Place: MCI Center in Washington, DC.
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: NBA League Pass/WTAM 1100 AM

Projected Cavaliers Starting Lineup:

PG: LeBron James
SG: Ricky Davis
SF: Darius Miles
PF: Chris Mihm
C:  Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Cavaliers Injury Report: SG Dajuan Wagner (right knee surgery) and PF Michael Stewart (knee tendinitis) are on the injured list.  PF Carlos Boozer (ankle sprain) status will be determined.

Projected Wizards Starting Lineup:

PG: Gilbert Arenas
SG: Larry Hughes
SF: Jarvis Hayes
PF: Kwame Brown
C:  Brendan Haywood

Wizards Injury Report: SG Jerry Stackhouse (arthroscopic knee surgery) and SG Mitchell Butler (right knee tendinitis) are on the injured list.  PF Christian Laettner (back spasms) is questionable.

Key Matchups:

Ricky Davis vs. Gilbert Arenas - Gilbert Arenas is quickly becoming the franchise player and driving force for the Wizards.  He leads the Wizards in scoring, assists and steals.  He is a very good athlete with long arms and is very quick with the dribble capable of beating his man and finishing inside.  Arenas is also a dangerous three point shooter although his percentage is down.  He will pull up on the break as well as step back on the pick and roll if the defender goes under the screen.  He has a tendency to get hot and hit them in bunches.  Ricky Davis the past two games accepted the defensive challenges of Allen Iverson and then Quentin Richardson and one could draw a correlation between that and the low FG% the Sixers and Clippers shot against the Cavaliers.  Davis has the physical tools to be a very good individual defender when he wants to be.  The key for Davis against Arenas is to keep him out of the lane.  Arenas can be relentless going to the basket and that is when he does the most damage by getting inside scoring, drawing fouls, dishing to open teammates.  He will turn the floor over very quickly so transition defense will be important.  Also, with the Princeton-style offense the Wizards run Davis cannot be caught looking at the ball as the Wizards will shoot backdoor like the Nets and Kings.  Offensively, there may be some crossmatching due to the matchups but when Davis plays within himself and the system he is a fine player.  The Wizards backcourt is quicker overall than Cleveland's but the Cavaliers are certainly bigger and just as athletic.  Running the smaller Washington guards through down screens for Davis to give him the option of shooting the free throw jumper, curling into the lane or stop and hit the pick man rolling to the basket could be effective for Davis.  Davis gets in trouble when he tries to break his man down on his own and the Wizard's backcourt will ballhawk and go for steals. 

LeBron James vs. Larry Hughes - Hughes is player blossoming in the absence of Jerry Stackhouse.  His shooting is vastly improved and is currently the Wizards leading three point shooter.  Despite failing as a PG Hughes is a good ballhandler with some playmaking skills but his mainly a scorer.  A very athlete Hughes can get from point A to point B with the dribble and is second only to Arenas in his ability to get to the basket.  Offsetting his dribble penetration Hughes will pull up at the free throw line or three point line on the break.  He is also pretty good shooter off the dribble.  James, at times, has been a very good individual defender especially for a rookie out of high school, but that has usually been against bigger SG/SF types.  He seemed surprised by Corey Maggette's ballhandling ability and was beaten off the dribble more against him than he had been recently.  The Cavaliers frontcourt may be thin tonight and it is imperative for James not to break down easily on the perimeter and get the big men in foul trouble.  James must be careful and remain focused handling the ball and making initial passes against the quick Washington backcourt.  More and more teams are overplaying those initial passes to the wing or to the high post as the Cavaliers begin their halfcourt sets.  Keeping turnovers down is a big key for James as when he is sound with the ball the rest of the team usually is as well.  James has also hit one of his outside shooting lulls and he must continue to attack the basket and not settle for jumpers especially early.   

