W Cleveland 102 Sacramento 97

[Karma]

Game #16

Cleveland Cavaliers (10-6) VS Sacramento Kings (7-10)

Tuesday December 6th, 2005
10:00pm ET
Radio : WTAM 1100
Arco Arena, Sacramento, California

Head Coaches

Mike Brown / Rick Adelman

Probable Starters

Eric Snow / Mike Bibby

Larry Hughes / Bonzi Wells

LeBron James / Peja Stojakovic

Drew Gooden / Shareef Abdur Rahim

Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Brad Miller

Cleveland Cavaliers Bench

Damon Jones / Sasha Pavlovic / Luke Jackson / Donyell Marshall / Alan Henderson

Sacramento Kings Bench

Jason Hart / Francisco Garcia / Kenny Thomas / Brian Skinner / Kevin Martin

Game Notes​

* Cleveland play their 3rd and final game of their West trip in which they are yet to record a victory.
* Both teams are well rested with the Cavs having two days off whilst the Kings lost to Minnesota at home on Sunday.
* The Kings have a potent starting five with all starters averaging over 14ppg.
* The Kings shoot an impressive 46% for the season, but allow the opposition to do the same.
* Cleveland are 3-5 on the road whilst the Kings are 6-5 at Arco Arena.

Karma's Keys​

* Defense at the perimeter is again key. Mike Bibby is dangerous off the dribble as well as behind the arc, Wells is an explosive scorer, whilst Peja will hurt you from the perimeter if given any time or space.
* Sacramento work an inside out offense through Brad Miller. Our defense off the ball will be tested thoroughly. The Clippers played a somewhat similar game with Brand kicking it out and the ball rotating to open shooters.
* The Cavalier's again should look for their offense to start inside. Sacramento are a poor defensive team with no shot blocking presences inside. An early fouls on center Brad Miller exposes a very undersized bench with Brian Skinner and Kenny Thomas plugging the hole.
* Cleveland are looking for any type of consistency in their game. Defensively the efforts have been erratic, particulary at point guard with Jones and small forward with James. If this persists against the Kings, Bibby and Peja will light those players up making for a long night.
* With the ball Cleveland's game has fallen away. Larry Hughes is struggling with his shot and has faded in and out of games. The consistency off the bench has disperced with Jones and Marshall not completly feeling it.
* LeBron will be having a tough night defensively, but there is no reason why he wont be returning the favour to Peja. If LeBron remains active with and without the ball he should be able to get by the slow footed Stojakovic without too many problems.
* Drew Gooden needs to remain aggressive after again struggling with Elton Brand. Abdur-Rahim is certainly a talented offensive player, but he lacks the physicality of Brand which troubled Gooden.

Overview​

This is a big game obviously for the Cavalier's. They have failed on the road thus far to execute at both ends. In Sacramento they face a talented scoring team who dont have a defensive identity. This is an opportunity with a few days rest to regain some lost confidense with the ball. Inside is where the Cavalier's can make inroads. But just as important is our efforts off the ball defensively. With the Kings moving the ball so well, Cleveland will struggle to get to the shooters and this to me will prove the differense.

This will be a rather tight affair, but Bibby and co will prove a little to much to overcome and the Cavalier's will falter in a high scorer.

 

[cdt]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

0-3 on the road trip, I don't forsee us winning this one at all, we don't have a defense either and they are better offensively and with the home floor I give them an advantage...LeBron gets his stats and not much else the Cavaliers fall 114-93

 

[NarlCavs]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

I can't see a win either. I expect this to be a high scoring game since neither team plays D.
Cavs will be in serious trouble if Peja and Bibby get the open looks that the Cavs gave Seattle and LA's perimeter scorers.

 

[hughes1988]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

i can see a win. kings are 7-9 so there nothing special, we just need to keep up the scoring but need to play better d. i hope no one is giving up on the cavs I know no one sayed that but dont forget guys, besides snow ira newble is are best def player and when he gets back i think he will be a big part of the bench def and then when mike brown cleans his glasses off he will see that snows def is not doing shit so start jones. so with lebron, Z, gooden, hughes, and jones as starters and marshall as the sixth man will be great, then once cavs have a dercent led u send newble and snow out there to shut them down all the way. i no its backwards but i think it will work and AV will also fit nice in there. so cavs fans keep believing in these guys u no i will. peace.

 

[cavincali]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

alright i live in sac so ill give you all the special cali inside scoop.

people out here are bitching like none other, and they have a reason to. this team is not good.

