Cleveland Cavaliers (46-30) @ New Orleans Hornets(37-39)
Where: Oklahoma City
When: Monday, April 10th, 2006
8:00pm ET
Radio : WTAM 1100
Television: FxOh, COX
Head Coaches
Mike Brown / Byron Scott
Probable Staters
Eric Snow / Chris Paul
Ronald Murray / Rasual Butler
LeBron James / Linton Johnson
Drew Gooden / David West
Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Marc Jackson
Cleveland Cavaliers Bench
Damon Jones/Larry Hughes/Sasha Pavlovic/Donyell Marshall/Anderson Varejao
New Orleans Bench
Speedy Claxton/Kirk Snyder/Desmond Mason/Aaron Williams/PJ Brown
Game Notes
* The Cavaliers have won 10 of 11 games and have defeated the Hornets six straight times.
* Hornets have improved on their 18-64 finish from last season, and have won 5 of their last 7.
* Whilst the Cavalier's have wrapped up their playoff position and home court advantage, the Hornets are battling uphill to make the playoffs. With six games remainding the Hornets sit equal with the Jazz in 9th spot, chasing the Sacramento Kings and the Lakers who are tied 2 1/2 games ahead.
* Cleveland should welcome back center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to have their entire roster available.
* New Orleans also have a clean bill of health.
Karma's Thoughts
* Circumstances for these two teams could not be any more different heading into this clash. New Orleans are desperate, fighting for a playoff spot which looks just out of reach after being smashed by an NBA contender. The Cavalier's are in great spirits after clinching a home playoff seed with a rousing away win over the New Jersey Nets.
* New Orleans use an intruiging rotation. Linton Johnson, Rasual Butler and Marc Jackson start over more fancied team mates. Veteran PJ Brown, Cavalier killer Speedy Claxton, and talented swingmen Desmond Mason and Kirk Snyder give the Hornets a potent bench. The Cavaliers counter with a sweet shooting combination of Jones and Marshall, returning star player Larry Hughes and energetic big man Anderson Varejao. The Hornets are looking for their bench guys to get the better of the Cavalier's 2nd unit as their starting 5 looks a little outmatched.
* Complacency is an issue for the Cavalier's after such an emotional win. Having secured the 4th seed, Cleveland have little to play for. The Hornets are a pesky team that can take advantage if taken too lightly and with so much at stake, New Orleans will be tough to top.
* The Cavaliers have a noted weakness. Defending quick point guards has been a head ache. Eric Snow is a tough defender, but he is best suited defending bigger guards. Damon Jones has seen defense before but never played it. Alarm bells start ringing as Chris Paul and Speedy Claxton are kinda known for having a tad bit of athletisism. How Cleveland cope with this mismatch will have a large bearing on the result.
* LeBron James will be rubbing his hands together at the prospect of Linton Johnson III attempting to stop his dominate play. Look for Desmond Mason to be brought in early in a vein attempt at stopping the Cavs phenominom.
* The Hornets will be hoping to see Ilgauskas rested for one more game. Veteran bigs Marc Jackson and PJ Brown are solid players but dont have the tools to match Big Z. However both are capable of knocking down 3/4 range jumpers which are hard to stop off penetration form Paul and Speedy. If Zydrunas rests again, livewire Anderson Varejao steps in and gives the Cavaliers are more uptempo feel.
Overview
Hard to pick anything but a Cavalier win with a recent run of spectacular wins highlighted with a brilliant display down the strecth against the streaking Nets. The Hornets on the other hand were smacked by Dallas in their last meeting and seem unlikely to threaten the Lakers and Kings for a playoff seed. New Orleans though have surprised many this season and at home will be tough.
Cavaliers take this one lead again by LeBron James on his mission to not only to take Cleveland through the playoffs, but again stake his claim for NBA's MVP award.
