<div align="center"> vs. New Orleans Hornets (1-0) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (0-0) Date: Wednesday, November 2, 2005 Time: 7:30 PM, Eastern Time TV: CST, NBA League Pass <font color="deepskyblue">Hornets Starting Lineup</font> PG: Chris Paul SG: J.R. Smith SF: Bostjan Nachbar PF: David West C: P.J. Brown <font color="darkred">Cavaliers Starting Lineup</font> PG: Eric Snow SG: Larry Hughes SF: LeBron James PF: Drew Gooden C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas</div> <font color="darkgreen"><div align="center">Match-ups</div></font> <div align="center">Point Guard vs. Chris Paul vs. Eric Snow</div> This should be a great match-up and another test for Chris Paul. Eric Snow is a very good defender and for a young player such as Chris Paul to get valuable experience against Snow, the player Kobe dubbed as the toughest player he has to play against, he should only make him better. Paul has the speed, but Snow has the size, strength, and experience to win. <div align="center"> vs. J.R. Smith vs. Larry Hughes</div> Yet another good defender is in the backcourt. As a member of the All Defensive First Team, Hughes has the smarts to give J.R. Smith a frustrating time on the offensive end. As a young sophomore, this could lead to ill-advised decisions on the offensive end. J.R. needs to stay focused and try to help in other ways when his shot isn?t falling. <div align="center"> vs. Bostjan Nachbar vs. LeBron James</div> Wow, what a match-up. I don?t know if Mason will be inserted into the starting lineup so early, but he?ll be better suited for this match-up against LeBron ?King? James. Nachbar from what I?ve seen isn?t the greatest the defender in the world and will be that much worse against an early favorite to win the league?s MVP award. <div align="center"> vs. David West vs. Drew Gooden</div> It should be a battle on the boards with these two. West and Gooden are very aggressive rebounding the ball and should fight for anything that goes up in the air. The only thing that hurts West a bit is his size and his lack of athleticism. This is why Gooden will most likely get the nod in this match-up. <div align="center"> vs. P.J. Brown vs. Zydrunas Ilgauskas</div> The match-up at center features Big Z and P.J. Big Z has the height advantage, but Brown has the heart and will to match it. After a 20/10 games yesterday, Brown looks to follow it up with a similar effort to show the rest of the world his Hornets are for real! Big Z wants to kick off the season strong and with a win, so both team captains have something to fight for. Who will win? Prediction: The Hornets were very impressive last night and spanked the Kings 93-67. Now, all eyes are on them. Was this a fluke, or are the Hornets the 05-06 version of the Chi-town Bulls? It should be interesting watching them, but I think the Cavs, being excited about kicking off the season at home, will win this game by 11.