THIS TEAM LACKS DEFENSE THIS TEAM LACKS DEFENSE THIS TEAM LACKS DEFENSE THIS TEAM LACKS DEFENSE THIS TEAM LACKS DEFENSE

they are very soft. very very soft.

their bench sucks big time.

if bibby, peja, and brad dont all score 20 points they will lose.

unless someone suprises me with tickets i will not be going. the only tickets are going for only $950. :thumbdown

 

[Karma]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

Well just like Sacramento, our defense sucks to. Also is Bibby, Miller or Peja don't get 20, Bonzi Wells or Abdur Rahim could well do. They have five legitimate scorers who can put up 20+ on any night.

Sacramento at the Arco will be tough despite their average record. You only have to look as far as our away record to see how well we are going.

 

[cavincali]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

they nearly lost to the raptors at home. its not the same thing but we suck on the road.

 

[fsqp13]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

everyone suddenly seems so pessimistic, are you all remembering the collapse that happened for two straight years and that lightning will strike thrice? its so early in the season, its just unimaginable that the cavs would not learn their lesson from the past. i see a squeaker here: cavs 104 kings 103

 

[ootbttnlagitnbasf]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

we can beat the woeful kings. they do not have much going for them and i'll bet that there will be hundreds of Lebron fans in attendance making it almost sound like a cav's home game at times. we should never lose three games in a row and we shouldn't intend to do so now. this is not like last year when we collapsed down the stretch.

we need to win at sacramento to maintain our ranking as the third best record in the east (tied with pacers) and the top three teams in the east don't lose three straight.

 

[Karma]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

Yahoo Game Preview

Two things Sacramento fans have come to expect from the Kings are a lot of points and dominant play at home. Lately, those fans haven't seen much of either.
Looking to get its offense back on track, Sacramento tries to avoid losing three consecutive games at Arco Arena for the first time in 5 1/2 years in a matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Kings have lost three in a row overall, including two on their current four-game homestand. They haven't dropped three straight at Arco Arena, long considered one of the league's toughest arenas for visiting teams to play, since April 7-11, 2000.

Sacramento is on pace to finish with 20 home losses, which would be the team's most since the 1997-98 season.

"Yeah, I'm embarrassed, I know we are better than what we're doing. I know that," said point guard Mike Bibby, who led the Kings with 14 points in an 85-77 loss to Minnesota on Sunday.

That defeat came two nights after a 98-87 loss to Miami. Sacramento has shot 42 percent from the field on this homestand and 4-for-25 (16 percent) from 3-point range.

The Kings averaged 107.3 points in their previous three home games -- all victories.

On Sunday, the starting frontcourt of Peja Stojakovic, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Brad Miller combined for 16 points on 7-of-28 shooting for Sacramento, which repeatedly heard a rare chorus of boos from the Arco Arena crowd.

"I think if there are any games the fan base or the community wanted to boo it was probably this one," said Abdur-Rahim, held to a season-low six points.

The Kings, averaging 98.1 points this season, have failed to reach 90 in back-to-back games already twice this season. They hadn't done that in any of the previous four seasons.

On the bright side, Sacramento is facing a Cleveland squad which has lost seven straight trips to Arco since March 1998. The Cavaliers have lost the last 10 meetings overall, dating to November 2000.

The Cavs are looking to avoid going winless on a three-game road trip, having already lost to Seattle and the Los Angeles Clippers. Cleveland has dropped four of five following an eight-game win streak.

LeBron James, named Eastern Conference player of the month for November, scored 30 points Saturday but got little help from his teammates in a 102-90 loss to the Clippers.

James hit the 30-point plateau for the third time in four games but Larry Hughes, second on the team with 17.3 points per contest, hit just three of his 11 field goal attempts for a season-low seven points.

"When we shoot the ball as bad as we've been shooting it, we're not going to win too many games," James said.

Cleveland also squandered a 34-point effort by James in Friday night's loss at Seattle, and is 5-4 this season when he scores 30 or more.

STANDINGS (through Dec. 4): Cavaliers - 2nd place (tied), 3 1/2 GB, Central Division. Kings - 5th place, 4 1/2 GB, Pacific Division.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Cavaliers - F James, F Drew Gooden, C Zydrunas Ilgauskas, G Hughes, G Eric Snow. Kings - F Stojakovic, F Abdur-Rahim, C Miller, G Bonzi Wells, G Bibby.

