SB Nation - J.J. Hickson

Preview: Cavaliers at Kings

Ziller — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:00:52 -0000

More photos » by Gary Dineen - NBAE/Getty Images

THE OPPONENT

The Cavaliers are really good, a popular pick for NBA champion the last, what?, four years or so. The team sits at 21-8, just 4th in the East but probably 5th in the entire league. This is a really, really good team. It was, this week, the first to beat the Suns in Phoenix, and is working toward its mammoth Christmas showdown against the L*kers.

Cleveland bakes its bread in several key categories: it is fourth in the league in shooting, second in shooting defense and second in defensive rebounding. That, frankly, spells a bit of doom for our Kings, who need to shoot well (currently 7th) and rebound on offense (currently 6th) to get that offense humming -- you'd prefer if the Cavs did other defensive things well. One nice feature of this arrangement is that Cleveland isn't good at forcing turnovers (committing turnovers being a major Kings problem); however, it's plausible the Kings don't need the opponent forcing any turnovers, because they can force themselves to commit them just fine.

The huge problem, as it always is with the Kings, is on defense. Again, the Cavaliers shoot brilliantly, with almost every rotation player boasting an effective field goal percentage above league average. (Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West are the exceptions.) LeBron James is of course the amazing Alpha -- know that he is remarkably shooting at a 50 percent clip from the field. Add in his threes (4-1/2 per game at 37 percent) and free throws (nine at 79 percent) and, yes, he is at a remarkable 60 percent True Shooting, Kevin Martin territory while soaking up 34 percent of the Cavs offense while on the floor. Remarkable is just the beginning.

Beyond James, Mo Williams shoots brilliantly, Anthony Parker has been effective, and even Jamario Moon and J.J. Hickson have come up roses. That's a lot of Cavs to cover, and the Kings have a dearth of quality defenders. That's a problem. Expect, perhaps, some early zone, buckets of help on LeBron, and pray for luck.

THE KEY BATTLE

Tyreke Evans vs. Mo Williams. LeBron will be matching up against two and maybe three Kings at many points, so it's vital that those who aren't helping down (Evans to start, Beno at some point) make sure to limit shooters like Williams. At the other end, that's where this becomes most key: the Kings cannot afford to fall in any sort of hole to Cleveland, so Evans can't just turn it on in the second half. He needs to attack the smaller, weaker Williams early early early. LeBron will be there to help, and I suspect James will have at least one "Welcome to the league, son" weakside block, but that's no deterrent: attack, young Padowan. Attack.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
LeBron James	29	38.1	9.9	19.7	50.2	1.7	4.5	36.9	7.2	9.1	78.9	0.9	5.9	6.8	7.8	3.7	1.3	0.8	1.9	28.7
Mo Williams	29	35.6	5.8	13.0	44.2	2.2	5.1	43.9	2.8	3.1	87.9	0.3	3.0	3.3	4.8	2.4	1.4	0.2	2.8	16.5
Shaquille O`Neal	23	23.0	4.2	8.3	50.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	4.0	48.4	1.7	5.2	6.9	1.4	2.0	0.3	1.3	3.3	10.3
Anderson Varejao	27	29.9	3.3	6.5	50.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.5	2.4	64.1	2.5	5.4	7.9	1.0	0.7	1.0	0.9	3.2	8.1
Anthony Parker	29	28.7	2.7	6.0	44.3	1.6	3.2	50.0	0.5	0.7	78.9	0.4	2.3	2.7	1.7	1.0	0.8	0.2	1.7	7.4
J.J. Hickson	29	19.1	3.0	5.3	56.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.4	2.1	64.5	1.1	2.7	3.8	0.2	1.1	0.4	0.4	1.7	7.4
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	28	21.9	3.0	7.0	43.1	0.0	0.0	100.0	1.2	1.6	73.3	1.9	3.7	5.6	0.6	1.0	0.3	1.0	3.2	7.3
Delonte West	20	21.7	2.8	6.1	45.5	0.1	0.6	8.3	1.6	1.9	86.5	0.2	1.8	2.0	3.2	1.4	1.0	0.5	1.4	7.2
Daniel Gibson	27	19.7	2.5	5.3	46.5	1.4	2.9	49.4	0.6	0.9	70.8	0.2	1.1	1.3	1.1	0.6	0.6	0.0	1.7	7.0
Jamario Moon	24	18.6	2.1	4.3	48.5	0.6	1.8	34.1	0.8	0.9	85.7	0.5	3.4	4.0	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.6	1.5	5.5
Darnell Jackson	14	4.7	0.6	1.2	47.1	0.1	0.1	50.0	0.1	0.1	50.0	0.5	0.5	1.0	0.2	0.6	0.1	0.2	0.7	1.3
Danny Green	6	2.3	0.3	1.0	33.3	0.2	0.8	20.0	0.3	0.3	100.0	0.3	0.3	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.3	1.2
Jawad Williams	8	1.4	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0
Coby Karl	3	1.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.7	0.0	1.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

