PG Jeff McInnis
ESPN's Scouting Report
McInnis is big for a point guard at 6-4 and capable of getting off midrange shots over smaller defenders. However, he's never been much of a long-range shooter and is at 33.2 percent from downtown for his career.
He's not a penetrator in terms of blowing by guys, but he's a good distributor who keeps a low turnover ratio -- that's his most endearing skill, and one that has allowed him to carve out a career as a Point Guard Who Won't Kill Us.
Defensively, McInnis has never been good. Last season, he ranked 64th among point guards in steals per minute and didn't block a shot all season, plus only eight point guards had a higher rate of fouls per minute. Though big for the position he doesn't move well laterally and is something of a slacker at that end.
The latter point hints at McInnis' other big weakness -- he's worn out his welcome in his last two stops with his attitude. If the same happens in Charlotte, the next employer to cuss him out will be doing so in a Romance language.
SG Raymond Felton
ESPN's Scouting Report
Felton's penetration skills are his primary asset. He is very quick off the dribble, can go with either hand and is effective pushing the ball in transition. He has good court vision, too, and might be able to indulge that part of his game more now that he has a few teammates who can score. While Felton has a reputation as a poor outside shooter, he's actually done decently from outside the past couple seasons. Instead, finishing at the rim has been his big problem.
Defensively, it would be nice if he were an inch or two taller, but Felton does a good job keeping opposing guards in front of him and doesn't appear to have any glaring weaknesses. Opponents rarely attacked him since some of his teammates were such easy targets, but that might change this season.
SF Jason Richardson
ESPN's Scouting Report
Richardson has a smooth outside shot with a quick release, and he elevates so well that he can get it off in close quarters. He doesn't like to shoot off the dribble nearly as much, but will pull up from long range when he goes one-on-one. While his leaping ability makes him a major threat on alley-oops and transition plays, he doesn't handle the ball well enough to get to the rim often in the half court. And despite being big for his position, Richardson has virtually no post game.
Though Richardson's defense has come a long way since his rookie year, he's still a mediocre defender. His explosive leaping comes in handy on the boards and in the occasional shot-blocking situation, but he doesn't move particularly well laterally and doesn't make many plays from the weak side.
PF Gerald Wallace
ESPN's Scouting Report
Wallace is one of the game's great ball hawks at the defensive end, with his steals and blocks often igniting a transition opportunity that results in a crowd-pleasing throwdown for him at the other end. As such, he's one of the league's most electrifying players.
However, his defensive fundamentals need a lot of work. Wallace takes some low-percentage gambles going for steals and can be beaten off the ball with shocking ease. He's still a plus in the big picture because of the blocks and boards, and he's pretty good one-on-one as well. But with a little more discipline, he could be a lot better.
Offensively, he's become very effective penetrating from about 15 feet -- he'll catch at the mid post and make a quick drive against bigger defenders, while he'll more cautiously back his way into position against the little guys. He has a cross-handed jump shot that likely always will be a liability, but last season he made enough from midrange to keep defenses honest and he's become proficient at bank shots. He has to keep improving from the line, though -- last year's 69.1 percent, poor though it was, represented a career high.
CT Emeka Okafor
ESPN's Scouting Report
One reason Okafor fared better offensively is because the Bobcats stopped making him the go-to guy. He's a reasonably effective scorer, but doesn't have the variety of moves nor the shooting skill to be The Man.
What he does have is a nice turnaround from the right block that he'll take without a dribble. He tends to travel when starting a post move, though, and his game on the blocks isn't terribly refined. He's much better at finishing what other people start, either off a feed or a put-back.
Though only 6-10, Okafor has become one of the best defensive centers in the game. He has the strength to bang in the blocks and the leaping ability to affect the shots of bigger players, but he saves his best work for the help side. Okafor is great at coming over and snuffing shot opportunities, whether by blocking a shot or rotating quickly and forcing an extra pass.
CHARLOTTE ROTATION
Nazr Mohammed (C) / Jared Dudley (F) / Matt Carroll (G) / Ryan Hollins (C)
Charlotte BENCH
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Jermaeo Davidson (F-C)
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Derek Anderson (G)
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Othella Harrington (F)
INACTIVE LIST
Sean May (F) | Status Alert: He had season ending surgery on his knee, near the beginning of the season.
