Place: Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: ESPN/Fox Sports Ohio, WTAM 1100 AM

Projected Cavaliers Starting Lineup:

PG: LeBron James
SG: Ricky Davis
SF: Darius Miles
PF: Carlos Boozer
C:  Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Cavaliers Injury Report: SF Ira Newble (right knee patella tendinitis), C Bruno Sundov (right Achilles tendinitis) and SG Dajuan Wagner (right knee surgery) are all on the injured list.  SF Darius Miles (food poisoning) is day-to-day.

Projected Nuggets Starting Lineup:

PG: Andre Miller
SG: Voshon Lenard
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: Nene
C:  Marcus Camby

Nuggets Injury Report: PF Mark Pope (left knee patella tendonitis), SG Jeff Trepagnier (left ankle sprain) and C Chris Marcus (left foot and ankle sprain) are on the injured list.  F Nikoloz Tskitishvili (bruised knee) is day-to-day.

Key Matchups:

Ricky Davis vs. Andre Miller - So far this season the Cavaliers have cross matched defensively putting Davis on the opposing PG most times.  So far this season Davis hasn't done a very good job on whomever he is guarding getting beaten off the dribble and backdoor repeatedly.  In the former Cavalier Miller, Davis faces a different kind of PG than those he has faced for the first three games.  Miller isn't the most athletic PG but he is strong and changes speeds with the dribble to get by his defender.  Miller can also post up even bigger guards Davis' size by using his strength.  He is also very good at penetrating into the lane to finish and draw fouls and in transition he will pull up in the lane for short jumpers and probe the defense and get to the rim on the secondary break.  As a consummate PG Miller gets the ball to the right people at the right time and can control the tempo of a game.  He is off to a slow start compared to his career numbers but is more than capable of a triple double 25-14-10 explosions witnessed multiple times by Cavaliers fans.  Defensively, Davis must limit Miller's penetration and keep him off the free throw line which could play havoc with the Cavaliers' thin frontline.  Although, not having any range Miller is pretty good jump shooter out to 16-17 feet.  Anything else becomes a set shot which limits his effectiveness on offense.  Miller has had problems in the past when athletic bigger guards take away the advantages he has on most PGs so Davis is the best match up the Cavaliers have for Miller

Darius Miles vs. Carmelo Anthony - The saga continues for Miles.  Miles coming off a bout of food poisoning will get no breather in facing the rookie Carmelo Anthony.  Anthony is the Nuggets no. 1 option and will get plenty of touches.  Anthony will post up on both blocks and loves the quick spin baseline.  He will also face up and go hard baseline as well as create space for his jumper.  Anthony has a knack for getting to the free throw line and Miles must keep his feet on the ground and not go for the various head and shoulder fakes Anthony employs.  The Nuggets run a lot of post ups and isos for Anthony and with the Cavaliers inability to rotate defensively Miles' ability to handle Anthony in those situations will be a big factor in how the team plays defensively.  Miles will have to raise his concentration level and play with some purpose.  He has the physical skills to keep Anthony in front of him or at least force him to the middle towards help and make him go over his long arms in the post.  Miles' best bet is to make Anthony strictly a jump shooter since he has struggled a bit this season.  Like most young players Anthony is better when his jumper compliments the rest of his game rather than being a staple.

The Cavaliers bench vs. the Nuggets bench - The virtual nonexistent production of the Cavaliers bench has been a major factor to the team's 0-3 start.  Other than SG JR Bremer no other member of the bench has managed more than 4 points in any game thus far.  After tinkering and getting a look at everyone on his bench coach Silas has decided to go with Chris Mihm as the backup PF.  Mihm is probably the second best offensive player coming off the bench and the team needs him to score a little and help keep the team in the game.  PG Kevin Ollie is expected to see more time after limited action on the West Coast trip.  Signed to be a stabilizing force Ollie hasn't gotten untracked as James has logged heavy minutes at PG. 

This unit has to find a way to be productive because as of this point they have hurt the team in every game forcing the starters to play more and possibly contributing to the fourth quarter breakdowns.

The Nuggets bench is energetic if not productive.  Few players bring more energy off the bench than PG Earl Boykins and SG Jon Barry.  Barry is known for leading some the best recent benches in the NBA in Sacramento and Detroit while Boykins getting the first extended minutes of his career won several games down the stretch for the Golden State Warriors last year.  Both players change the tempo of the game with their speed and by pushing the ball.  Boykins, a non stop ball of motion, can score in quick bunches while Barry can hit the timely three point dagger.  SF Rodney White has come into games and has given the Nuggets a bigger lift off the bench with his ability to shoot the three and score.  Their big men relative unknowns PF Chris Andersen and C Fransisco Elson are both very athletic and play with a lot of energy.  They both run the floor, rebound, block shots as well get dunks off alley oops and tips. 

The Nuggets bench at times has outplayed their starters in a stark contrast to the Cavaliers.  When on they have the ability to affect the game like recent top benches like the Detroit Pistons.  They perfectly fit the Nuggets style of play and once again Cleveland must match their energy to remain competitive.

When Cleveland has the ball: Most Nuggets games so far have been offensive stinkers and what you would think would be an up tempo team with poor perimeter defenders hasn't been the case.  Teams are struggling shooting the ball against the Nuggets which could spell the disaster if the Cavaliers keep making careless turnovers.  The Nuggets frontline of C Marcus Camby and PF Nene are more long and athletic than big and bulky as they will block and challenge shots with both players able to put up huge rebounding games.  The Cavaliers perimeter players can get to the rim on Denver and they must do so since the team has gone to the line among the fewest times in the NBA.  Getting more free throw attempts is a point of emphasis.  The backcourt will have a size advantage and Cleveland may look to exploit that advantage more with the 6'8 James and the 6'7 Davis and post up Lenard and Miller. 

When Denver has the ball: The Nuggets want to get out and run and they have the personnel to do so but have struggled offensively through the first four games coming off a 60 point stinker against Indiana last night.  They will continue to try and run against a Cavaliers team that has hardly stopped anyone yet this season.  The Nuggets half court execution hasn't been sharp and the Cavaliers half court defense has been awful.  It will be a case of the "stoppable force" against the "moveable object." If Anthony and Miller are able to penetrate and draw fouls it can cover up a multitude of sins and buoy the Nuggets through any offensive lulls they have.

Game outlook: Lost among the LeBron vs. Melo contrivance is the fact that the Cavaliers are seeking their first win.  Paul Silas has called this a must win game for the Cavaliers and a good showing will go a long way in keeping the optimism up among Cleveland fans.  The Cavaliers must amp up their defensive intensity and concentration or else they will be 0-4.  The Nuggets play hard every night and even they are the weakest of the four opponents the Cavaliers have played they have enough to handle them like the previous three Western Conference teams.

CavsTalk