I'm telling you, when Jon Brockman checks in ... you may want to turn the volume down a few notches if you have a sleeping baby in the room. Evans and Ime Udoka deserve kudos for their role in the Comeback Heard 'Round the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area And Also Sacramento, but Brockman is already a mascot fan favorite of sorts, and his game actually embodies the steez of this squad. It's easy to love this kid, and Sacramento clearly does. He will be rewarded for his effort tonight.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Shaquille O'Neal will be widely booed. And not just by Spencer Hawes.

DETAILS

7PM, ladies and germs, the only late-late game on the NBA slate. Game thread at 7, sequel at 8, post-gamer at 9:45, recap on Christmas Eve.

Cavaliers sleepwalk in 102-95 loss to Mavericks in Dallas

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:07:18 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

3 days ago: Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, second from left, goes up for a shot against Dallas Mavericks defenders Josh Howard (5), Drew Gooden (90) and Tim Thomas (7) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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The NBA is a long season - filled with ups and downs. It's hard for a team to bring the same level of energy and effort every night for 82 games. For the Cavaliers that has been a struggle all season - at home and on the road - consistent effort. It happened again as the Wine and Gold, seemingly in a game-long fog, fell to the Dallas Mavericks 102-95. Perhaps even more perplexing was the Cavaliers inability to take advantage of a Dallas team missing their best player - Dirk Nowitzki - who missed the game with a gash on his elbow.

For the Cavs, it was a bit of the same. In ending their 5-game losing streak, the Cavaliers were out-shot 48%-46%. The Cavaliers did take 6 more free throws(26-20), but shot 77% while the Mavericks shot 95%. Lastly, the Cavaliers wasted a great effort by their bench. Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas combined to score 41 points, a good night for the Cavaliers most nights, only to see the Mavericks bench score 45 points.

Most disappointing was the complete lack of production from Shaquille O'Neal. In over 17 minutes, O'Neal scored 5 points on 1-7 shooting. LeBron James had an off-night shooting the ball, scoring 25 points on just 9-23. He was held without a rebound in the 1st half and totaled just 3 rebounds in the game.

As for the rest of the starters, J.J. Hickson scored 4 points and Mo Williams added 8. When 4 of your starting 5 scores just 29 points, you are not going to win many games, tonight is no exception.

No time to worry about it, as the Cavs get right back on the court tomorrow night in Phoenix. With a Christmas trip to see Kobe and the Lakers on the horizon, the Wine and Gold needs to get its head right, and fast!

Game #28 - Cleveland Cavaliers at Dallas Mavericks

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:54:10 -0000

2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	VS
19-8		20-7
December 20, 2009
Quicken Loans Arena
7:30 PM et
Radio - WTAM 1100 / TV - FSOhio HD; ESPN
Probable starters:
Jason Kidd	PG	Mo Williams
Jose Barea	SG	Anthony Parker
Shawn Marion	SF	LeBron James
Tim Thomas	PF	J.J. Hickson
Erick Dampier	C	Shaquille O'Neal

No Dirk for Dallas so no problem for the Cavaliers? Hard to say, but what is certain is the necessity for the Cavaliers to start this tough road trip on a positive note.

Injury news - The Cavaliers are healthy

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Cavaliers vs Mavericks coverage; Cavaliers vs Mavericks preview; Mavs Moneyball

Game 22: Cleveland at Oklahoma City

daddydai — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:39:41 -0000

More photos » by Joe Murphy - NBAE/Getty Images

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This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 6:00 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Fear the Sword

Backstory: But first a disclaimer.

When it comes to Thunder basketball, I am an eternal optimist. Positive thought equals positive results, right? So being unbiased is a rough task for me. After the Thunder defeated the Orlando Magic, I feel OKC proved that they can beat any team. So let's continue with the task at hand.

The Cavs added Shaq to their roster in order to "Bring the King a ring". With the extra strength inside somehow the Cavs have already tallied up seven losses. Not to mention losses to teams that the Thunder have already defeated (Washington & Memphis). So should we be encouraged? I'd say yes. Plus we all know that KD and the boys like to step up to the top teams in the league.

