Place: Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH
Time: 7:00 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: C Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (ankle sprain) is on the
injured list. PF/C Tony Battie (bruised knee) is expected to be activated
today. C DeSagana Diop (sprained ankle) is listed as day-to-day.
Projected Mavericks Starters:
PG: Steve Nash
SG: Michael Finley
SF: Josh Howard
PF: Antoine Walker
C: Dirk Nowitzki
Mavericks Injury Report: SG Tariq Abdul-Wahad (knee tendinitis), G Tony
Delk (sprained ankle) and F Jon Stefansson (sprained ankle) are on the injured
list.
Key Matchups:
Carlos Boozer vs. Antoine Walker - Mavericks coach Don Nelson is
known for playing matchups and changing starting lineups but if he does start
Walker and Nowitzki upfront then Paul Silas cannot hide Carlos Boozer tonight.
Walker is one of the more versatile forwards in the NBA. He can handle the
ball and pass to the point where he plays point forward backing up Steve Nash.
Add to that is his three point range and ability to post up makes Walker a
dangerous weapon. However. Walker's biggest flaw which has stopped him
from becoming one of the elite players in the league is that he shoots entirely
too many three point shots. He shot more than anyone else in the league in
Boston and now in Dallas he is shooting 26% from three point while being tied
for the most attempts with Michael Finley. Carlos Boozer has had problems
bigger, quicker and more athletic PFs to the point where Paul opts to use the
much maligned Zydrunas Ilgauskas in such matchups. Boozer didn't have much
of answer as a rookie against Walker and his defense hasn't improved that much.
The aspect that Boozer can hope for defensively against Walker is that Walker
plays away from his strengths and settles for a lot of jumpshots which
drastically lowers his effectiveness. Walker is such a good passer that
when he penetrates or posts up he can create a lot of good shots for his
teammates. Offensively, Boozer's best bet is to attack Walker inside which
means crashing the offensive boards and getting good post position on Walker.
The Mavericks like to exploit matchups and dictate the game to other teams.
Boozer taking it to Walker inside could force Dallas to go bigger which would
play to the Cavaliers favor.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Dirk Nowitzki - I don't know which is a
worse matchup this one or the Boozer/Walker matchup. Nowitzki is one of
the most mobile 7 footers the league has ever seen and a legitimate top 10
player. He is also one of the best shooters in the league and is perfect
for the Mavericks style of play. Dallas will find Nowitzki in transition
for open jumpers and three pointers and will run the pick and fade with Steve
Nash which can get Nowitzki a shot virtually anytime the Mavericks want.
What makes Nowitzki such a matchup nightmare is that few big men in the NBA have
the athleticism and mobility to go out on the perimeter to guard him and when
you put smaller players on him he has the ability to get decent post position
and shoot over the top. Ilgauskas has virtually no chance to go out 20
feet from the basket and stay with Nowitzki or contend with the pick and fade
which will leave Paul Silas with a decision to make. Defensively, the only
thing Ilgauskas can do is to make Nowitzki go over the top in wing isolations
and make a concerted to get back in transition. Offensively, Ilgauskas has
a real advantage inside against anyone on the Mavericks. Ilgauskas
averaged 32ppg and 13rpg against the Mavericks last year. Nowitzki isn't a
good post defender despite his size and is someone that can be exploited
defensively. Whether the Cavaliers can take advantage of Ilgauskas inside
remains to be seen.
When Cleveland has the ball: The same old problems remain for the
Cavaliers despite the change in personnel. The Cavaliers simply cannot
shoot from the outside and have been clueless for most of the season executing
against the zone. Unfortunately, Dallas, although being one of the poorer
defensive teams in the league plays as much zone as anyone in the NBA. It
doesn't seem to matter how good the zone is to the Cavaliers they have trouble
executing against it period. The zone defense two things against the
Cavaliers; 1) it takes away the post up for Ilgauskas and 2.) clogs the middle
taking away any driving lanes for LeBron James. The zone also may allow
Dallas to use Shawn Bradley more than usual to try and hinder drives and postups
even more. Paul Silas he wants to grind it out against Dallas and not get
into a running game. To do that they must be able to execute against the
zone and make jumpshots. That means Jeff McInnis must find his midrange
game and James must take good shots and make some of them. Against a
similar transition-style team in New Jersey the Cavaliers stayed in the game
early by pounding the offensive glass and getting second chance points.
When Dallas has the ball: Dallas is one of the more explosive offensive
teams in the NBA. They have five players in Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash,
Michael Finley, Antoine Walker and Antawn Jamison who could all average 20ppg
and get 25-30 on any given night. They are decent rebounding team with
Nowitzki and Walker that like to get the ball and go and outscore their
opponents. Steve Nash is the orchestrator and he will get the ball up the
floor and find teammates for open jumpers in transition. The Mavericks
will often run to the three point line during fastbreaks. In the halfcourt
they will run a lot of pick and fades and get a lot of penetration and dish from
Walker and Nash. Michael Finley can post up and is probably the Mavericks
best one on one player. They can isolate him on the wing where he work in
that mid to high post range. They bring a big time scorer off the bench in
Jamison who has adjusted and thrived in a backup role and is player that can
score without having a lot of plays ran for him and is very good around the
basket finishing posting up at the SF position. For all of their offensive
firepower the Mavericks still do not like physical play. The two biggest
factors of their team are still Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki and if you can be
physical with them and disrupt them offensively you have a better shot to beat
them.
Game outlook: There cannot be two more dissimilar teams in the NBA than
the Mavericks and Cavaliers. Tonight's game will be who can dictate the
matchups in the game. Don Nelson, unlike Paul Silas, will sacrifice
offense for defense and likes to play smaller teams even against bigger
opponents thinking that his scoring punch will trump size. If the
Cavaliers cannot take advantage of Ilgauskas and Boozer inside it will force the
Cavaliers to go with Battie, Eric Williams and Ira Newble who are the best
matchups for Nowitzki, Walker and Finley severely limiting their offense after
already being outgunned at full strength by Dallas. Whomever wins the
matchup and tempo battle wins the game. One thing going in the Cavaliers
favor is that the Mavericks have not been a good road team this year and they
got off to a bad start getting severely outplayed by the Grizzlies last night in
their first game after the All Star break.
