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 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.
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