Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards

Place: Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Ohio/WTAM 1100 AM

Projected Cavaliers Starting Lineup:

PG: LeBron James
SG: Ricky Davis
SF: Darius Miles
PF: Carlos Boozer
C:  Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Cavaliers Injury Report: C Bruno Sundov (right Achilles tendinitis) and SG Dajuan Wagner (right knee surgery) are all on the injured list.  SF Ira Newble (right knee patella tendinitis) is expected to be activated for tonight's game.

Projected Wizards Starting Lineup:

PG: Gilbert Arenas
SG: Larry Hughes
SF: Jarvis Hayes
PF: Kwame Brown
C:  Christian Laettner

Wizards Injury Report: SG Jerry Stackhouse (arthroscopic knee surgery) and SG Mitchell Butler (right knee tendinitis) are on the injured list.

Key Matchups:

Gilbert Arenas vs. LeBron James - Arenas is now the man that drives the Wizards after signing a big long term contract over the summer as one of the coveted free agents of the year.  Arenas is becoming one of the premier scoring PGs in the NBA.  A great athlete, Arenas has three point range as well as being a dangerous penetrator.  A good passer but is prone to turnovers by trying to make a great play or doing too much.  With his long arms Arenas can play much bigger than his 6'2 frame and get into passing lanes for steals along with rebounds.  Arenas is triple double threat especially when is moved off the ball to SG where he can really take advantage of his scoring ability.  James or whomever has the task of guarding Arenas will first have to stay in front of Arenas and take away his penetration which will be a task since the Cavaliers have had major trouble with guards like Arenas.  Arenas will launch a lot of three pointers many off the dribble but it is important to challenge him on those shots and get around any high picks set for him.  James, if guarded by Arenas, must continue his aggressive play against the smaller Arenas.  James went to the basket and used his strength against Pacers and Washington doesn't have a guard that can match James' combination of size and athleticism.

Ricky Davis vs. Larry Hughes - Lost among the Jordan hoopla of last season was that Larry Hughes quietly had a solid season. He shot a career high shooting percentage.  Hughes is back at his natural position of SG after some failed experiments at PG and the injury to SG Jerry Stackhouse.  Hughes came into the league with deluxe scoring skills and does have the ability to make plays with the ball.  Hughes is very quick and athletic and can get to the rim like his backcourt mate Arenas.  His jumper is improved but is still the weakest part of the game.  Like Arenas, Davis' best bet guarding Hughes is to try and take away his penetration.  If Hughes break down the defense he can either finish or find open shots for his teammates.  Davis' defensive effort has ebbed and flowed during games and he must have the same intensity early in the game he brings late.  Hughes and Arenas will get out run and score a lot of points quickly.  Davis has to be careful with the dribble around Hughes and make good decisions delivering the ball.  Also, the Wizards offense features a lot of backdoor cuts that has killed the Cavaliers before and Davis must not get caught watching the ball like he has been.  Both Wizards guards will play lanes and go for steals.  If Davis plays the controlled game he did against he will find some success against Washington.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Christian Laettner - Laettner has beaten out Brendan Haywood and taken over the starting center spot for the Wizards.  Laettner, a natural PF, is a better fit for the Princeton/Kings/Nets offense the Wizards run under new coach Eddie Jordan.  Laettner is a skilled player with a good jumpshot and passing skills that knows how to play.  His career has been plagued by a petulant attitude and a times a perceived lack of desire.  Surprisingly, under Jordan Laettner's shotblocking and rebounding has gotten a boost.  He is coming off a recent six block game and his all around production has dwarfed Brendan Haywood.  Laettner has the ability to shoot from the outside to bring out larger centers like Ilgauskas.  He also can make passes from the high post that are necessary in the Wizards' offense.  Ilgauskas must take him down low and make the Wizards pay for their small lineup.  If Ilgauskas gets good position on Laettner there is nothing that he can do.  Getting off on Laettner will force Washington to double team and then Ilgauskas must do a better job of recognizing double teams off his moves.  Also, Ilgauskas can't let Laettner be more active than him on the glass and use his height and length to keep balls alive on the offensive boards.  Laettner's play is sparking the Wizards and slowing him down by getting him out of his comfort zone will be very important.

When Cleveland has the ball: The Cavaliers played to their perimeter players strengths by relentlessly going to the basket against Indiana.  It didn't necessarily payoff with free throw attempts but it set the tone for the game and helped them stay in the game.  Cleveland must continue to care of the basketball.  With the exception of James having a bad stretch in the first half the of the third quarter where he turned the ball over 4-5 times the Cavaliers did an excellent job of doing it.  They had only ten turnovers for the game and none in the fourth quarter.  With Diop on the floor instead of Ilgauskas they went to more pick and rolls and isolations using their UCLA offense less and running their basic set when they did.  Expect to see more of the same to better utilize their personnel rather than staying within a system.  Washington is playing very good defense but they aren't as physical as Indiana.  They have some shotblockers but they can be attacked and scored upon.

When Washington has the ball: The Wizards run the Princeton/Kings/Nets offense that features a lot of ball and player movement as well as a lot of backdoor cuts.  This system that has sliced the Cavaliers to ribbons before as the perimeter players get caught watching the ball and turning their heads getting beat backdoor.  With Laettner in the lineup Washington does have the personnel to run this offense.  All five starters can pass the ball and make a jump shot although the decision making isn't there all the time.  Washington is an athletic team that can get out and run especially with their guards who also like to penetrate and get to the basket.  Cleveland must shut off their drives and not leave the big men out to dry.  Washington has enough outside shooting with Arenas, Laettner and rookie SF Jarvis Hayes to keep teams honest.  Hayes, who hasn't garnered much fanfare but is a solid rookie with a good all around game and feel for the game.

Game outlook: Washington is opening some eyes with their early season play.  They have blown out some teams expected to be good and beat Western Conference power, the Dallas Mavericks.  The Cavaliers need to bring the same kind of effort and game they did against Indiana.  They needed to bring it all together to beat the Pacers and did so for 47:48 of the game.  Keeping mentally in the game for 48 minutes is the key since the Cavaliers don't recover from such mistakes to win games.