Of course Cleveland has plenty of bigs that can contend with our paltry front court. So expect Krispy to jump start his jump shot in hopes to pull the Shaq away from the basket. Cleveland also has a nice outside game that OKC has to be aware of. Expect some nice cuts to the basket by Williams and Lebron. In order for the Thunder to pull this one off shots have to fall and rebounds must be collected.

Since, I'm always bouncing about the internet here are a few more thoughts about the game:

Cavs Hit the Road, Travel to OKC | King James Gospel | A Cleveland Cavs Blog
Cleveland’s starting shooting guard Anthony Parker played basketball in Israel for Macabbi Tel Aviv before entering the NBA and is very accustomed to the celebrations of Hanukkah. And AP comes out hot right from the opening tip. Parker picks up four of LeBron’s seven first quarter assists and pours in 12 early points to lead the Cavs to an early 14 point lead. Cleveland withstands a late second quarter run by the Thunder and goes into the locker room with an eight point advantage, 54 – 46.

The King takes matters into his own hands to start the third quarter and pours in 8 consecutive points and finished the quarter with a game-high 27. After sitting the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, James checks back in with his team

clinging to a four point lead. Kevin Durant tries to steal the King’s throne but LeBron matches him point-for-point. Jeff Green cans two from long distance in the last two minutes and the Cavs trail by 2 with 11 seconds.

LeBron takes the inbound pass from Delonte West and dribbles to his right. Anderson Varejao levels Green on a screen but LeBron runs out of room at the foul line. He swings out to Mo who feeds Parker with a touch pass in the corner. And Anthony Parker celebrates day three of Hanukkah with a game winning tre. Cavs win 103-102.

Cavaliers-Thunder Preview - STATS Senior Writer - NBA - Sporting News
The Thunder are three games over .500 for the first time since 2004-05, when the team was based in Seattle and finished 52-30. Oklahoma City, the second-youngest team in the NBA, has reached 12 wins after needing 50 games to accomplish that feat last season. "They have a very, very good young (group) of basketball players that love to play the game of basketball," James said. "We are looking forward to the challenge. It is going to be a good road test for us against a young, explosive team in their home building, and we have to come out with the same fire we did in the second half (Friday)."

Star Power: Comparisons grow between Kevin Durant and LeBron James | NewsOK.com
At first glance, it’s easy to think LeBron James and Kevin Durant aren’t in the same league. Simply suggesting the two players are seemed silly this summer when the connection first gained steam. Durant’s Thunder was coming off a shameful 23-win season. James’ Cavs, meanwhile, were fresh off yet another deep playoff run. But the comparison now seems credible as the two meet for the first time this season tonight inside the Ford Center. Durant, in his third season, is blossoming into the star many projected him to become and has his Thunder off to a surprising 12-9 start. Durant also ranks fourth in the league in scoring, sitting .1 point ahead of James.

Cavs (16-7)	Matchups	Thunder (12-9)
Mo Williams Some people call me Maurice	Point Guard Tonight's point guard match up will be overlooked since we will have a superstar match up on our hands. Williams is 44% from beyond the arc. Westbrook shoots 66% from three-land while facing Cleveland. One important note, Mo often leaves the ball handling responsibility to LeBron. Slight Advantage: Thunder	Russell Westbrook The Constant Evolver

Anthony Parker Not Tony	Shooting Guard Parker is a legitimate threat with the 3-ball. He has shot over 50% this season. Thabo can contain Parker, but Thabo will likely be spending time helping guard LeBron. Just how much time Thabo spends with James will determine the result of this match up. Advantage: Thunder	Thabo Sefolosha Swiss Army Defender

Bron Bron The King	Small Forward Here it is! The match up we all waited for. The summer long discussions of who is better will be re-sparked if KD can hold his own against Cleveland's Dancing Queen. Unfortunately LeBron is much quicker and stronger than Durant. Advantage: Cavs	Kevin Durant The Kid

J.J. Hickson Ze Son of Hick	Power Forward Hickson's rebounding average is only 3.8 rebounds per game. Green should us this to his advantage, even though Green isn't a rebounding machine himself. Who ever wins this match up will decide the game. Advantage: Thunder	Jeff Green Green Energy

Shaquille O'Neil The Big Question	Center So the Vanilla Gorilla poked Shaq in the eye, and the Big Whateva is listed as questionable. Either way, I don't see Krstic winning against anyone from the Cav's front court. Perhaps Thomas will get minutes tonight? Advantage: Cavs	Nenad Krstic Mr. Comb Over

