season after blowing a dunk, landing funny and blowing out his knee.</div> wow...do you hate lebron? Anyway.. Nice win for the Cavs.
<div class="quote_poster">The Legend Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">wow...do you hate lebron? </div> Sarcasm.
