Place: The Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH.
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: FSN Ohio/WTAM 1100 AM

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 (sprained ankle) and SG Kedrick Brown (knee tendinitis) is on the injured list.

Projected Bulls Starters:

PG: Kirk Hinrich
SG: Jamal Crawford
SF: Linton Johnson III
PF: Antonio Davis
C:  Eddy Curry

Bulls Injury Report: PF Marcus Fizer (ankle sprain), SF Chris Jeffries (back) and SF Scottie Pippen (sore knee) are on the injured list.  PF Jerome Williams (infected toe) is out.

Key Matchups:

LeBron James vs. Kirk Hinrich - James again will draw the assignment on Hinrich for whatever reason.  One would think the 6'4 PG McInnis would guard the 6'3 PG Hinrich leaving James with the SG Jamal Crawford.  Crossmatching defensively against the Bulls doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  Kirk Hinrich is a better athlete and quicker than what people give him credit for.  Although not shooting well at all as a rookie it belies how well a shooter he really is and that ability flashes every once in a while.  Hinrich is what makes the Bulls go against the Cavaliers.  He is very good at the pick and roll two-man game where he is very quick in beating the help and turning the corner.  Hinrich isn't one to finish in traffic often but he is very good at finding people when in the lane.  He will also go behind the screen and shoot three pointers.  The Bulls will at times reverse the backcourt roles and let SG Jamal Crawford initiate the offense and run Hinrich off screens to get open.  What the Cavaliers are asking James to do is what he struggles with defensively.  James does not get through well with regularity and he is much better guarding bigger players like SGs and SFs.  Against Hinrich, James has to fight through the screens in pick and roll situations and not go under the screens and give up three pointers.  James must also deny Hinrich's penetration.  When Hinrich drives it is mostly to draw the defense and kick so James has to level him off and not get beat regularly which forces the Cavaliers defense to scramble.  He must bear down like he does against Baron Davis late in games against the Hornets.

Antonio Davis vs. Carlos Boozer - It looked as if Antonio Davis was another fading veteran near the end of the road but he has jumped in a time machine once March started.  After averaging 7 ppg on 34% shooting in February he is now up to 12.6 ppg on 45% shooting in March to go along with 7.4 rpg while also getting to the FT line more in March already than he had been the entire previous month.  Davis is much more energetic and active than he has been all year.  He is a big part of how the Bulls attack the Cavaliers.  Davis is a good midrange shooter and gets a lot of opportunities off of the penetration by the Bulls' guards.  He has also been very aggressive facing up out on the wing and going strong to the basket to either score or draw fouls.  The Bulls will also play Davis at center where he will look to isolate Ilgauskas out on the wing or baseline.  Boozer, defensively, must do a great job of helping on any penetration and then recover out to Davis as to not get many uncontested midrange jumpers.  Boozer must also consistently put a body on Davis especially when Ilgauskas goes to help on penetration and not give up a ton of offensive rebounds.  Offensively, Boozer has to remain aggressive around the basket.  With Chandler, Curry and Davis the Bulls are a long team that is capable of blocking shots. 

When Cleveland has the ball: Very quietly the Cavaliers have been on a big offensive roll recently and especially during their six game winning streak.  In the streak, they are averaging almost 103 ppg which is Sacramento/Dallas-like and they have done so against some good defensive teams in Toronto and Indiana dropping 106 and 107 points respectively.  The Cavaliers have improved enough against the zone to the point where they are seeing less of it and it has helped their main offensive weapons of James, Ilguaskas, McInnis and Boozer to remain in a good offensive groove.  Cleveland is pushing the ball when they have the opportunities and executing the halfcourt much better due to McInnis and lowering their turnover again due to McInnis.  Ilgauskas has had two back-to-back good games against Chicago and the Cavaliers will continue to go inside out.  Expect the Bulls to try and play Ilgauskas toward the middle and drop down guard help when he makes his move.  Eddy Curry is an inexperience defender whom the Bulls will give help.  It will be important to go after him defensively and try and take him out of the game as he is a dangerous low post presence for the Bulls.  LeBron James has to remain aggressive attacking the basket and not settling for jumpshots.  The Bulls have packed it in against the Cavaliers and have played zone but when James goes strong to the basket nothing but good things happen to the Cavaliers.  With the exception of former minor leaguer Ron Dupree the Bulls don't have any big physical guards so expect DaJuan Wagner to see some time in the rotation.

When the Bulls have the ball: It astounds me how the Bulls who are one of the worst shooting teams in the league can turn into the Sacramento Kings against the Cavaliers from the outside.  Jamal Crawford and Kirk Hinrich are shooting 32% and 35% respectively in March but that seemingly doesn't matter.  The Bulls attack the Cavaliers biggest defensive weakness which is defending the pick and roll.  The Bulls will run it over and over again with Hinrich and Crawford usually involving Ilgauskas in order to draw and kick for outside shots.  Also, expect the Bulls to go inside to Eddy Curry against Ilgauskas to establish him early.  The Cavaliers must do a better job in defending the pick and roll and stringing out Hinrich and Crawford and not be a sieve giving up dribble penetration.  It gets the Cavaliers big men out of rebounding position and the Bulls just crash the offensive boards.  McInnis and James are the keys defensively in the game. 

Game outlook: The Cavaliers were not ready to play the last game against Chicago.  They were outhustled and outworked the entire game.  Cleveland has to pick up the intensity from the beginning of the game and not take the Bulls lightly.  The Bulls know they can beat Cleveland it shows in the effort when the two teams meet.  Expectations have risen to a point where the team is expected to beat the Chicago Bulls especially at home.  This game is as much mental as physical for Cleveland and they must continue to show the mental approach of a playoff team.  As well as the Cavaliers have played they have not put much distance between themselves and the teams just out of the playoff seedings.