Anderson Varejao Curly Fries	Bench & Role Players Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison will face off against Curly Fries and Nosferatu (better known as Varejao and Ilgauskas). While Lucky Harden and Shaun Livingston will compete against the really athletic Jamario Moon and gun-toting Delonte West. If Harden's shots fall we will be fine, otherwise I'm expecting Moon to defy gravity. Advantage: Cavs	James Harden Wonder Beard

Mike Brown Former COY	Coach I could be completely wrong, but I believe LeBron won Brown's coach of the year. Brooks on the other hand has done a great job harnessing the Thunder. Oh yeah, don't forget the Thunder also have Mo Cheeks and Ron Adams helping from the bench. Advantage: Thunder	Scott Brooks Next COY
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
	Injuries Shaq might be out with a poked eye. Daniel Gibson injured his finger in Battier's jersey the other night. Of course Leon Powe, Kyle Weaver, and Kevin Ollie are out of commission for awhile.
	Intangibles If the Thunder keep this game close, LeBron will likely wear himself out. Can Sefolosha's defense and Collison's rebounding keep this game close? Will Westbrook maintain his composure?
	Prediction Expected a very energetic game from both teams. In the long run the Cavs will dominate the game with dribble penetration, while the Thunder will rely on mid-range shooting. Prediction: Cavs 98 - Thunder 93

Poll

Who will win tonight's game?

Oklahoma City Thunder

16 votes

Cleveland Cavaliers

13 votes

29 votes | Poll has closed

Orlando Magic News for December 3rd: Magic Have Few Complaints After Winning 9 of Last 10 Games

Ben Q Rock — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

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Create-a-caption: This Magic moment
Orlando Magic guard Anthony Johnson and Vince Carter have a laugh in Ball Don't Lie's latest C-a-C contest. Their mood in the photo is reflective of the team's as a whole, if the subsequent links in this news post are any indication.
I love my team!!!
Magic center Dwight Howard is quite happy with the way his team has played lately, as he writes in today's blog post:

My main job as a captain was to make sure that we get better every day as a team. And I just feel like now that we’re doing that. We just want to make sure we peak at the right time. We’re taking all the right steps in the right direction to become a great team. But like I tell everybody, everything we do starts on the defensive end of the floor. The last eight games have been very good defensively and we’ve done a good job of taking care of every detail.
It’s all coming together for us
Rashard Lewis agrees with Howard about the team beginning to jell. Here, he writes about the shooting groove he got into against the New York Knicks last night, in which he scored 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including 4-of-4 on three-pointers:

That was just one of those zones that shooters get in sometimes. I was hoping the ball would come to me every time down the court because my shot was really feeling good. I had a really good rhythm going and it’s almost like guys were looking to me to shoot the ball because they knew I had my stroke going.
NBA's Top 50 Players: All-Star Panel Picks Kobe Bryant No. 1 Over LeBron James
I wonder if Howard and Lewis would be so happy if they knew only 2 Magic players were selected in The Sporting News' list of the NBA's best players. Howard (4th overall) and Vince Carter (30th) are the only ones to appear on the list.
Road trips haven't been a problem for the Magic
Then again, the Magic might appreciate the extra motivation. They relish being disrespected, as Tania Ganguli writes, which might contribute to their success on the road.
Denton: Magic-Knicks Postgame Analysis
John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com draws comparisons between Magic players of different eras in recapping last night's win over New York, in which Orlando wore its black throwback uniforms.

The Magic wore the jerseys modeled after the ones Orlando donned in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And if you squinted just right, Howard looked like Shaquille O’Neal dominating the paint and Lewis and Pietrus resembled Dennis Scott and Nick Anderson raining in 3-pointers.
J.J. Hickson among supporting players to emerge this season
Mark Montieth of Sports Illustrated writes that Ryan Anderson has proven to be a key role-player in the NBA this season.

Ryan Anderson, Orlando. Most people didn't pay much attention when he was tossed into the deal that brought Vince Carter to the Magic from New Jersey. They should have. After a solid rookie season with the Nets, when he averaged 7.4 points, the 6-foot-10 forward is averaging 10.9 points and hitting 38.7 percent of his three-pointers. Carter has provided a major upgrade at shooting guard, and Anderson has helped make the loss of Hedo Turkoglu go virtually unnoticed, putting the Magic in position to reach the Finals again.

To which former Magic player would you compare Anderson? Resist the temptation to respond, "Pat Garrity." Please.

Game Preview - Phoenix Suns vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Mike Lisboa — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:11:43 -0000

Amar'e Stoudemire must start AND FINISH with his gorilla game for the Suns to have a chance in Cleveland tonight. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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Hopefully the Suns can make like Alando Tucker and wash the icky residue of last night's loss to the Knicks off their hands before mixing it up with the Cavaliers in Cleveland tonight.

