GAME 44 | Cavs @ Magic | Jan. 29, 2009 | 8 PM

[djlofi]

The Starters

The Bench Bunch

Magic Starters

Magic Bench

<table cellpadding=5 border=1><Tr><td>Anthony Johnson</td><td>Mickael Pietrus</td><td>Keith Bogans</td><td>Tony Battie</td><td>Marcin Gortat</td></tr>
<tr><td>Adonal Foyle</td><td>Mike Wilks</td><td>Brian Cook</td><td>JJ Redick</td><td></td></tr>
</table>

INJURIES

For the Cavs:
Delonte West
Eric Snow

For the Magic:
none​

KEYS TO THE GAME

SHOWDOWN IN OTOWN: Mike Brown wasn't pleased with the win against Sacramento on Tuesday and for good reason. The Cavs usually stellar defense gave up a lot of points at home to a team that shoots well (but doesn't do much else well). That simply cannot be the case against the Magic.

This game probably carries the same significance as ones against Boston and LA. Orlando is an elite team that can shoot the lights out of the gym and has a superstar inside in Dwight Howard. This is the team that -- matchup-wise -- can best stand toe to toe with the Cavs and probably gives the Cavs the most trouble. They have tall, assassin-accurate shooters in Rashard Lewis and Hedo, a quick guard that can get to the paint in Jameer Nelson and some nice wings that add to that punch in Pietrus and Cortney Lee.

Thursday night is going to have the electricity of a playoff game and the Cavs will be in hostile territory. This is a statement game for the Cavs.

BOTTLE THE MAGIC: The Magic are going to take about 25-30 3-point shots a game, so the Cavs defense needs to play solid perimeter D, while also taking into account Dwight Howard's presence inside, which without a 100% Z is a huge advantage in the Magic's favor. I think Mike Brown will focus on Jameer Nelson and force him into double teams and bad decisions much like the way the Cavs played Rajon Rondo in the playoffs last year.

The Magic have to take tough contested shots tomorrow. The problem is that Rashard Lewis proves to be a matchup problem for the Cavs. He can take Ben out of the paint; if you put AV on him, you have a bad matchup with Ben and Dwight Howard. I'm intrigued to see what Mike Brown does. I assume he will have LeBron take turns guarding Rashard and Hedo, as well as trotting out a quicker lineup with Kinsey, Wally and Sasha taking turns covering those two.

KRYPTONITE: During the West Coast trip LeBron began to fall in love with his jumper, which proved to be the difference in a lot of those games. However, James has to attack Dwight Howard and make him work on the defensive end. He cannot settle for jumpers. Beyond Howard, the Magic are thin up front. If you can get a few fouls on Howard, especially early, you can limit his effectiveness. LeBron has to get to the line and take at least 10 free throws tomorrow.

ROLE PLAYING GAMES: The Cavs bench showed its depth in the last week and a half. Tarence Kinsey is showing lots of energy on the court. Sasha has been playing like 07-playoff run Sasha. Wally's been shooting well and grabbing boards (not to mention doling out high fives). Boobie showed that he can score points in bunches when he scored nine quick ones in the 4th after playing ineffective basketball for four other quarters. JJ Hickson is really starting to come into his own. All of these guys need to step it up tomorrow. LeBron and Mo will have the troops ready, and getting Z back may be a nice boost. But these guys have to play Cavaliers basketball for 48 minutes tomorrow if the expect to come out of Orlando with the win.

Z DOUBTFUL: The Cavaliers have listed Zydrunas Ilgauskas as doubtful, meaning there's only about a 25 percent chance he will play against the Magic. Ilgauskas, out since Dec. 30 with a sprained left ankle, will travel with the team. Ilgauskas went though a full practice on Wednesday, his second this week, but did not speak with reporters after practice. Courtesy the PD. Thanks to Wine and Gold for bringing it to my attention.

JAM OF THE NIGHT
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Cause I need some Preemo beats, and because the Cavs are going to be puttin' in work tomorrow.

 

[Da_James_Gang]

Nice Job with the game thread.

Gonna be a big game tomorrow, hopefully the defense shows up and we stay home on the shooters.

 

[wuck]

If Z plays, it will make the rotations a lot easier to deal with. If not, being able to match up Wallace on Howard (1 on 1 for as long as he can handle it or until Howard proves Wallace can't deal with him) and AV on Lewis is better than some teams can do against Orlando on the defensive end of the court. I would rather Wallace bother Howard a little with strength than AV with height. Neither is the answer, but not many teams have an answer for Howard. Maybe AV can get under his skin or front him occasionally if the perimeter defense is really strong, but Howard is just too strong for AV.

