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Philadelphia @ Cleveland

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joma

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No game thread yet so i made one. Shannon brown is starting. Game in 15
 
Re: sixers vs. cavs

shannon brown starting??? wow, cant wait to see him.
 
Game #14


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Cleveland Cavaliers [8-5] VS. Philadelphia 76’ers [5-7]

Saturday, November 25th, 2006
7:30 PM ET
Radio = WTAM 1100
Television = FSNOhio
"The Q"; Quicken Loans Arena [Cleveland, Ohio]



Head Coaches

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maurice_cheeks.jpg

Mike Brown | Maurice Cheeks


Starting Backcourt

Point Guards​



ESPN's Eric Snow Scouting Report

Snow is a very poor outside shooter -- he made one 3-pointer all year -- but in his prime he could make up for that with his ability to slash to the basket and finish. Unfortunately for the Cavs his prime was several years ago, and he no longer has the extra gear to get to the rim. Opponents leave him unguarded and dare him to shoot 15-footers; occasionally he takes them up on it.

Snow is a quality defensive player, and that ability would make an OK second stringer. He has the size, strength and quickness to handle players at either guard spot, although he's better defending the point, and he's a good help defender. The Cavs defended much better with Snow on the court last year, although that might be in part because the alternatives were so bad -- opposing point guards had a solid PER against him.

ESPN's Kevin Ollie Scouting Report​
Ollie is 6-2 and fairly strong, so he has his uses at the defensive end. Last season the Sixers would pair him with Allen Iverson in the backcourt and have Ollie defend the opposing shooting guard. He could do it competently unless he had to defend in the post, in which case his height disadvantage was a bit much to overcome.

However, offensively he's useless because he can't make a jump shot yet no longer has the quickness to get to the basket. Basically, the offense plays 4-against-5 any time he's on the court.


Advantage = TIE


Shooting Guards​


ESPN's Shannon Brown Scouting Report
Cleveland's first-round draft choice is a bit small for a shooting guard at 6-3, but the Cavs won't mind as long as he can provide the long-range shooting element that's been missing from their attack. While Brown is more "above average" than "great" from outside, he's a quality athlete who can defend and penetrate, so he's not a one-trick pony like Damon Jones. Cleveland also can get away with playing him at the point since LeBron James and Larry Hughes handle the ball so well. Brown might play sparingly at the start of the year, but expect his role to increase as he becomes familiar with NBA defense and the longer 3-point stripe.

ESPN's Allen Iverson Scouting Report​
Iverson is 31 but still one of the fastest players in the game. He seemingly can get anywhere he wants off the dribble, and it's all but a given that he'll blow by the first defender -- particularly when he goes to his right. He also has a wicked crossover he breaks out when defenders overplay his strong hand. His penetration ability allows him to create a shot at nearly any time of his choosing, making him especially useful at the end of the shot clock. Meanwhile, his speed and finishing skills make him deadly in transition.

Iverson is only 165 pounds and absorbs nightly beatings at the tail end of his frequent drives, but that hasn't slowed him down any. He has incredible stamina, capable of playing all 48 minutes and doing most of the heavy lifting on offense without appearing winded. However, he's had many nagging injuries crop up the past few seasons, and it's always a roll of the dice as to how many games he'll miss with those ailments in a given season.

His biggest weakness is his jump shot, which tends to run hot and cold. It can get him in trouble when he leans on it too much, especially from 3-point range, where Iverson is erratic at best. Despite those troubles, he's an excellent free-throw shooter, complementing his foul-drawing skills nicely.

Iverson is incredibly fast and gets tons of steals by playing passing lanes, but despite that he's a poor defensive player for a superstar. He freelances and gambles far too often to get his steals, leaving numerous openings behind him for opponents to exploit. He rarely if ever uses his quickness to get in position for charges or make plays from the help side, and his size is a major detriment when he has to defend shooting guards. The Sixers once again defended worse with Iverson on the court than off it, although the margin wasn't large (1.1 points per 100 possessions). He's also a very poor rebounder, even for his size.


Advantage =
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Starting Frontcourt

Small Forwards​


ESPN's LeBron James Scouting Report

James is a breathtaking talent who has as much straight-line speed as any player in the game despite being built like a power forward. He understands the game phenomenally well for a player his age and can be a spectacular passer, which combined with his ballhandling skill makes him capable of playing point guard -- where he creates monstrous match-up problems because of the size differential.

The scary thing is that he's about the best player in the league, and yet you get the sense he could be a lot better. For instance, James is still developing as a jump shooter. He has a nice stroke with a high arc and can comfortably fire away even with a hand in his face, but his accuracy remains middling. He started developing more of a post game last season and he should continue working on it to take better advantage of his size.