The Suns head into Cleveland 2-1 with a chance at salvaging a winning record on this eastern road swing before coming home to face the Kings on Saturday. Last night the Suns came out flat on both ends of the court and despite rallying to get within 6, never recovered offensively or defensively.

So, which Suns team will show up tonight? The 14-3 power rankings darlings or that group of zombies that took the court in New York last night.

The Cavaliers come into tonight's game riding a 4 game winning streak, including a 16-point thumping of the Mavericks on Saturday. That's right: Saturday. In addition to being at home, Lebron and company have 3 days of rest. For their part, after taking most of yesterday's game off, the Suns should be plenty rested as well *rimshot*.

Match-ups

Guards

At the point, we have Steve Nash going up against Mo Williams. On paper, this would seem to be a clear advantage for the Suns, but last season Mo torched the Suns for 30 points in their meeting in Phoenix and 44 in Cleveland (Nash missed this game with an injury). Off the bench, it's Daniel Gibson vs. Goran Dragic. While Boobie is capable of getting hot, in 8 games this year, he's only averaging 6.8 point per game. If Dragic can bounce back from a terrible performance in New York, they should basically cancel each other out.

I thought it was the 30-somethings that were supposed to struggle with back-to-backs? Jason Richardson has been a key ingredient to the Suns potent offense this year, averaging 17.4 points per game, good for 2nd on the team behind Amare Stoudemire. However on the 2nd night of back-to-backs, all of J-Rich's offensive numbers have taken a hit: -7.7% on FG%, -4.9% on 3PT%, -32.1% on FT% (yipes!), and -6.1 PPG. There's no reason he shouldn't reverse that trend against Anthony Parker (and you thought the Suns had cornered the market on lesser siblings! He has to play in the shadow of his sister Candace.) and he'll have to if the Suns want to win this one.

Off the bench at the 2, it will be interesting to see who the Suns go with in Barbosa's absence. After pouring it in (14 points on 4-7 shooting), Alando Tucker may have earned some increased minutes. Equally mysterious is who the Cavs will bring off their bench behind Parker. After seeing limited use thus far this season due to personal and health reasons, Delonte West played a season-high 29 minutes against the Mavs, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 boards.

Forwards

Grant Hill will have his hands full with LeBron James. If he and Jared Dudley can combine to keep LBJ around his averages, the Suns will probably consider that a success. I don't think anyone has any illusions of stopping him.

Off the bench, Jamario Moon is something of a Matrix-Lite, so he and Jared Dudley will engage in some kind of sideshow hustle competition.

At power forward, the Suns have what should be their clearest advantage, offensively at least. Amare Stoudemire needs to bring his vaunted Gorilla Game to exploit Cleveland's tandem of Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson. If he can stay out of foul trouble, look for Amare to log heavy minutes and heap piles of offensive abuse on the Cavs while not having to worry too much about being challenged on the other end. Except for rebounds.

Center

Here's where line-up and strategy will come into some serious play. It's entirely possible the Cavs elect to send Varejao and Hickson out on Frye at the perimeter, keeping Shaquille O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the lane to defend Amare on the pick and roll. If that's the case, look for Amare to log heavy minutes and heap piles of offensive abuse on the Cavs. (See what I did there?)

Defensively, Channing Frye doesn't have the bulk to keep up with Shaq in the post and the Cavs will probably go to this mis-match early and often, much like the Lakers did with Andrew Bynum earlier in the season against the Suns.

Robin Lopez will probably get some early minutes on the defensive end to see if he can help stop the bleeding in the paint against the much larger Shaq. Robin vs. Shaq has the potential to be explosive as Robin looks to heap some punishment on the The Big Mentor who rode his Fuzzy-head pretty hard last season.

Of course, that's just wishful thinking. Shaq will destroy Robin given the chance.

Predictions

Offensively, the Suns will look to spread the floor against the Cavs using their dead-eye shooting (which hopefully they bring with them tonight) to exploit the lack of speed of the Cavs big men. If his shot his falling, Channing Frye could have a career night. Similarly, if the Cavaliers lumbering bigs stay at home on Stoudemire, he and Nash should have a field day running the pick and roll till the cows come home.

Defensively, the Suns will have to find a way to limit Cleveland's opportunities in the paint AND contain the speedy Williams AND contain LeBron James. If the Lopez and Frye struggle with Shaq, look for Jarron Collins to come in and provide 6 additional fouls against O'Neal. I'm pretty sure Robin will use his up fairly quickly.

