Game #21Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics

[Smooth]

Game #31

Cleveland Cavaliers [18-12] VS. Boston Celtics [11-19]

Wednesday, January 3st , 2007
7:00 PM ET
Radio = WTAM 1100
Television = FSN Ohio [HDTV]
TD Banknorth Garden [Boston, Massachusetts]
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Head Coaches

Mike Brown | Doc Rivers


Starting Backcourt​

Point Guards​

Eric Snow | Delonte West​

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 Delonte West Scouting Report​

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West is a lefthander who has a strong outside shot, especially from midrange, and good quickness and athleticism.

He's not a natural point guard, however, as it's not his instinct to drive and dish and he doesn't push the ball well in transition. West is better in halfcourt set-ups where he can use his size to shoot over opponents, and he's a very good spot-up shooter when he plays off the ball.

West has the tools to be an outstanding defender, including the shot-blocking referenced above, but he's not quite there yet. Part of the reason he blocked so many shots was because he would get beat off the dribble and then try to size opponents up for a block from behind when they went in for the layup. While this is dramatic when it works, it's obviously not the percentage play. He'll need to improve his defensive fundamentals and get stronger.

Advantage =

Shooting Guards​

Larry Hughes | Tony Allen​

ESPN's Larry Hughes Scouting Report​

Hughes has tremendous quickness for his size and is always a threat to score off the dribble or in transition. He's a strong finisher with a knack for drawing fouls, with the free-throw line often being his primary scoring vehicle. Hughes is a weak outside shooter who shoots 28.1 percent for his career on 3-pointers, and has a big problem with shot selection. When he's going badly he'll tend to force mid-range jumpers off the dribble, a shot he doesn't shoot particularly well. He's a good dribbler who can play point guard in a pinch, but all his drives tend to produce a high turnover rate.

Hughes' high steals total from two years ago looks like a massive fluke -- it's nearly twice what he's done in any other recent season -- but he's quick in the passing lanes and has good anticipation. He likes to gamble though, and his lack of strength makes him vulnerable to bigger shooting guards who can take him in the blocks. Hughes' focus tends to be on steals rather than stops, so his help defense isn't always up to snuff either. However, his quickness makes him a hardy defender against dribble penetration.

Hughes' injuries have become an increasing worry. He's missed 88 games in the past three seasons and hasn't played a full schedule since 1999-2000. At this point, it seems prudent to assume he'll only be around for 60 games or so.

ESPN's Tony Allen Scouting Report​

Allen has a great first step that can get him to the rim, and that earns him plenty of free-throw attempts and keeps his shooting percentage high.

The problem is turnovers. All those drives into crowds create plenty of chances to knock a ball loose. Additionally, if Allen isn't the worst dribbler among NBA guards he's certainly part of the discussion. I saw him lose control twice in one game while dribbling by himself, and another time he accidentally carried the ball but the refs didn't call it.

Allen is a poor outside shooter and needs to work on this phase of the game. He's a 35.4 percent career shooter on 3-pointers, but he shoots them only when left completely unguarded. His poor shooting and ballhandling also keep his usage rate down, as he doesn't create as many shots as you'd expect for a player this quick.

Defensively, Allen wasn't as good last year as he was as a rookie, but as the knee heals he should be back to his old self. Though a bit undersized for a shooting guard, Allen has great quickness and leaping ability, fast hands and solid fundamentals. Even last year, Boston was 3.9 points per 100 possessions better with Allen on the floor.

Advantage =

Starting Frontcourt​

Small Forwards​

LeBron James | Wally Szczerbiak​

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 Wally Szczerbiak Scouting Report​

Szczerbiak was a much more complete player than in previous seasons, with his revved-up effort playing a role in the Timberwolves' defensive improvement.

Szczerbiak was extremely active in help defense and taking charges, which made it easier to live with his well-documented difficulties in one-on-one defense. He's very slow laterally and easily beaten off the dribble, although his strength makes him difficult to post up. Overall, he wasn't great, but he wasn't a liability, and that's a big improvement from the past.

He also showed a strong floor game at the offensive end, passing more often and cutting his Turnover Ratio. He's never been much of a dribbler but seemed a bit more solid last season, and he doesn't need to do much off the bounce because his shot is so deadly.

Szczerbiak is lethal on inbounds plays under the basket, using his strength to push free from a scrum near the block and race to the left corner for a catch and shoot. It was uncanny how often he scored this way -- seemingly twice a game every time I saw him.

He's also great at posting up smaller guards 15 feet from the hoop and shooting right over them without ever needing to dribble. He'll often use a series of jab fakes to set up his jumper. The jabs rarely end up with him taking a dribble, but get his defender off balance enough that he can rise up for the jumper.

Advantage =

Power Forwards​

Drew Gooden | Ryan Gomes​

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 Ryan Gomes Scouting Report​

Gomes is undersized but has an amazing nose for the ball, especially on the offensive glass. He also has quick hands and had an above average rate of steals. However, he gets in trouble when opponents post him up because he can't prevent opponents from shooting over him. He has enough strength to body them away from the hoop, however.

Offensively, Gomes gets himself a lot of hustle baskets, but won't really be an offensive force until he can stretch opposing defenses. He likes to shoot a midrange jumper from the baseline and he has a quick release on his shot, but will command much more respect from opposing defenses if he takes his range out to the deep corners and starts draining 3-balls. That will be an important skill as he gets older as well, since his activity around the basket is almost certain to decline.