Another quibble with his offensive game is how he runs the pick-and-roll, because he tends to bring the offense grinding to a halt. Detroit exploited this beautifully in the playoffs -- when a big man shows hard on the screen, LeBron's instinct is to retreat almost to half court and then just go one-on-one with whomever is left guarding him. That breaks down any other movement going on with the play and makes the Cavs easy to defend. James is good enough that he still can score occasionally when he does this, but he needs to either split the trap on this play or get rid of the ball sooner.

James also needs more work on the defensive end. He's a decent on-ball defender, though a bit overaggressive, and nobody even bothers trying to post him up because of his size. But he has to get better from the weak side. James will play passing lanes and go for steals, but the basic help-and-recover moves are still developing.

ESPN's Andre Iguodala Scouting Report​

Iguodala is the best dunker in the league (although the history books will officially say Nate Robinson was the best in 2005-06), throwing down alley-oops from all angles with incredible force. His athleticism and strength also make him a good option in post-ups against smaller guards, although the Sixers rarely utilized this weapon.

In fact, "underutilized" might best describe Iguodala in general. With two high-usage teammates in Allen Iverson and Chris Webber, he became the forgotten man in the Sixers' attack. Somehow, Philadelphia has to make sure more opportunities flow his away, because he appears to have the ability to do substantially more.

Iguodala was different from his teammates in one important respect -- he actually played defense from time to time. He's a tremendous athlete with strength, quickness and outstanding leaping ability, and in his second season he was already well ahead of the curve defensively. The Sixers were 4.7 points per 100 possessions better on defense with Iguodala on the court, which partly reflects the dire state of the Sixers' bench but also shines a positive light on Iguodala's contributions as the team's stopper. He should only improve in this capacity as he gains experience.

Advantage =
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Power Forwards​



ESPN's Drew Gooden Scouting Report


Gooden makes for a good role player because he can score without having plays run for him. He's a quick leaper who can finish around the basket, and he has a decent mid-range jump shot despite his somewhat awkward form. He's not as adept in the post because he lacks strength and can get bodied out of the lane, but he does have a nice jump-hook move.

Defensively, Gooden's quickness makes him very good at picking up guards on switches, and he has long arms that earn him lots of deflections. He doesn't have the power to deal with some of the league's bigger power forwards, but he partly makes up for it by helping on the defensive glass. Despite his leaping ability and quickness, he's not a shot-blocker.

The biggest criticism of Gooden has been his lack of focus. Whether it's losing track of his man at the defensive end or not knowing a play on offense, Gooden has baffled coaches with his mental miscues, and that's one reason he hasn't played as many minutes as you might expect for a player with such a high PER.

ESPN's Chris Webber Scouting Report​
Webber can't move any more because of his knee, and it really shows when he has to make quick switches or run out to shooters at the defensive end. He wasn't a great defender even before the knee injury, but now he's pretty much awful. The Sixers gave up 6.1 points per 100 possessions more with Webber on the court last season, and opponents blistered him for an 18.5 PER. Making it worse is the Sixers' lack of other quality defenders, because there's nobody around capable of covering for Webber's weaknesses.

Offensively, the knee injury robbed Webber of the easy chances he used to get around the basket, leaving him dependent on the jumper and an occasional jump hook from the post. He's still as deft a passer as there is in the league from the high post, and uses numerous fakes on handoffs and two-man games to get free for his 15-footer. He's also a very gifted dribbler for his size, although that's not as of much use to him since his mobility is so compromised.

Finally, he's a very solid rebounder, taking advantage of his fantastic hands and basketball smarts to rank 18th among power forwards in rebound rate.

Advantage =
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Centers​



ESPN's Zydrunas Ilgauskas Scouting Report


Ilgauskas is one of the best post players in basketball. Though 7-3, he's fairly mobile and has range out to 17 feet. He likes to set up camp on the left block and shoot a turnaround going to either side, although of late he's added a sweeping hook shot where he dribbles right and never puts his left hand back on the ball as he goes up.

Ilgauskas is a good shot-blocker and his size makes him difficult to score against in the blocks, but he has trouble farther away from the basket. Teams try to involve him in screen-and-roll plays and take advantage of his poor lateral movement. He gives a good effort, though, and overall the Cavs defended better with him on the court last season. He's also not a good defensive rebounder -- an unusually big chunk of his boards come at the offensive end.

If I could choose one player to be on my team for a five-minute overtime, Ilgauskas might be the guy. Not because he's a great clutch player, but because he's perhaps the best jump-ball taker in the game. His height helps, but his real genius is in the art of stealing the tap without being so blatant about it that the ref calls a violation. They must teach this in Lithuania or something -- Arvydas Sabonis was great at it too.

ESPN's Samuel Dalembert Scouting Report

Dalembert has long arms and great timing for shot blocks, which in theory should make him a defensive force. In practice, he has almost no ability to distinguish between balls that are on their way up and balls that aren't, so he goaltends as much as any player in basketball.