In a perfect world, the Suns draw the Cavaliers into an up-tempo shoot-out, regain their accuracy and out-run the Cavs. For their part, Cleveland and their 8th ranked defense (100.6 points per 100 possessions) will look to keep things slow as molasses (7th slowest pace in the NBA), bogging the Suns down in a half-court game. Look for them to pound it inside and run plenty of isolations for LeBron James. Like, 70 of them.

While I think the Suns will come out more focused than they did last night in New York, I don't see them winning this game. They'll keep it close in the first half, but their porous defense will be their undoing as the game wears on.

Final score 105-93, Cavs.

Suns vs Cavaliers coverage

Suns vs Cavaliers preview

Fear The Sword

Orlando Magic 104, Toronto Raptors 96

Ben Q Rock — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:27:42 -0000

More photos » by Darren Calabrese - AP

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After a slow start that saw them trail by as many as 11 points, the Orlando Magic battled back on the road against the Toronto Raptors to win 104-96, for their fifth consecutive victory. Vince Carter's jumper just before the third-period buzzer knotted the game at 76, and the Magic's second unit started the final period on a 17-6 run to take control of the game. Carter, the reviled former Raptor, led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-24 shooting while also contributing 8 rebounds and 2 assists. J.J. Redick scored 19 points off Orlando's bench, with four three-pointers, and came up big in the fourth period. Chris Bosh paced Toronto with 22 points, as usual, but the Magic held him in check; he had averaged 30 points per game against them in their last 10 meetings.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	88	118.5	46.4%	32.5	28.6	8.0
Raptors	87	110.7	48.1%	28.6	20.0	10.4
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

The spotlight always shines a bit brighter on Carter when he visits the Raptors, and looking at the boxscore it might be tempting to say he wilted today, with another inefficient game. I don't think that's fair, given how he played. He got to wherever he wanted on the floor with relative ease, and in the early going, he made the basket his destination. Unfortunately, he struggled to finish after absorbing contact, even missing two dunks. In the second half, perhaps irritated by the contact the officials were letting go, he turned his game more toward the perimeter. It worked. He shot 7-of-13 in the second half overall, scoring 18 points, with just 1 attempt at the basket; he also drew four free throws. For whatever reason, he was simply more comfortable from mid-range. The Magic should at least be happy that he tore through the Raptors' defense with relative ease, even if his finishing left a lot to be desired.

As well as he played--we can't discount those 8 rebounds--he was arguably the Magic's second-best shooting guard today. Redick was the star off the bench, lighting the Raptors up just as he did three weeks ago, when he scored 27 starting in Carter's place. With the game tied after three periods, Redick led the Magic's surge at the beginning of the fourth to take control. He shot 3-of-4 for 7 points, and assisted on 3 other field goals, thus accounting for 15 of the Magic's 28 points in the period. The Raptors' poor defense did him a favor by continuing to go under screens set for him, allowing J.J. to shoot uncontested much of the time. Interesting that coach Stan Van Gundy made Redick, and not starting point guard Jason Williams, the playmaker down the stretch. It's a move that paid off, though.

Dwight Howard continued to struggle offensively, in part due to Bosh's surprisingly good defense and in part due to his receiving a beating down low. Lots of off-line flings at the rim after getting hit for Howard, but it really didn't matter too much. He was still active on the offensive boards, as 5 of his game-high 12 rebounds came on that end. He's improved as a passer, finding Redick in the opposite corner for a three-pointer after one of those rebounds.

Really, the story of the day was the Magic's secondary players filling in well for the stars. Rashard Lewis was set to have a big game, but could not stay out of foul trouble. In his place, Ryan Anderson scored 8 points on 2-of-6 shooting, all from beyond the arc. Lewis missed all of his three-point attempts, but made up for it by driving to the basket or pulling up from mid-range if his defender bought his head-fakes.

Williams, too, made an impact. He played Jose Calderon, who is at his very best a borderline All-Star, to a draw: Williams scored 16, grabbed 5 rebounds, and tallied 3 assists with no turnovers; Calderon also scored 16, with 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 turnovers. Williams' 34-year-old legs didn't betray him, sinking two three-pointers in the fourth quarter despite playing 39 minutes, his highest total since logging 42 minutes against Charlotte in March 2008. His to more-or-less matching Calderon in a game in which the Magic's top players struggled to score efficiently proved to be huge.