TEAM LEADERS: Cavaliers - James, 28.8 ppg and 4.8 apg; Gooden, 9.6 rpg. Kings - Bibby, 18.5 ppg; Wells, 7.9 rpg; Miller, 6.1 apg.

2004-05 SEASON SERIES: Kings, 2-0.

LAST MEETING: April 1; Kings, 128-109. At Cleveland, Bibby and Stojakovic each scored 22 points for the Kings, who scored a season-best 73 points in the first half.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Cavaliers - 3-5 on the road; Kings - 6-5 at home.

 

[NarlCavs]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

I don't like seeing the Kings only score 77 last night. That won't happen 2 games in a row and they could come out strong tomorrow and bounce back from an off night.
Karma brought up how the Kings have 5 players capable of big scoring nights in the starting lineup. The way the Cavs D is being played and the way they're giving up wide open looks on the perimeter don't give me much confidence to get a win.

 

[Karma]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

Return of the King
by Joe Gabriele
cavs.com

LeBron James returns to the scene of the crime on Tuesday night in Sacramento.

December 6 -- It’s too early in the season to call tonight’s matchup with Sacramento a “must-win.” But after dropping the first two on the West Coast, it’s important psychologically. The Cavaliers don’t want to come home empty handed.
Cleveland has dropped four of five and three straight on the road. The Kings, viewed by some as a team ready to reload, are struggling at 7-10. They just posted their worst offensive effort of the season, scoring an anemic 77 points against the Timberwolves on Sunday night. But they always do well against the Wine and Gold – having won the last nine straight.

But tonight’s game also marks an anniversary of sorts. Over two years and 200 games ago, on October 29, 2003, Cleveland fans – and basketball fans – watched in awe as LeBron James surpassed the hype in his first NBA game. He has not looked back.

Remember the trepidations before the game? Would he be as good as advertised? Would Cleveland suffer disappointment once more? Would LeBron James be a bust?

He proved himself immediately. LeBron was the rookie of the month in November, and then every month thereafter. He was named the Rookie of the Year, a first by any Cavalier, and last year he was All-NBA Second Team. LeBron is the reigning Player of the Month in the Eastern Conference and all indications are that he’ll be an MVP candidate for the duration.

But it all started that October night in the capital of California. When LBJ splashed down a rainbow 20 footer from just above the baseline with Peja Stojakovic in his grill, everyone – including the Kings – knew that the kid from Akron was definitely for real.

James stuffed the stat sheet that night, as he usually does. In 42 minutes, LeBron – Cleveland’s starting point guard – scored 25 points on 12-of-20 shooting. He dished out nine assists and grabbed six boards – four offensive and two defensive. He nabbed four steals and no blocked shots. In the negative side of the ledger, LBJ had three personal fouls and a pair of turnovers.

The only statistic that you would read that would give it away that the ballgame took place in his rookie year and not his third is that LeBron was only 1-of-3 from the line. But he was a point guard, a rookie and was still honing his game. LeBron takes almost nine shots from the stripe these days.

The Cavaliers lost that game, 106-93. But the genie was out of the bottle. LeBron set the mark for the most points scored by a prep-to-pros player and he’s been shattering records ever since.

The Cavaliers could use some of that mojo tonight in Sacramento. The Kings aren’t the Western Conference powerhouse that they once were, but every game out West is a tough one. That’s already been established.

Tonight, the young King returns to the place where it all started. That night in 2003 was a spectacle. Tonight, it’s for real.

-- Joe Gabriele
cavs.com

Cavs.com

 

[cavincali]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

i was at that game baby. :chuckles:

 

[Kypus]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

I don't like seeing the Kings only score 77 last night. That won't happen 2 games in a row and they could come out strong tomorrow and bounce back from an off night.

Arco arena is notoriously loud and obnoxious, it gives 1 of, if not *the* biggest homecourt advantages in the league. I would be shocked if we won this one. Kenny Thomas is back in his natural role as energy 6th man, Peja is back. The Kings could either play their starting 5 the whole game, or just keep winging fresh PFs at us- Thomas, Skinner (who always plays well against us) and Big Nasty (Corliss W).

We have been playing reactively this road trip, not even playing close to "our" game.

 

[Glen Infante]

Re: Cleveland @ Sacramento

GAME TIME fellas!

Looking forward to a highscoring game tonight. These two teams stink it up in the defensive end.

LeBron is going to drill Peja, and Peja is going to drill LeBron.