Darius Miles vs. Jarvis Hayes - The third man in the Wizards trio and the players going the one most under the radar is rookie SF Jarvis Hayes.  Hayes is a perfect compliment to the penetration of Hughes and Arenas along with being a perfect for the Wizards Princeton-style offense.  Hayes is a catch and shoot player in the mold of Mitch Richmond.  You can run him off numerous screens and he hits shots with a quick release and good elevation.  If you try and run him off his shot he is already very good with a quick one dribble to clear himself of the defender to get his shot off and doing so doesn't lessen his accuracy.  Hayes has three point range and both Hughes and Arenas will find him off dribble penetration.  A good athlete in his own right Hayes will run the floor, finish pretty well around the basket and rebound.  Hayes is just a smooth, mature rookie.  Miles has to do a better job of fighting through screens and closing out on Hayes.  Hayes hit some tough shots the first game on Miles but Miles has the length to really challenge his shots.  Hayes is not known to really put the ball on the floor and turn the corner so that will help out on Miles who has struggled to keep players in front of him.  Miles will still have to move his feet as Hayes will use a dribble to clear space. Also, Miles, more so than any other Cavalier, must be aware of the backdoor cut.  Miles has the most mental lapses of any Cavalier and must keep focus on the floor as it will ebb and flow by the quarter.  Hayes moves well without the ball and the last thing a shooter needs are  some some lay-ups to get him going. Offensively, Miles had his way with the rookie Hayes overmatching him with his athleticism and Miles' jumpers was also falling.  Miles is at his best slashing to the basket and posting up and he will have some opportunities against Hayes.  The jumper must compliment his game not be a staple of it.

When Cleveland has the ball: The Cavaliers have been making a point to establish Ilgauskas early with good success but in the first Washington game the Wizards made it a point to take Ilgauskas away early by hedging an extra defender to his side when he caught the ball.  It left Ilgauskas in between and he didn't know how to get shots against that defense as the Wizards basically packed into the paint.  C Brendan Haywood may get the start again due to Christian Laettner's back spasms so Washington may be more apt to play Ilgauskas with Haywood's size straight up which will work in Cleveland's favor.  The Cavaliers must continue to attack the basket and not settle for outside shots which gets them into trouble.  The zone the Clippers employed slowed the Cavaliers drastically and set the tone for their second half surge so if the Wizards use the same strategy the Cavaliers must do a better job of executing by getting inside the zone and when the times comes someone must step up and hit outside shots to make the zone pay.  If Carlos Boozer cannot go against Washington will be a huge blow to the Cavaliers as it severely weakens the bench.  Chris Mihm has been playing well enough to compensate loosing Boozer as a starter but there is not another Chris Mihm on the bench to pick up the slack there.  It puts more pressure on SG JR Bremer who is shooting 20% since hitting six three pointers in the opener against Sacramento and SF Ira Newble who has not hit a shot since hitting a three pointer the first time Cleveland played the Wizards this year.

When Washington has the ball: The Wizards are built around their three perimeter scorers.  They take the majority of the shots and the offense goes through them.  Perimeter defense is still a big Cavaliers weakness and the Wizards have the personnel to exploit it.  Couple that with the possibility of the Cavaliers frontline being depleted expect Washington to challenge the paint and try to get the Cleveland big men in foul trouble.  It could be a long night if the Cavaliers aren't sound out front.  The Cavaliers aren't advanced enough to handle the Wizards Princeton-style offense and they can also be hurt in transition playing into two more Washington strengths.  Off the bench Juan Dixon, Etan Thomas and Jared Jeffries have been very good providing energy, scoring and defense.  Etan Thomas, in particularly, could be a major factor if Boozer cannot play since he has been very active for the Wizards blocking shots, rebounding and finishing inside.    

Game outlook: The Cavaliers have been through this road before.  Just last week they came off two impressive home wins only to lose the same intensity and focus that fueled those wins when they went on the road.  Cleveland is 0-6 on the road where many of their fourth quarter breakdowns have occurred.  Coming out aggressive and keeping turnovers down may determine the Cavaliers fate.  Washington poses matchup problems and Cleveland loses their advantage inside if Carlos Boozer cannot play.  The Cavaliers starters played heavy minutes in the first night of a back-to-back and heavy legs down the stretch could be a problem. If the Cavaliers somehow manage to pull out their first road victory possibly without Boozer on the second night of a back-to-back they will truly be progressing as a team.