The biggest cause for concern here isn't the offense. Carter, Howard, and Lewis will all come around. But nobody the Magic had seemed to be able to contain reserve ~~pogo-stick~~ power forward Amir Johnson, who contributed 14 points and 8 rebounds in 29 minutes. Defensively, he altered shots inside, and drew a charge on Howard. Offensively, the Magic didn't have an answer. He can't create his own offense, but relies on missed shots and his teammates' passing savvy to get him buckets. Orlando continued to lose track of him, on both backboards and in transition, and he nearly won the Raptors the game today. In the waning minutes of the third quarter, Johnson scored 9 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, just by running the floor and being active; he even out-leaped Howard for a few of those boards. The East has plenty of these sorts of players--J.J. Hickson of Cleveland comes to mind, as does Josh Smith of Atlanta--and the Magic cannot go through the whole season letting them get whatever they want. Lewis is the Magic's best defender at power forward, but he's not athletic enough to keep up with them; look no further than his futile attempt to avoid fouling Johnson after a head-fake late in the fourth quarter today for evidence. If Brandon Bass, who earned his second consecutive did not play-coach's decision today, can prove he has both the athleticism and the awareness to stick with the more athletic power forwards of the East, he could carve his way back into the rotation.

Overall, it's great for Orlando to win its 5th straight, especially on the road in a particularly hostile environment. It played hard and executed on both ends of the floor. Had the Magic managed to keep a body on Johnson throughout the game, and had Howard been able to avoid early foul trouble, they would have won this one much more easily. They get two days off before a difficult stretch this Thanksgiving weekend, in which they'll play 4 games in 5 nights in 4 different cities.

Cavs toy with Knicks 100-91

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:48:28 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Kmonicek - AP

about 1 month ago: Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) moves the ball around New York Knicks' Jared Jeffries (20) during the first period of an NBA basketball game Friday, Nov. 6, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

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LeBron James travels to Madison Square Garden just once this season. Ever the showman, LeBron wanted to make sure he gave the fans of the home-town Knicks something to remember - and something to hope for. James was nearly flawless - as were his Cavaliers teammates - in a 40-point first quarter pacing the Cavaliers to a 100-91 beating of the New York Knicks.

James 19 point start to the game was filled with everything that makes LeBron so special - drives to the basket, long-range jumpshots, no-look passes and lock down defense. The Cavs shot over 75% for the quarter and the games was never really in doubt again. James finished with 33 on 12-17 shooting. He added 8 rebounds and 9 assists as well.

Mike Brown, in an effort to revitalize the Cavaliers bench, started J.J. Hickson alongside Shaq. Hickson played just 6 minutes, however, scoring 6 points. By having Anderson Varejao coming off the bench, the Cavaliers were able to maintain their energy level. In fact, Delonte West, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Varejao all came in at teh same time around the 6-minute mark of the first quarter. All 5 started for the Cavaliers in 2008-09 and it was amazing how quickly the team seemed to pick up right where it left off.

The rest of the game was filled with bad defense, poor shot selection and seemed to be a complete version of how NOT to play basketball.

Anthony Parker played closer to what he should - 22 minutes - splitting time evenly with Delonte West. While West scored just 3 points, and Parker 7, the true difference between the two is in the +/-. In a game the Cavaliers led by double-digits almost the entire way, Parker managed to break even. West was a solid +18. Figure that one out.

It was also nice to see the return of Z. Gone was the twin-tower experiment - at least for one game - and this allowed Z to find a comfort zone, especially offensively. After going 0-9 last night against the Bulls, Z bounced back with a 9 point, 11 rebound game - his finest of the season in my opinion.

For the Knicks it was the same ole' same ole. I still can see now justifyable reason LeBron would want to play for the Knicks. If winning is all that matters, as LeBron says it is, then the Knicks would be last on my list.

David Lee was high-man for New York scoring 21 points with 6 rebounds. Old friend Larry Hughes finished with 18 while Danilo Gallinari added 17.

A win is a win and this game falls right into that. The Cavaliers now get a few days off to get some of these issues handled. They had better, because a trip through Florida awaits, with Orlando on Wednesday and Miami on Thursday.

GO CAVS!

Cavaliers vs Knicks coverage , Cavaliers vs Knicks preview , Posting and Toasting

Cavaliers waive 3, roster set at 15

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:12:24 -0000

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced today that they have waived guards Andre Barrett and Russell Robinson and center Darryl Watkins. Barrett played in four games during the preseason, averaging 5.8 points and 4.3 assists in 17.5 minutes per game while Robinson played in five games (one start) and averaged 6.4 points and 2.4 assists in 20.0 minutes per game. Watkins appeared in four games and totaled two points, eight rebounds and one block in 28 minutes played.

