Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks

Place: Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA.
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: WUAB Ch. 43/WTAM 100 AM

Projected Cavaliers Starting Lineup:

PG: LeBron James
SG: Ricky Davis
SF: Darius Miles
PF: DeSagana Diop
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) is likely out for tonight's game.

Projected Hawks Starting Lineup:

PG: Jason Terry
SG: Dion Glover
SF: Stephen Jackson
PF: Shareef Abdur-Rahim
C:  Theo Ratliff 

Hawks Injury Report: PG Terrell Brandon (left leg), PF Obinna Ekezie (torn ACL) and PF Alan Henderson (sore back) are on the injured list.

Key Matchups:

DeSagana Diop vs. Shareef Abdur-Rahim - Diop played as well and as hard as he could facing Kevin Garnett and battling plantar fasciitis in his foot.  When you have a 7 footer as athletic and Garnett hitting 4-5 15-18 footers in a row there isn't much you can do.  Diop has another uphill climb in facing Abdur-Rahim.  Abdur-Rahim is a 6'10 inside-out PF with a fundamental post game and good range on his shot.  If Abdur-Rahim goes inside first Diop's length should give him problems.  He is a good midrange shooter but in a matchup such as this the Cavaliers should pick their poison and make Abdur-Rahim a jumpshooter.  Diop's natural instinct is to come help and block shots but by doing so he is getting out of rebound position.  Abdur-Rahim is the best offensive rebounder and overall rebounder on the Hawks so Diop must be aware of keeping body contact on him.  Minnesota left Diop completely alone to double team Ilgauskas without on the strong side of the court which you are able to do under the new defensive rules.  Diop was able to hit 17-18 footers and must continue to do so when given those shots since it is one he has been consistently making all year.  Teams don't feel Diop can beat them with that shot and he cannot be baited into taking it too often.

Ricky Davis vs. Jason Terry - Ricky Davis is still a Cavalier and as long as he is on the team he remains a valuable part of any of their success.  His first year with Cleveland John Lucas used him late in games to pick up Jason Terry full court who at times goes Andrew Toney against the Cavaliers so he must pick up that challenge once again.  Terry is the Hawks leading scorer, best shooter, best penetrator and tops it off by leading them in assists.  His assists are down from a year ago but he is still effective breaking down the defense and finding people.  The Hawks will run Terry through different screens to get him shots as well run high pick and rolls and Terry will step back and shoot the three if the defender goes under the screen.  He has a penchant for turning the ball over as many feel he isn't the ideal playmaker and it shows up in his decision making.  Offensively, Terry is not known to be a good defender and there is no one in the Cavaliers starting lineup for him to guard so hitting Davis on down screens or posting him up on Terry could exploit Terry's size. 

When Cleveland has the ball: Minnesota pulled out the complete blueprint on how to beat the Cavaliers.  They zoned the starters taking away Ilgauskas forcing the Cavaliers to execute and force James, Miles and Davis to consistently make outside shots.  In man-to-man they pressured the ball and passer to disrupt the flow of the Cavaliers offense, packed it in the lane and always had an extra man shading Ilgauskas and sometimes doubling him on the strong side without the ball.  Minnesota also ran high pick and rolls as none of the Cavaliers big men operate well in space, pulled the big men out to the high post to get driving lanes and push the ball back at them in transition.  It was a near perfect gameplan.  Luckily, for the Cavaliers Atlanta isn't that experienced nor are they as well coached.  Controlling tempo is an absolute must for the Cavaliers.  Teams don't fear their shooting so they will take Ilgauskas out the game therefore they must force the action and start dictating to other teams rather than being back on their heels. In other words attack more.  In the halfcourt they must show more patience and execute and get good shots even if they dont fall.  Too often they aren't even getting good shots when teams turn up the pressure or zone them.  Without Carlos Boozer the Cavaliers were absolutely manhandled on the boards in the first half against Minnesota.  Cleveland picked it up in the second half and the perimeter guys must stay in and rebound.  Too often they are caught leaking out or standing and watching the ball and they are beaten to long rebounds and caught flat footed inside.  Atlanta despite having one of the best shotblockers in the NBA isn't a good defensive or rebounding team and can be taken advantage of by what the Cavaliers do which is get out and run and drive to the basket.

When Atlanta has the ball: The Hawks are carried offensively pretty much by Terry and Abdur-Rahim. They are the best scorers and shoot the highest percentages.  Somehow that hasn't translated to Dion Glover and Stephen Jackson who lead the Hawks in shot attempts.  Glover is averaging a career high 15ppg but is under 40% shooting.  Both Jackson and Ratliff are hovering around 41% When Terry and Abdur-Rahim play very well and the other guys perform their roles the Hawks play well and have a chance to win.  On paper their starting five isn't that bad but like the Cavaliers they are having bench issues.  C Nazr Muhammed, SF Lee Nailon and rookie SG Boris Diaw have not been part of a productive bench unit for the Hawks.  PG Jacque Vaughn has probably been their most consistent and stable performers. 

Game outlook: Cavaliers coach Paul Silas has been handing out benchings like Gatorade cups during timeouts.  Against Washington it was Davis and it was Miles' turn against Minnesota.  The Cavaliers looked like a tired and disinterested team and played like it during their second straight bad perfromance at home on national TV.  There is no excuse for a young team with something allegedly to prove like the Cavaliers to play so lifeless especially at home with a big crowd.  With trade rumors swirling around his appointed captains Silas must show the steadying leadership qualities that was one of the main factors that lead him to getting the head coaching job in Cleveland.  The Hawks, on the other hand, suffer from the some of the same ills as Cleveland; poor perimeter defense, turnovers, lack of energy at times, poor bench production and the SG and SF getting benched at various times.  Atlanta is coming off two bad losses themslves and tonight's game may be a battle to see which team can put their problems aside for a night and win a game.