Cavaliers Preview Game #56

Memphis Grizzlies (14-41) vs Cleveland Cavaliers (31-24)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Sunday, February 24, 2008
6:00 PM EST
FSN OH/WTAM

The Cavaliers get to take their first trial run of the new roster tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies. I did my first ever Cavaliers Game Preview for my old site on the January matchup against Memphis, a game which the Cavaliers won 134-124 in overtime, a game you might remember for the 51 point 9 assist 8 rebound game LeBron put up that night. I mentioned at the time that I really like the Grizzlies lineup and I felt that once they found an identity they really had a chance to grow into becoming a good team. They had won 3 in a row and they gave the Cavaliers all they could handle that night. That wound up being the peak of the Grizzlies season, however, as since that time they have traded away the face of the franchise in Pau Gasol and they have only won 4 games since their last matchup with the Cavaliers. Clearly, these are two teams headed in different directions this year.

Starting Lineups

Memphis Grizzlies:

-G Mike Conley (9.2 ppg, 4.6 apg, 0.9 spg, 13.87 PER)
-G Juan Carlos Navarro (10.7 ppg, 2.2 apg, 36.9% 3pt, 11.81 PER)
-F Rudy Gay (20.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 17.61 PER)
-F Hakim Warrick (9.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.3 bpg, 16.31 PER)
-C Darko Milicic (6.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 9.43 PER)

Key Injuries: Mike Miller (day-to-day)

Cleveland Cavaliers:

-G Delonte West (6.8 ppg, 3.2 apg, 33.9% 3pt, 10.12 PER)
-G Devin Brown (6.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, 10.68 PER)
-F LeBron James (30.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 7.5 apg, 30.23 PER)
-F Ben Wallace (5.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 12.09 PER)
-C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (13.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.7 bpg, 18.67 PER)

Key Injuries: Sasha Pavlovic (Out), Andy Varejao (Out), Daniel Gibson (Out)

Team Efficiency Stats

Memphis Grizzlies:

-Offense (99.7 ppg, 41.7 rpg, .456 FG%, .736 FT%, 19.9 apg, Efficiency-102.1, Rank-18)
-Defense (104.9 ppg, 44.1 rpg, .474 FG%, Efficiency-107.8, Rank-28)

Cleveland Cavaliers:

-Offense (97.1 ppg, 44.1 rpg, .439 FG%, .720 FT%, 19.4 apg, Efficiency-102.7, Rank-17)
-Defense (98.2 ppg, 41.0 rpg, .460 FG%, Efficiency-104.0, Rank-16)

Game Notes

First off, my starting lineup for the Cavaliers is a complete guess. The Cavaliers official site still has the projected lineup as the same one as last game, but I’ve read a couple different reports that have said the players will be available and that West and Wallace are in the starting lineup. So I guessed. I saw Mike Brown’s comments in which he said Devin Brown could potentially start at SG, so that’s what I went with. Regardless, the good news for those who don’t particularly want to see Billy Thomas throw up 11 three pointers again is that all the new guys will be available, and so start or not, expect to see plenty of Szczerbiak and Smith as well. The Cavaliers had the best record in the Eastern Conference since Jan. 1st, but that means nothing now as the team will look to find its identity with this new roster. I would expect to see some sloppy play here and there as they try to figure this thing out, but the fortunate news is the Cavaliers are playing a team at home that they should absolutely beat.

The Grizzlies still play no defense at all, and that’s their biggest problem. They had no way of stopping LeBron last time they played, and there’s no reason to expect anything different this time. The Grizzlies are starting 2 rookies, a 2nd year player, a 3rd year player, and a 5th year player. This is a painfully young team, and with Gasol gone and Miller injured, it’s also not a particularly good team. Rudy Gay is still fantastic, and he and Navarro both torched the Cavaliers defense last time these teams met, but with underperformers like Milicic and Kwame Brown at center, this team lacks skill in their frontcourt.

For the Cavaliers, the mission is to find a way to get their Points per Game above their opponents Points per Game and to get their FG% up while reducing their opponents FG%. I know, I’m being Captain Obvious here, but this has been a major problem for the team this year. They are in the bottom half of the league in both offense and defense. Now, they have a fresh start to try to correct these shortcomings. Hopefully Wallace will be able to help with the defense and Szczerbiak will be able to help with the offense while West and Smith both fill in roles on both sides of the ball. It starts tonight…

For a preview from the Memphis perspective try 3 Shades of Blue.

Vegas Line

Cleveland -11.5
Over/Under 196.5

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