The Cavaliers roster now stands at 15 -

NO PLAYER POS HGT WGT

1 Daniel Gibson G 6-2 200

14 Danny Green G/F 6-6 210

21 J.J. Hickson F 6-9 242

11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas C 7-3 260

00 Darnell Jackson F 6-9 253

23 LeBron James F 6-8 250

5 Coby Karl G 6-5 215

15 Jamario Moon F 6-8 205

33 Shaquille O’Neal C 7-1 325

18 Anthony Parker G/F 6-6 210

44 Leon Powe F 6-8 240

17 Anderson Varejao F/C 6-11 260

13 Delonte West G 6-3 190

31 Jawad Williams F 6-9 220

2 Mo Williams G 6-1 195

2009/10 NBA Blogger Preview - Cleveland Cavaliers

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:58:21 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

2 months ago: Cleveland Cavaliers' Shaquille O'Neal, left, and LeBron James laugh in the fourth quarter of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Bobcats, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 92-87. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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Each year the fine folks at Celtics Blog head up a Season Preview of each team, written by team bloggers. They then present these previews one division at a time. So far, we have seen previews for the Atlantic Division and the Southwest Division. Now comes the Central's turn - due to be released tomorrow. Before that, however, I needed to give my thoughts on the buring questions surrounding the Wine and Gold heading into the season. Check it out!

1. What significant moves were made during the off-season?

I guess it is safe to say the Cavaliers made the biggest move of the off-season - literally. Shaquille O'Neal is a big man and a big personality. The question will be if there is enough room on the floor and shots in a game to keep Shaq, LeBron, Mo Williams and others happy. I believe this team has the character for it not to become a problem - and seeing a few Pre-Season games it appears everyone is going to be completely happy. Should the Cavaliers start losing, well, then there could be problems. I, for one, think the Shaq acquisition was the perfect move for the Cavaliers to make. There is something to having a lot of talent, but that expereince is a huge positive as well. Shaw will also take some of the spotlight off LeBron which isn't a bad thing.

There were other moves, though none got all the attention that Shaq did. Orlando exposed a huge weakness the Cavaliers roster had - length on the perimeter. Mo Williams and Delonte West are both undersized. This, of course, can be camouflaged during the season because, A) most teams don't have the players to expose the Cavs, and B) LeBron makes up for most vulnerabilities. Orlando, on the other hand, did have the players and LeBron could make up for Hedo, and Rashard Lewis, and Pietrus. The Magic simply had too much length.

In steps Anthony Parker(6-6) and Jemario Moon(6-8). Both guys add significant length to the defense and more spot-up jump-shooting from the outside. Now the Cavaliers can matchup much better in the post with Shaq and on the outside with LeBron, Parker and Moon.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

LeBron James. Seriously. The reigning MVP would be the strength to any team he plays on so we have to start there. It isn't the only strength, however. The Cavaliers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA< and that was when they were undersized in the back-court. Now that they can matchup with bigger, 'longer' teams they could be even better defensively this season than they were a year ago.

The Cavs are also a deep unit, especially up front with Shaq, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao. Darnell Jackson provides some muscle, while J.J. Hickson is on his way to being a premier low-post scoring threat.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

Back-court depth. What was considered a strength just a few weeks ago must be considered a weakness with the uncertainty surrounding Delonte West. In a perfect world, West would be the starting SG, with Moon, Parker, LeBron et al shuffling around the 2 and 3 spots. The Cavaliers could go small, with James at the 4, or go big with James at the 2 and Moon at the 3. West is also the Cavaliers best option at PG behind Mo Williams.

Without West, the team has been forced to start Anthony Parker. He can do the job, no doubt, but it significantly weakens the bench. It also means that Daniel Gibson is once again forced to play the point, a position he isn't very comfortable with. There isn't any real timetable on West's return, but the hope is still he comes back full strength, both physically and mentally.

4. What are the goals for this team?

Easy - Win the NBA Championship. Anything else for this group would be considered a letdown. I don't know if winning the title, or not winning it, will have any affect on what LeBron James does next summer, but this group was put together to win this season.

5. Things a non-Cavs fan might not know.

At one point last season, the Cavaliers had both of Utah's 2003 Draft picks - Sasha Pavlovic(1st Round) and Mo Williams(2nd Round)

Predicted Record: 63-19, Win the NBA Championship. If I don't believe, who will, right?

Poll

How do you think the Cavs will finish in 2009?

Win NBA Championship

428 votes

Win Conference Finals

90 votes

Lose Conference Finals

133 votes

Other

37 votes

688 votes | Poll has closed

SB Nation - J.J. Hickson

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Center

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How do you think the Cavs will finish in 2009?

Win NBA Championship

Win Conference Finals

Lose Conference Finals

Other