Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
by: MYoung
2/06/04

Place: The Target Center in Minneapolis, MN.
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: FSN Ohio/WTAM 1100

Projected Cavaliers Starters:

PG: Jeff McInnis
SG: LeBron James
SF: Eric Williams
PF: Carlos Boozer
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Cavaliers Injury Report: PF/C Tony Battie (bruised knee) and C Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (sprained ankle) are on the injured list.SF Jason Kapono (stomach flu) will not play.

Projected Timberwolves Starters:

PG: Sam Cassell
SG: Trenton Hassell
SF: Latrell Sprewell
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Ervin Johnson

Timberwolves Injury Report: C Michael Olowokandi (knee surgery) and SF Wally Szczerbiak (plantar fascia) are on the injured list. PG Troy Hudson (sprained ankle) is questionable.

Key Matchups:

Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Kevin Garnett - This is just a bad matchup for the Cavaliers and shows how much they miss a player like Tony Battie who would be the best matchup for Garnett. Paul Silas has intimated that he will go with Ilgauskas against Garnett because of his length because the 6'8 Carlos Boozer is simply too small. Garnett right now is the hands down MVP of the NBA right now. He leads the Timberwolves in points, rebounds, blocks, steals, minutes and is second in assists. Garnett is the only 20-20-10 triple double threat in the league. A freak 7 footer, there isn't much Garnett cannot do on the floor.He has range out beyond 20 feet, can face up in the post, drive to the basket, use a jump hook, a turnaround jumper, blocks shots, rebounds, passes the ball and runs the floor. Above all else Garnett plays hard every night never taking a game off, plays with passion and is a consummate leader. The best that Z can hope for is to turn Garnett into a jumpshooter as he did Jermaine O'Neal, angle off his drives and don't put him on the line. Like many superstars Garnett will get his across the board but the key will be not to let him dominate around the basket. Lastly, Ilgauskas will have to make a concerted effort to get back on defense and find Garnett who can run like a deer or Boozer must pick up Garnett early and switch until Ilgauskas is able to recover.

Jeff McInnis vs. Sam Cassell - No player has flourished more by playing with Garnett that Sam Cassell. Cassell has always put up great numbers but he is having a career in his first season with the Timberwolves where he was named as an All Star for the first time. He is averaging over 21ppg, 7apg and shooting over 49% from the field and 42% from three point range. Cassell is one of the best midrange shooters in the league and is a shotmaker. Very skilled at getting to his spots and getting his shot off Cassell has a gunslingers mentality and serves a perfect compliment to Garnett. McInnis has the size and quickness to matchup well with Cassell. Cassell won't beat you off the dribble to get to the rim but rather to get some space and shoot over the top. The best thing for McInnis to do is to crowd Cassell and not give him a lot of room. Offensively, McInnis has to find a way to get untracked. He is shooting just 31% since joining the Cavaliers after shooting over 46% while with Portland. Cassell has never been known for wanting to play defense although he has been better with Minnesota. McInnis must be a threat offensively and make Cassell play both ends of the court. McInnis was advertised to have a good medium range jumper so he must start to show it to keep teams honest.

When Cleveland has the ball: The Cavaliers have been doing an extraordinarily good job of taking care of the ball which has helped fuel their recent stretch of good play. Getting more shot attempts allows you to offset bad shooting nights. Minnesota plays as much if not more zone than any other team in the NBA. The Cavaliers have to execute against that zone that will at times feature Garnett at the top. Settling for jumpshots is always a bad idea for the poor shooting Cavaliers so they must continue to go inside. Other than Garnett Minnesota really do not have any other shotblocking or defensive presence. Trenton Hassell and Latrell Sprewell are good perimeter defenders but if the Cavaliers can get some dribble penetration it can break down what Minnesota does defensively.

When Minnesota has the ball: The Timberwolves are a precision offensive team led by the unselfishness of Garnett. They run a motion type of offense that emphasizes passing. They are one of the best shooting teams in the league, among the leaders in assists and do not turn the ball over a lot. Garnett's presence and the way he plays the games gets a lot of the Timberwolves role players better by getting them easier shots. With that being said the Timberwolves get two-thirds of their scoring from Garnett, Sprewell and Cassell. If you are able to hold down one of the Big Three and keep the role players role players you can short circuit their efficiency.

Game outlook: The Cavaliers have been playing gritty basketball recently but beating the Timberwolves who have the third best record in the NBA. Cleveland simply doesn't have an answer for Garnett. If Shaquille O'Neal was the sledgehammer that eventually eroded the Cavaliers then Garnett is the precision samurai sword. It will take a monumental team effort with the Cavaliers getting a lot of contributions from a lot of players to pull off a win on the road.

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