He lacks muscle and doesn't play physically, so it's easy to push him around underneath and get rebounding position. He also loses focus and falls asleep on the weak side, which is why consecutive coaches have thrown up their hands and replaced him halfway through the season.

Finally, he fouls too often -- a little less than one every seven minutes last season -- which makes it tough to keep him on the court.

Offensively, Dalembert runs the floor very well and can spot up from 10 feet for a jumper. He'll usually finish if he makes a clean catch, although that's a big if at times. His lack of size prevents him from doing much in the post, and he's not skilled enough to do serious damage in any event.

Advantage =
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Advantage =
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smooth32's 3 Keys To Get The "V"

1). Play All 4 Quarters - If the Cavs want to have any chance at winning, they need a continuous effort throughout all 4 quarters. All of the Cavs losses have been because of a one quarter letdown. We can't afford to keep losing games/ground in the Eastern Conference. Especially games we should win.

2). Don't Fall In Love With The "J" - We must not fall in love with the 3/jumper or else the game will be the Sixers. We need to be efficient and go down low when one of our big men are hot. And for that matter, drive to the whole more and get to the line. We witnessed last night that free-throws can keep a team in the game.

3). Get Solid Bench Production - When the Cavs get solid bench production, the whole team gets a lift and it usually results in a win. Sasha Pavlovic and Donyell Marshall haven't been producing and need to step up. Daniel Gibson's more playing time should mean more production, let's just hope Mike Brown doesn't leave David Wesley and Eric Snow in the game too long.


Prediction​


Cavs - 99
Sixers - 86


GOCAVS !!


=====================================
Note - The scouting reports are from ESPN. So credit should be given there.
 
Last edited:
Re: sixers vs. cavs

Oops... Sorry, joma.. Didn't see your thread.
 
Re: sixers vs. cavs

Shannon is starting????


man if he is I am pumped....way to go Coach Brown
 
way to go witht he solid game thread Smooth on such short notice


We need to win this damn game


I heard that Shannon is starting and if he is we have made a solid step towards the future.....if not than he needs to see minutes along with Boobie


lets go Cavs!!!
 
Shannon is definatly starting and it looks like LeBron's message last night was heard loud and clear


lets go Shannon.....prove that you are deserving of these minutes....Force Mike Browns hand with good play.....we need it
 
The George said:
way to go witht he solid game thread Smooth on such short notice


We need to win this damn game


I heard that Shannon is starting and if he is we have made a solid step towards the future.....if not than he needs to see minutes along with Boobie


lets go Cavs!!!


Thanks.. I would of done it earlier, but I held up until the last moment in case lyxo submitted it late.

I put Shannon in the starting lineup..

I hope Shannon can provide us with a spark in the starting lineup/in general a la Flip Murray last year.. I just can't wait to see Shannon get some meaningful minutes...
 
if Shannon comes out and plays good tonight it forces Mike Brown to play him.....The more that he and Boobie play well the more Mike Brown HAS to play them

He needs a big game tonight not just for this game but for the future and for this season.....im pullin for him big time
 
The George said:
if Shannon comes out and plays good tonight it forces Mike Brown to play him.....The more that he and Boobie play well the more Mike Brown HAS to play them

He needs a big game tonight not just for this game but for the future and for this season.....im pullin for him big time


So am I.. It's always good to see your rooks get some playing time..

I'm just glad that Mike Brown isn't afraid to sit a veteran like David Wesley and take a risk and start Shannon Brown..
 
I also want to see if Gibson can do anything to slow down Iverson tonight


we need this win
 
Smooth32 said:
So am I.. It's always good to see your rooks get some playing time..

I'm just glad that Mike Brown isn't afraid to sit a veteran like David Wesley and take a risk and start Shannon Brown..


I really am proud of Mike Brown for making this change
 
I am completely lost with Brown's decisions. I'm ok with Shannon starting, but this is so typical of him.

Zero minutes to starting........makes no sense at the moment.
 
Looks like Shavlik Randolph is starting in the place of Chris Webber tonight.. Good thing for the Cavs.. Webber usually destroys the Cavs in general and Drew Gooden being more specific.
 
Shavlik Randolph's Scouting Report from ESPN:

Randolph is a fairly one-dimensional player at the moment, basically looking to follow Allen Iverson's penetration and see what scraps are available off the glass. He doesn't have a great post game and unless he adds a lot more strength he probably won't even score much that way, but he could be more potent offensively if he adds a midrange jump shot. Additionally, he needs to improve from the line.

Randolph surprised at the defensive end with his aggressiveness and willingness to be physical, helping to make up for modest athleticism. Though he's established himself in the league, he needs to maintain that aggressive posture and play hungry -- most of his positive plays last season came on effort. He'll turn 23 the first month of the season, so he's young enough to expand his game.
 

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