Adam Morrison (G) | Status Alert:Expected to miss the entire season with a torn ACL.
PG Larry Hughes
ESPN's Scouting Report
Hughes found a new niche last season when he took over as the Cavs' starting point guard. This is strictly a ceremonial title, as LeBron James does most of the team's ballhandling, but it allowed the Cavs to play a huge backcourt of the 6-5 Hughes and the 6-7 Sasha Pavlovic and cemented what was already a strong defensive squad.
While Hughes isn't the offensive player he was in Washington, he's been better on defense. He stopped all the gambling that defined his Wizards tenure and become a much more consistent defender, with his quickness allowing him to keep up with most point guards. His foot injury was a major reason Tony Parker shredded Cleveland's defense so easily in the Finals.
Offensively, Hughes is a natural slasher but also likes to shoot jumpers from the right elbow while going to his right. Shot selection has always been an issue for him, especially regarding his wobbly jumper, and despite getting fewer attempts in Cleveland he hasn't become more accurate.
He's also started using a slow, deliberate shot fake on his jumper which acts as something of an idiot test for defenders. There's no reason to bite on the fake because getting Hughes to shoot a long J is a victory for the defense, but guys fell for it all season.
SG Sasha Pavlovic
ESPN's Scouting Report
An athletic 6-7 forward, Pavlovic can defend both wing positions and is a good finisher in transition. Defense is his best asset, as the Cavs used him as their primary stopper against high-scoring wings and he was a big factor in their fourth-rated defense.
While Pavlovic is a good leaper, he doesn't get many open-court chances because he's such a poor ballhandler, and his inability to handle also limits his ability to take slower players off the dribble in the halfcourt. He's developed a niche by cultivating his skill at shooting 3s from the wing, and since he doesn't turn 24 until early November his game has a chance to progress further from here.
SF LeBron James
ESPN's Scouting Report
One reason James often ends up trying to make a heroic shot at the end of the clock is because there is so little going on up until that point. James tends to be far too methodical when attacking defenses, often waiting several seconds to read the defense before he attacks. That tends to bring the offense to a halt and makes it easier for help defenders to collapse on him. His habit of retreating when double-teamed on the pick-and-roll only exacerbates this problem.
This is particularly noticeable when James tries to post up. Despite his imposing physique, James rarely attacks opponents on the blocks and isn't terribly effective when he does. All he does is wait for the double-team instead of making a quick move, neutralizing what should be his best tool.
Of course, other players would kill for such problems. James is an amazingly good ball handler for his size, acting as the Cavs' de facto point guard and ranking 12th among small forwards in assist ratio. He's almost impossible to stop once he gets some momentum toward the basket and, though a streaky shooter, can get his shot off over anyone. James is also a devastating finisher in transition, making it unfortunate the Cavs can't find a guard to help push the tempo more often.
Defensively, James does a poor job fighting through screens but the rest of his game has become pretty solid. He's still better at playing passing lanes than he is at making help-side plays or taking charges, and he rarely guards the opponent's top scorer. On the other hand, nobody seems particularly anxious to attack him, and he's virtually impossible to post up against.
PF Drew Gooden
ESPN's Scouting Report
Gooden's best asset isn't his scoring, but his rebounding. Despite a slender build, Gooden is a force on the glass because of his quick hops and a nose for the ball. Gooden had the sixth-best rebound rate among power forwards last season, and that was completely consistent with what he'd done the previous two campaigns.
Gooden can be a frustrating player because of his concentration lapses. He'll lose track of his man or forget a play and go the wrong way. He cemented this impression at the end of Game 5 of the Cleveland-Detroit series, when the Cavs had a four-point lead in the final seconds and you could see LeBron James screaming at Gooden during a timeout to stay on the floor. The first thing Gooden did? Take a flying leap at Rasheed Wallace while he was shooting a 3-pointer -- even though the only way Detroit could tie was by being fouled on a triple.
People tend to focus on Gooden's mental lapses, but he also makes a lot of positive plays at the defensive end. Gooden is very quick for his size and his ability to switch out on guards on screens or rotate off his man is one of the reasons the Cavs were the league's fourth-best defense last season. He's not as good in post defense, where his lack of strength becomes a factor, and he's a poor shot-blocker, but overall he's a solid defensive player.