Whatever they do, there are some problems, of course.

If there's foul trouble or fatigue, you may end up with a lot of Wally/Hickson on Lewis. Against Howard, Lorenzen might last for 4 minutes in there. Jackson less. Maybe you to go a zone for awhile even if it makes Mike Brown nuts. Don't be predictable with the double teams.

The other problem is that Orlando brings size off the bench, too, with Battie and Gortat, both listed at 6" 11". So there are going to be some size mismatches throughout the game no matter what the Cavs do.

However the active list shakes out, it should be good. Cavs need to stay at home on the 3-pointer shooters, team rebound, make the Magic feel the defensive pressure, and get some standout performances on offense. Wait as long as possible in the game to zone, or mix coverages. I would just hate to see the Cavs start out doubling on Howard but rather would like to see them remain unpredictable if possible.

Best way to deal with Howard, of course, is to get him into foul trouble, as djlofi mentioned.

 

[SanduskyCav]

good preview, just looks a little odd that our starters have big pictures and their starters have the same pictures as our bench. kind of looks like their starters are their bench. Looks good thought!

 

[JJ Smooth]

Great preview djlofi.

It's all going to boil down to defense here. As you've stated we need to guard the perimeter, making the Magic take those contested 3s. Live by the 3, die by the 3 they say, I'm just hoping it's the latter here. Possibly the best way to win this game would be just to put it all on Dwight Howard's shoulders. If we play lock down D on the arc, it just leaves Howard there to score buckets. Luckily, other than his dunks Dwight isn't guranteed at shots like a Z or Gasol even. Whatever the case, I'm expecting Coach Brown to draw up a master plan for this one.

I also agree on guarding Nelson, and I'd imagine it'd be similar to how we dismantled Rondo, as in a constant rotation of defenders (big and small). Without the facilitator the Magic shooters will be in a pickle, leading to poor decisions.

 

[SoundBreaker]

Z better play.



Then sit him vs the Clippers.

 

[Maximus]

I am worried about this one...


George - yes, I'm always serious.

 

[Zog]

Put LeBron on Howard. 6'11 265 (Howard) vs. 6'9 270 (LeBron) :chuckles:

 

[The George]

stay home and ATTACK... stay home on the shooters... and LeBron needs to attack cause they have NO ONE who can handle him

gonna be a tough game short handed especially if Z sits out but we can do it if we follow the game pla laid out by djlofi

gonna be a fun one to watch...im amped up

 

[camakazee]

Put LeBron on Howard. 6'11 265 (Howard) vs. 6'9 270 (LeBron) :chuckles:

Keep in mind that 265 is Howard's listed weight. Just as LeBron's is listed at 250 lbs.

While everyone is joking about putting LeBron on Howard, I'd love to see him sneak to the four and play help defense on Dwight. I really feel like he could spike a few into the first row.

 

[-Akronite-]

Not feeling good, but I'll be watching anyway...

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

I feel bad for Andy. He is gonna get destroyed. Good luck to Ben too having to run around on the perimeter with Lewis.

LeBron is going to have to have a monster game to win this one.

 

[wuck]

Let's turn things around. What is Orlando going to do about dealing with LeBron? I know Pietrus just got back from the injury, but it's still a tough assignment for him. And Turkoglu just got whistled for his first two fouls while I was typing this.

Do they sellout on LeBron and let Sasha and Mo and Gibson see if they can match them 3-pointer for 3-pointer? Do they switch on pick-and-rolls, leaving Howard or Lewis (or Courtney Lee ray to cover LeBron?

 

[blank964]

Mo is going to need to score around 20 to 25 after the performances he has put up the last couple of games to show it wasn't just hype. Hopefully the aliens from Space Jam will steal the Magic's three point shooting skills :chuckles:

I hope coach ripped the hell out of them for their defensive effort on Tuesday because defense is going to be huge in this game.

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

Let's turn things around. What is Orlando going to do about dealing with LeBron? I know Pietrus just got back from the injury, but it's still a tough assignment for him. And Turkoglu just got whistled for his first two fouls while I was typing this.

Do they sellout on LeBron and let Sasha and Mo and Gibson see if they can match them 3-pointer for 3-pointer? Do they switch on pick-and-rolls, leaving Howard or Lewis (or Courtney Lee ray to cover LeBron?

I would just let Howard guard Ben Wallace and have him stand there waiting for LeBron to drive. If we aren't draining 3s this game, our offense is really going to struggle. Howard is going to have free roam of the paint because he doesn't have to worry about Ben and Andy too much.

Z would make this a completely different game. It would take Howard out of the paint and open things up for Mo and LBJ a lot.