Heat @ Cavaliers Preview <div align="center"> <font color="Red">Miami Heat</font> (19-26) @ <font color="DarkRed">Cleveland Cavaliers</font> (16-28)</div> Wednesday, January 28th, 7:00 pm Eastern Gund Arena, Cleveland, OH TV: FSOhio, NBALP Vegas Line: Check tomorrow Season Series: Cavaliers 0, Heat 1 Wednesday, November 12th, Cavs 83 @ Heat 88 Previous Game Magic 98 @ Cavaliers 99 Rockets 81 @ Heat 95 Last 10 Games Cleveland: 5-5 (Won 2) Miami: 4-6 (Won 3) Head Coaches Paul Silas/ Stan Van Gundy Probable Starters Jeff McInnis/Rafer Alston LeBron James/Eddie Jones Eric Williams/Caron Butler Ira Newble/Lamar Odom Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Malik Allen 6th Men Dajuan Wagner/Udonis Haslem Injury Update Cavaliers Jason Kapono Carlos Boozer - funeral Heat Jerome Beasley Samaki Walker Brian Grant <div align="center">Players To Watch Dajuan Wagner/Lamar Odom Wagner: 18.0 points, 8 3PTM, .423 FG%, .93 FT%* Odom: 16.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists</div> <font size="1">*Wagner's last 4 games</font> Fast Facts The Heat beat the Cavs on November 12th to get their first win of the season, snapping a 7 game losing streak. Keys To The Game <u>Cavaliers</u> Keep Odom off the glass, bang him Get Ilgauskas involved early and POUND that thin/small front line Don't give Eddie Jones any open looks from 3, stay on him Attack the basket, make freethrows, run the floor don't turn the ball over <u>Heat</u> Run the floor on both ends Spread the floor, try and get Jones open looks from deep Keep a body on Carlos Boozer, keep him off the glass Must attack the basket Isolate Odom on Boozer early, try and draw some fouls The King's Take What a huge game this is! The Heat are just ahead of the Cavs in the standings, so this game is VERY important to both teams. The Heat have played well since losing 4 in a row by winning their last 3 (NY, NJ, and Hou) so they appear to be a very hot team at the moment. The Heat however are just 6-19 on the road (13-7 at home) while the Cavs are 12-9 at home. I expect a close one, and I won't lean either way to tell ya the truth. The cavs are the best rebounding team in the NBA and the Heat have a very thin/small team that won't stand a chance against us on the glass, so the Heat's shooting will be important. <font color="Red">Edit</font>: With no Grant, I'll say Cavs by 5 <font size="1">Please visit NBA.com</font>
Ahh...nice preveiw, I think D Wags continues to be huge, he will go for 15 in this game, Lebron will have a decent game, and the Cavs will take this one by 5
The Heat is very undersized in the post. But Brian Grant is a monster on the boards. If we keep him off the offensive glass, Cavs should have a great shot of winning this.
I admit people, this game has me very nervous/excited. No doubt we got to pass Miami if we want to think about the playoffs. I believe the Knicks will remain in, but the Raptors are sliding out as we speak. It's time to step it up, what a huge game this will be.
It's possible this game will mark the return of Dwyane Wade.He is expected back this week,wednesday might be the game.
Game tomorrow people, let's get some more opinions. Wade stands a chance of playing I hear, but still have no official word.
Key matchup in my eyes is going to be Odom vs Boozer. Odom is obviously more offensive minded than Boozer is, but as of late Booz has been taking control of the paint scoring wise. It will be a good matchup to see how these to play out. Odom grabs boards with his length and Booz uses strength. Same goes with the Z and Grant matchup. Only its the othe way around. Post play will tell us who has the advantage on Wednesday night. As for LeBron's 2nd game back since injury, we need him to spark it up here. He has been sitting out for a week and a half and its about due time for a great game from him. I want to see a 20 7-5 game from Brizzle. And finally, lets see some consistant offense coming from Wagner. If he keeps it up, mabey Silias will consider a lineup change. Who knows.
Some news on Wade and Brian Grant <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Miami Heat rookie guard Dwyane Wade, sidelined since Dec. 30 with a bruised wrist, will likely be activated for Wednesday's game at Cleveland, coach Stan Van Gundy said Tuesday. Center Brian Grant didn't make the trip because of a bruised left knee and tendinitis in his right knee. The Heat expect him to miss only one game</div> Press Release So this means no Brian Grant Good news for the Cavs,one less body inside.
No Brian Grant eh? That is a HUGE loss for the Heat who will have made trouble defending the post and rebounding. I say an early gameplan is to attack Lamar Odom early, isolate who ever is on him every time and attack the basket to try and get him in foul trouble. I'll favor the Cavs in this one by 5+ now, Jones still scares me because he is an outside threat.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Mr_Infante:</div><div class="quote_post">That leaves a big hole in the post for Z. Great news for the Cavs.</div> I wish, Z has not had a big game in a while. I would kill for a 20+ effort from him. In fact I will state this.... Z scores over 20 Cavs win.
I say Z gets double teamed most of the game and only puts up 15. Boozer however will get the majority of the points in the paint.
Good news for the Cavs, 76ers and Knicks both lost last night, here are the current standings. 8: Knicks 20-27 9: Heat 19-26 10: 76ers 19-26 11: Cavs 16-28 Cavs are 2-0 against the Knicks, 3-0 against the 76ers, and 0-1 againt the Heat. See why this is a huge game tonight! With a win the Cavs will be right smack in the middle of the playoff race for the 8th seed!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting King James:</div><div class="quote_post"> 8: Knicks 20-27 9: Heat 19-26 10: 76ers 19-26 11: Cavs 16-28 See why this is a huge game tonight! With a win the Cavs will be right smack in the middle of the playoff race for the 8th seed!</div> Miami is only 1 game behind the Knicks. Man, Knicks should beat their next oppenents fast. Cavs are still four game behind the knicks, so sixers, heat, and knicks will have to lose 4 games in a row and Cavs will have to win 4 games in a row for the cavs to get the 8th seed. Next four games: Miami, Milwaukee,Washington, and Detroit. It's gonna be tough for the Cavs to fight for that last spot in the East. <font color="Red">Please use the "Edit" feature - KJ</font>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ming637:</div><div class="quote_post">Cavs are still four game behind the knicks, so sixers, heat, and knicks will have to lose 4 games in a row and Cavs will have to win 4 games in a row for the cavs to get the 8th seed. Next four games: Miami, Milwaukee,Washington, and Detroit. It's gonna be tough for the Cavs to fight for that last spot in the East.</div> People...again... When looking at the standings you look at the losses, not the wins. Learn something.
I'm going to be partial to the Heat in this one. I think it's safe to say that Rafer Alston is going to really outplay McInnis tonight, so unless LeBron plays some point guard again tonight, there could be some issues tonight. Odom is a monster on the glass, but no one else really is, so rebounding will also be a serious issue. Either way, yes, this is an important game. Personally, I wanna see the Heat win this. I'll take the Heat by 5.
Just to be more clear, the Cavs are only 2.5 games behind the Knicks for the 8th seed plus we own some tie breakers.
