_amon _ones
Needa Beer?
- Joined
- May 25, 2007
- Messages
- 1,652
- Reaction score
- 775
- Points
- 113
RECORDS
Cavs: 40-31 (2nd in Central, 4th in Eastern Conference)
Hornets: 48-21 (1st in Southwest, 1st in Western Conference)
AT
INSIDE
HEAD COACHES
Mike Brown | Byron Scott
Cavs Starting 5
Delonte |Pavlovic | James|Wild Thing|Zadrunas
vs.
Paul|Mo Pete |Stojakovic| Da West | Chandler
Hornets Starting 5
Cavaliers Rotation
Devin | Wally World| Smith | DJ
Cavaliers Bench
DW | Allred
Cavaliers Injuries
Boobie | E Snow | Big Ben
· Daniel Gibson (Left Ankle Sprain; Deep Bone Bruise) is day-to-day...as of now...he could be in uniform if he wakes up without pain.
· Eric Snow (Left Knee) is out.
· Ben Wallace (Back Spasms) is out.
Hornets Rotation
Bonzi | Pargo | Ely | Wright
Hornets Bench
Andersen | Bowen | James | Armstrong | Butler
Hornets Injuries
Peterson
· Morris Peterson (Bruised Left Shoulder) is questionable...but still listed as the starter, at this point.Bonzi | Pargo | Ely | Wright
Hornets Bench
Andersen | Bowen | James | Armstrong | Butler
Hornets Injuries
Peterson
Cavaliers Notes
·LAST MEETING: 12/29/2007 Cleveland 76, Hornets 86 @ NOLA
·LeBron James led the Cavs with 21 points and 6 assists in the las meeting.
·Z led the Cavs rebounding attack with 12 and added 14 points, while Gooden added 10 points and 10 rebounds and AV had 9 rebs. The Cavs out rebounded the Hornets 48-39.
·LeBron James passed Brad Daugherty as the Cavs all-time leading scorer at the age of 23 in the game against the Raptors on 3/21/2008, his 380th. He now has 10,443 for his career.
·LeBron has now had 48 straight games of 20 or more points.
·The Cavaliers have won a season-high nine straight games at The Q. That marks their longest home winning streak since the team closed the 2005-06 season with 11 straight wins at home. During Cleveland’s current home streak, opponents have averaged just 85.5 points on .420 shooting. The Cavaliers held 7 of the 9 opponents under 90 points, including the last two to 73 (Detroit, on 39.7% shooting) and 83 (Toronto, on 39.7% shooting).
·In the first meeting, the Cavs failed to score more than 20 points in 3 of the 4 quarters(18 24 15 19) and shot only 39% from the floor.
·This will be Joe Tait's 3000th Cavs broadcast.
·Through 65 games this season, LeBron James has averaged 30.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. Oscar Robertson is the only player in NBA history to average at least those numbers in a season when he averaged 31.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game in 1963-64.
·In 12 games during the month of March, LeBron James has averaged 33.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game.
Hornets Notes
·Cleveland leads the all-time series 39-33.
·David West led the assault on the Pacers in Tuesday's game scoring 35 and adding 16 rebounds and 3 steals. Chris Paul added 31 points, 14 assists, and 3 steals.
·David West dominated the Cavs, with game highs of 27 points and 15 rebounds in the December 29th meeting.
·Chris Paul added 20 points, while dishing 9 assists and snatching 7 steals.
·The Hornets bench only scored 9 points in the last meeting.
·Chris Paul is tied with Steve Nash for the league lead in APG at 11.2.
·Chris Paul leads the league in steals with 2.71 per game.
·Tyson Chandler is 4th in the NBA with 12.3 rpg. David West chips in with 9.1 rpg.
·Four of the five Hornets starters are averaging at least 34.5 minutes per game, and all five have played in at least 62 of the 68 games.(This stat, along with a lack of experience, will explain why the Hornets are destined for a 1st round exit in the playoffs...mark my words).
_amon's Keys to the Game
·Play more up-tempo. The Hornets depth is a question mark, as Scott never plays them. In the game against the Pacers, they scored only 17 of the 114 points...and that was with one starter (Mo Pete) scoring 0 points. He was the only starter who didn't play at least 35 minutes. They played 5 off the bench, but only 2 saw significant minutes (Wells, Wright)...and that was only because Peterson played 12 minutes in the game. This team should be downright tired, and letting Delonte push the tempo early, with LBJ and AV starting, should help put New Orleans on their heels early and often.
·Play the Hornets extra physical. This basically goes with key #1. The Hornets are a good all around team. They are the 5th best team defensively in the NBA in points given up per game at 95.1, and 5th in point differential at +5.4. But, this is all on the starters. They should be worn down from a game against the Pacers that was close until the final 5 minutes. They should also be worn down from the extreme playing time that the first five is racking up...almost 35 minutes per game...each. Playing them very physical could widen the gap early. It might be a good time to even use DW and Allred just to bang around the Hornets frontcourt some more. This should be a brutal 2nd game of a back to back for a team that needs a breather. Let's hope Mr. Potatohead agrees.
_amon's Prediction
Cavs 98, Hornets 94
Cavs 98, Hornets 94
·The Cavs have a few things going for them. First, it's a home game, where they've been dominant. The Cavs are 24-10 at the Q, winning the last 9 in a row by an average of 9.3 points. Second, the Hornets are coming in for the 2nd game of a road-road back-to-back after defeating Indiana 114-106. 4 of the 5 starters played at least 35 minutes, with Chris Paul, David West, and Peja Stojakovic all playing 40+. Finally, the Cavs seem to play to the level of their competition, and the Hornets are tied for the top spot in the West. The Hornets are hurting in depth, though, with no reserve averaging more than 19 mpg. The Cavs take this one, as the Hornets starters run out of gas.
Obligatory Cavs Girls Shots
This picture deserves to be here. Everytime. Period.
This picture deserves to be here. Everytime. Period.
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