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RECORDS
Cavs: 28-22 (2nd in Central, 4th in Eastern Conference)
Magic: 32-20 (1st in Southeast, 3rd in Eastern Conference)
Monday, February 11, 2008
7:00 PM ET
INSIDE
IN STEAMY ORLANDO, FL
HEAD COACHES
Mike Brown | Stan Van Gundy
Because of our many injuries, Ferry was forced to sign some 10 day contracts
POINT GUARDS
R2D2 | Jameer Nelson
SHOOTING GUARDS
Garbage Can | Maurice Evans
SMALL FORWARDS
LeBron James | Hedo Turkoglu
POWER FORWARDS
Robert Goulet | Rashard Lewis
CENTERS
Wacky Wavy Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Guy| Dwight Howard
Cavaliers Rotation
DJ | D. Brown| Gibson | Dwayne
Wizards Rotation
Cook | Dooling | Bogans | Foyle
Cavalier Notes
COMING SOON...
Magic Notes
The Magic set to play their fourth straight game at home as defending Eastern Conference Champion the Cleveland Cavaliers and superstar LeBron James visit Amway Arena Monday night.
The game features the Eastern Conference's third and fourth place teams with the 32-20 Magic hosting the short-handed 28-22 Cavaliers.
The Cavs will be without the services of four key players in power forward Drew Gooden, shooting guard Sasha Pavlovic, point guard Daniel Gibson, and forward/center Anderson Varajeo.
Despite all the injuries, the Cavs have managed to keep pace and hold onto the fourth spot in the Conference thanks to the MVP-like play of small forward LeBron James.
James, who will start along side Magic center Dwight Howard in the All-Star game this Sunday, is leading the league in scoring at 30.1 points to go along with 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists per night.
Helping James has been nine-year veteran Zydrunas Ilgauskas who has averaged 13.9 rebounds and a team-high 9.7 rebounds.
Rebounding is a strength for the Cavaliers who rank fifth in team rebounding (44.2) and second in rebound differential (+ 3.14).
The two teams last met in a mid November contest at Cleveland with the Magic outlasting the Cavs in a 117-116 overtime victory.
In that game, Dwight Howard led the Magic with 35 points and 16 rebounds as LeBron James posted a triple-double (39 points, 13 rebounds, 14 assists) in the losing effort.
Howard and the Magic will seek to duplicate that performance as they face Conference foe Cleveland Monday night.
MAGIC INJURY REPORT
James Augustine – Day-to-day, flu-like symptoms
Tony Battie – Out, torn rotator cuff, left shoulder – underwent successful surgery on Oct. 24; will likely miss the entire season.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT:
Feb. 11 vs. Cleveland (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 34-33 all-time vs. Cleveland (21-12 at home, 13-21 on the road) during the regular season, including 1-0 this season (see recap below)…The Magic went 2-1 last season against the Cavaliers...The Magic have won four of the last five matchups, but lost seven of the last 11 meetings in the series…Orlando has won 10 of the last 13 games played at home, but lost six of the last eight at Cleveland...Tony Battie spent the last 50 games of the 2003-04 season with Cleveland…Assistant Coach Brendan Malone served as head coach of the Cavaliers for the final 18 games of the 2004-05 season, after serving as an assistant coach…His son, Michael, is currently an assistant coach for the Cavs…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Cleveland, see p. 241 of the media guide…Nov. 14 @ Cleveland – Magic 117, Cavaliers 116 (OT): Dwight Howard tallied a career-high-tying 35 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots, as Orlando edged Cleveland, 117-116 in overtime at Quicken Loans Arena. Howard converted a pair of free throws with 5.8 seconds left to help seal the victory and was 13-of-16 from the charity stripe. Six Magic players scored in double figures, including Jameer Nelson, who had 21 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Rashard Lewis added 20 points. LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 39 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds. James hit three free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining in regulation to force the extra session. Leading 117-116, the Magic had to make a defensive stand on the final possession. Hedo Turkoglu tied up James as he drove to the basket, forcing a jump ball call and sealing the win for Orlando.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. CAVS: 41 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Orlando, 12-25-03)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 39 pts., LeBron James (@ Cleveland, 11-14-07)
Game Preview
In a loss to the Orlando Magic in November, LeBron James was virtually unstoppable for the Cleveland Cavaliers before getting tied up in overtime. In his last game, however, he was done contributing after just three quarters.
James, who had one of his best performances of the season against the Magic, looks to help the Cavaliers bounce back from a disappointing effort as the teams continue their season series Monday night.
James finished with 39 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds in Cleveland's 117-116 overtime loss to Orlando (32-20) on Nov. 14, but couldn't get off a shot when it mattered most.
Driving down the lane in the final seconds of OT, James was tied up by Magic swingman Hedo Turkoglu for a game-ending jump ball. James won the jump, but the ball was tipped out of bounds.
On Sunday night, meanwhile, James didn't even get to play in the fourth quarter of a 113-83 loss to Denver. The Cavs (28-22) trailed by 11 after one quarter, 18 at halftime and 26 by the end of the third.
At the end of that period, James took a seat at the far end of Cleveland's bench while coach Mike Brown held a huddle before the fourth quarter began. The All-Star forward, averaging 30.1 points, finished with 30 despite sitting out the final quarter, when the Cavs fell behind by 37 and emptied their bench.
"We know we can play better," James said. "It was one game. That's something we can fix."
Cleveland has lost two of three after winning 13 of its previous 16. The Cavaliers had been playing well despite mounting injuries, but being short-handed seems to be wearing them down.
Starting forward Drew Gooden has missed three straight games with a strained right groin, and reserve guard Daniel Gibson -- the team's top long-range shooter -- has been sidelined the last two contests because of a strained hamstring. The Cavs also has been without swingman Sasha Pavlovic (sprained foot) the past nine games.
Additionally, center Zydrunas Ilgauskas was forced to spend the final 12 minutes of Sunday's game getting treatment for back spasms. Even if the 7-foot-3 veteran is healthy, Cleveland will have a hard time stopping Orlando All-Star center Dwight Howard.
Howard had 35 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks in November's matchup with the Cavs. He had 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, but did not block a shot for just the third time this season as the Magic lost 117-113.
Orlando lost for the second time in its last three games despite shooting 75 percent from the field and scoring a franchise-record 44 points in the first quarter. The Magic had to shuffle their lineup when Howard and Turkoglu got into early foul trouble.
Turkoglu finished with 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting. But the eighth-year pro is having a career season, teaming with Howard to make Orlando a top contender in the Eastern Conference.
Turkoglu is averaging career highs of 19.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
"I think he's always had great ability -- he's been one of the most versatile guys in this league since he's come in," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "You would always see flashes of great play, games where he would put it all together. This is the longest period of time that he's ever done it."
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=280211019
CCF's Dancer Section - Meet your Magic Beauties!!!
I bet our new center and power forward play better defense than Drew.
