Cleveland Cavaliers (18-10) @ Milwaukee Bucks (16-11)
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Time: 8.00pm
TV: NBA-TV, WUAB
Radio: WTAM 1100
Location: Bradley Center
Head Coaches
Mike Brown / Terry Stotts
Probable Staters
Eric Snow / Maurice Williams
Larry Hughes / Michael Redd
LeBron James / Bobby Simmons
Drew Gooden / Andrew Bogut
Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Jamaal Magloire
Cleveland Cavaliers Bench
Damon Jones/Luke Jackson/Ira Newble/Donyell Marshall/Alan Henderson
Milwaukee Bucks
Jermaine Jackson/Jiri Welsch/Toni Kukoc/Dan Gadzuric/Ervin Johnson
Karma's Game Notes
* Milwaukee will be without starting point guard TJ Ford and forward Joe Smith. For the Cavalier's, Anderson Varejao remains out, whilst swingmen Aleksandar Pavlovic nurses an ankle injury.
* The Bucks won the 1st game of the series at Milwaukee 111-106 despite LeBron James poasting a mammoth 53 points and Ilgauskas contributing 20. Milwaukee were lead by Ford, Bogut and Redd.
* The Cavalier's have the 2nd best record in the East with a 18-10 record, 6 games out of first, whilst the Bucks before their Monday clash with Chicago sit a further 1 1/2 games back at 16-11.
* With Ford injured, Milwaukee play with just one point guard, Maurice Williams.
* The Cavaliers are winners 7 of their past 8 games, however still struggle on the road. Despite having an 18-10 record, the Cavs are yet to defeat an above 0.500 team on their turf.
Karma's Keys
* The battle of the boards. Both team poccess weapons on the offensive glass, so whoever controls this facet is likely to come up trumps.
* Milwaukee will rely on their perimeter players to fire up against a team that struggles defending the perimeter shot. Detroit failed in this area against the Cavalier's and ultimately paid the price.
* Cleveland conversly will look early on to gain control with their post offense featuring Ilgauskas primarily on the block and James mixing it up inside and out.
Player Watch
Maurice Williams : With TJ Ford out for 2 to 3 weeks, 6th man candidate Williams will take on a larger role. Mo's current form is very impressive and will need to be contained from the perimeter.
Larry Hughes : Milwaukee will be resigned to allowing James and Ilgauskas their fair share of points. However when the Cavalier's are rolling they usually have their 3rd core man Larry Hughes in motion.
Prediction
Cleveland have had there worries on the road and I expect them to continue in Milwaukee. However I see a tight game that Milwaukee wins with 1 too many outside looks being burried by Williams, Redd and Simmons.
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