CT Zydrunas Ilgauskas
ESPN's Scouting Report
Though the Cavs go to him less often these days, the 7-3 Ilgauskas is still a weapon in the post. He's become increasingly reliant on a sweeping one-handed hook shot going to his right, although he also has a nice touch on turnarounds going to either side.
Ilgauskas is also very dangerous on the offensive boards, where despite a lack of elevation he has an almost Rodman-like knack for tipping the ball multiple times before either possessing it or tipping it in. Along with his height, that same ability makes him very good on jump balls.
Defensively, Ilgauskas has the size to be an effective deterrent around the basket, but struggles when he is pulled farther from the basket. Teams try to attack him in screen-and-roll plays, where he struggles to help on the guard and still get back to his man. For that reason, Anderson Varejao often finished games in the middle instead of Ilgauskas.
CLEVELAND ROTATION
Daniel Gibson (G) / Ira Newble (F) / Damon Jones (G) / Devin Brown (G-F)
CLEVELAND BENCH
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Dwayne Jones (F-C)
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Eric Snow (G)
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Cedric Simmons (C)
INACTIVE LIST
Anderson Varejao (G) | Status Alert: After injuring his knee and Achilles tendon Wednesday night, it looks like Varejao will be out for a week or so.
Donyell Marshall (F) | Status Alert: Marshall hurt his wrist versus the Mavericks in the Cavaliers home opener. He is listed as day-to-day after sitting out versus the Suns Sunday night, but it looks more like week-to-week.
Shannon Brown (G) | Status Alert: He was sent down to the D-League, Thursday.
BREAKDOWN OF LINEUPS AND BENCHES
PG
Larry Hughes vs. Jeff McInnis
Should be interesting to see if McInnis is really a better player than Hughes and a better for this team, several point guards after McInnis. With Felton struggling at the point, McInnis has been inserted into the starting lineup and taken advantage unlike Hughes, in his case...
Advantage: EVEN
SG
Sasha Pavlovic vs. Raymond Felton
I really fail to see how Pavlovic will have any chance defensively keeping up with Felton, since Pavlovic struggled with Hamilton in the playoffs, I don't see how he can keep up with the lightning quick Felton. Pavlovic will have the length advantage, but it won't mean much if he can't catch him. Felton has been in a flow recently, while Pavlovic not so much...
Advantage:
SF
LeBron James vs. Jason Richardson
Charlotte will be at a disadvantage defensivley as Richardson isn't quick enough or big enough to defend LeBron and I also think Richardson will give LeBron some trouble offensively, as well...
Advantage:
PF
Drew Gooden vs. Gerald Wallace
Wallace is an absolute beast and a guy who is Mr.Versatile and will do anything it takes to win and fills up the stat sheet every night... Gooden will have a hard time guarding a perimeter oriented Wallace, but his lateral quickness is better than most power forwards... Wallace is big and strong enough where I don't expect Gooden to get too many points, should he get the touches...
Advantage:
CT
Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Emeka Okafor
If Z wasn't in a slump, he'd have the definite advantage but Okafor is doing good enough to consider it even. Okafor doesn't offer much offensively; defensively is where he makes his money.
Advantage: EVEN
Benches
Clevaland Bench vs. Charlotte Bench
The Cavs bench is near depleted with Marshall and Varejao out and their are guard heavy with Jones, D.Brown and Gibson. Newble will have to play big against the Bobcats as he won't be at a height disadvantage as he would most nights...
The Bobcats have a solid bench and three big contributors: Carroll, Dudley and Mohammed... Mohammed has really been a nice pickup and has played well... These are really only the 3 players that play; Ryan Hollins plays 5-10 minutes a game, nothing much...
Advantage: EVEN
SMOOTH'S KEY POINTS & PREDICTION
The Bobcats aren't really a big team with only 2 guys close to 7 foot playing regularly and their starting center being 6-10, along with Wallace being 6-8... The Cavs should look to get Gooden and Z going early and get them the ball often...
This will be huge with Marshall and now Varejao down... We need some production and a big night out of either Newble or Simmons (assuming he gets called up) and step in for Varejao...
Play for the whole 48 minutes instead of the last half like the Cavs did versus the Hawks... The East isn't the JV league anymore; if you don't play well, you'll lose.
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