Advantage =

Centers​

Zydrunas Ilgauskas | Al Jefferson​

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 Al Jefferson Scouting Report​

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Jefferson is a wide load on the blocks who can establish position near the basket and has a great repertoire of moves around the rim. He needs to fight harder to get position, however -- one reason his Usage Rate was so low was that he'd tend to give up if he was fronted, or if the ball didn't come to him right away. He'd do well to study how Paul Pierce pins his man so he can get the ball when it's reversed.

Additionally, Jefferson needs to learn how to read a double team. He ranked 66th among the league's 69 power forwards in Assist Ratio, and his Turnover Ratio (48th) was also too high.

Jefferson was a poor defender last season, and that's one reason why Rivers had such a quick hook with him. He often was late to make rotations and had trouble with opponents who could take him onto the perimeter. He also fouled entirely too often -- nearly once every six minutes -- and it's going to be hard for him to stay on the court for long if he doesn't cut that rate significantly.

Advantage =

Benches

Key Cavalier Bench Players

F Donyell Marshallhttp://www.nba.com/playerfile/donyell_marshall/index.html |
G Damon Jones | G Daniel Gibson | C/F Anderson Varejao

Rest Of The Bench

- G Shannon Brown
- G/F Ira Newble
- C/F Scot Pollard
- C/F Dwyane Jones​

- G/F Sasha Pavlovic

Key Cavalier Injuries​

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PF | Donyell Marshall
Donyell Marshall hurt his neck in last night’s game vs. the Spurs. As of now, it’s 50/50 on whether or not he’ll play vs. the Bucks.​

Key Boston Bench Players

G/F Gerald Green | G Sebastian Telfair
F/C Kendrick Perkins | G Rajon Rondo

Rest Of The Bench

- Leon Powe
- Michael Olowokandi
- Brain Scalabrine
- Allan Ray
- Theo Ratliff

Key Celtic Injuries​

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G/F | Paul Pierce
Pierce (stress reaction, foot) is expected to undergo an MRI sometime between Thursday and Sunday of this week, the Boston Globe reports. (Jan 1)​

Advantage =

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Smooth32's 3 Keys To Get The "V"​

1). Get it to the big man – The Celtic big man aren’t that big to begin with and aren’t the best post defenders. Getting Z and Gooden the ball down low early will be a key. If we can get them the ball, they are good enough were they can have a feast day on the big men. Kendrick Perkins is not 100% and besides him Al Jefferson, Brain Scalabrine, Ryan Gomes, Leon Powe and Michael Olowokandi are the men manning the middle.

2). Take the ball to the hole – The Celtics aren’t that good of perimeter defenders to begin with and with the Celtic big men not being the best shot-blockers, we need to take advantage of that. We have the easy height advantage out on the perimeter, so I think we can take advantage of this easily. There’s no reason why we should be settling for jumpers.

3). Transition Defense – With the Celtics going small, I’d imagine that they are going to want to push the ball instead of playing a more half-court oriented game. They don’t have that good of post scorers to begin with, so I think the run-and-gun game will be more attractive. We need to get back on defense and not allow any baskets. If we can do that, we can hold this team to under 90 points.

Prediction​

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Cavs - 102
Celtics - 95


GOCAVS !!


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Note - The scouting reports are from ESPN. So credit should be given there.

 

[cavs_playa23]

great game thread....once again

 

[The George]

must win....we have a mini roll going here lately and we dont want to ruin it with a really bad loss to Boston

no Pierce should mean an obvious win for us

 

[Karma]

Was about to do my game preview. Work was done for me.

No Paul Pierce means no excuse. Need to take these games before we head west.

No regrets.

 

[cavs_playa23]

Two words...MUST WIN

 

[PIP]

Game thread looks complete to me...

 

[cavs_playa23]

Game thread looks complete to me...

All you need to do now pip is get that milk-dud face out of your avatar and put up a hottie

 

[PIP]

All you need to do now pip is get that milk-dud face out of your avatar and put up a hottie

I'm a mod... I have to set a positive example... I used to have them up there all the time..:chuckles:

 

[Karma]

Injury Report:

Theo Ratliff (sore lower back) and Paul Pierce (left foot stress reaction) are out. Delonte West (low back spasms) and Wally Szczerbiak (right ankle sprain) are day-to-day.

 

[Maximus]

X-factors 2-nite - Pollard & Shannon Brown...book it!(yes, I'm drinking already)

Heading out for to watch Cavs and Sugar bowl. Don't lose this one bitches. See you at 3am for some extremely drunk posting.

Max, out...

 

[Karma]

After 3 minutes we are showing the effects of playing last night. I forget we are poor on back to backs. I should just accept this. Its our weakness.

 

[Rimage]

Cavs have already travelled 3 times...why hasn't Mike Brown coached these guys how to not travel?!?!?

Curse you Mike Brown...CURSE YOUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuu....

 

[Rimage]

Fred...this is not Bally's Total Fitness...stop mentioning Al Jefferson's weight loss.

 

[Karma]

Boston have no interior D. We need to kp getting it down low to Z, as well as Drew when he's out there. Boston's speedy guards are a concern.

 

[Rimage]

I just love it when FSN decides to go with the end of the court, steep camera angle.

It is like I am actually at the game and sitting in crappy seats!!!