Excuse Me, May We Have the Wooden Turtle Back Please?
November 15, 2008Beanie Wells Hurdles Illinois Safety
November 16, 2008Utah Jazz (6-3) vs
Cleveland Cavaliers (7-2)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Saturday, November 15, 2008
7:30 PM EST
FSNOH/WTAM
The Cleveland Cavaliers are on an absolute roll right now. Some games have been prettier than others, but on the whole, a 6 game winning streak so early in the season is a good sign for the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers have yet to even play their best basketball as they are still adjusting to the new roster, but the results so far have been promising. Utah, on the other hand, comes into this game limping a bit. They’re suffering through injuries to Deron Williams, Matt Harpring, and Andrei Kirilenko. They’re dealing with the absence of Mehmet Okur, who is with his family in Turkey. The Jazz started the year 5-0, but have lost 3 of 4 since. They lost last night in Charlotte and now they must travel to Cleveland for a road game on the 2nd night of a back-to-back. Can the Jazz overcome their issues and get a key early season road win, or will the Cavaliers pull off their 7th straight victory?
Projected Starting Lineups
Utah Jazz:
-G Ronnie Price (4.6 ppg, 3.9 apg, 0.9 spg, 5.68 PER)
-G Ronnie Brewer (12.0 ppg, 3.8 apg, .429 3P%, 15.08 PER)
-F C.J. Miles (6.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 12.68 PER)
-F Carlos Boozer (20.9 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 0.2 bpg, 27.17 PER)
-C Kosta Koufos (4.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.8 bpg, 13.70 PER)
Key Injuries: Deron Williams (doubtful), Mehmet Okur (not with team), Andrei Kirilenko (day-to-day), Matt Harpring (gametime decision)
Cleveland Cavaliers:
-G Mo Williams (15.4 ppg, 5.0 apg, 1.1 spg, 13.79 PER)
-G Delonte West (10.0 ppg, 2.6 apg, .486 3P%, 12.84 PER)
-F LeBron James (28.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 7.3 apg, 32.89 PER)
-F Ben Wallace (2.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 14.12 PER)
-C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (14.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 23.56 PER)
Key Injuries: Eric Snow (out), Darnell Jackson (out)
Team Efficiency Stats
Utah Jazz:
-Off (96.8 ppg, 42.8 rpg, .472 FG%, .763 FT%, 25.5 apg, Efficiency-104.0, Rank-11)
-Def (90.1 ppg, 39.3 rpg, .419 FG%, Efficiency-99.0, Rank-6)
Cleveland Cavaliers:
-Off (100.7 ppg, 39.7 rpg, .482 FG%, .776 FT%, 20.7 apg, Efficiency-109.0, Rank-1)
-Def (93.7 ppg, 37.3 rpg, .425 FG%, Efficiency-101.1, Rank-14)
Game Notes
Well, the tables certainly have turned. Normally, Cleveland has always been the defensive team in most matchups, but now, the Cavaliers are first in offensive efficiency rating in the entire NBA. Tonight, they take on a team that has been a much better defensive team than Cleveland has been, while Cleveland comes in as the superior offensive team. It’s a bizarre feeling, I know.
The Cavaliers have traditionally played the Jazz really well at home. In fact, the Cavs have beaten the Jazz four straight times at the Q, including last season’s tough fought 99-94 win. If the Cavaliers want to keep that streak going, the offense must be clicking against this tough Utah defense. The Cavaliers have done a great job the last 3 games in reducing their turnovers, and we’ll look for that to continue tonight. A more important indicator of this offense, though, is the assists. When the Cavaliers offense is working at its best, the ball is moving and the proper passes are being made, setting up easier baskets. So far this year, the Cavaliers are 4-1 in games when they have 20 or more assists. Going back to last season, the Cavaliers are 22-8 in games when they have 23 or more assists. In the last 2 years, the Cavaliers have only lost one game in which they had more than 25 assists. This is why it’s so important for the Cavaliers to keep their focus on their ball movement within their offense.
Defensively, this will be a huge game for the Cavalier big men. Carlos Boozer is Utah’s leading scorer and leading rebounder. He’s averaging a double-double at 20.9 points and 11.7 rebounds. With Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko both expeted to be out, and with Mehmet Okur gone, the offensive onus falls squarely on Boozer’s shoulders. If Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao are effective at all in defending Boozer and keeping him off the offensive glass, you have to really like the Cavaliers’ chances in this game. It’s hard enough to play back to back road games, but it’s even tougher when missing 3 of your key players.
The Cavaliers will look to somewhat stay within themselves in this game. Take care of the ball, don’t stand around on offense, and try their best to keep the Jazz off the boards, especially off the offensive glass. The rebounding issue may be starting to sound like a broken record, but that seems to be the most pressing issue for the Cavaliers this season. In some games, against some teams, simply taking care of the ball and rebounding won’t be enough to win. In those games the Cavaliers will have to make something extra happen to win. Not to discount the Jazz at all (after all, they were my preseason pick to win the NBA Title this year), and I realize they have great depth. But not having 3 of your top 4 offensive players is just too much for any team to overcome. As long as the Cavaliers play a decent, solid game, they should be able to come away with a victory in this game.
Vegas Line
Cleveland -10.5
Over/Under 191
From The Outside Looking In
SLC Dunk
True Blue Jazz
All That Jazz
The Cowhide Globe
Next Game For The Cavaliers
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
7:30 PM EST
Cleveland Cavaliers at New Jersey Nets
FSNOH/WTAM
13 Comments
I have to say I’m a little disappointed to be facing the Jazz without Williams. I understand this gives the Cavs a better shot to win, and no it doesn’t guarantee a victory, but I am really wanting to see how this Cavs team stacks up against the best teams in the league. We didn’t get to face a full strength New Orleans team (which didn’t matter, they beat us anyway) or a full strength Dallas team. The Bucks were without Redd, and Chicago was sitting several players the second game.
Here’s hoping we run the streak to 7!
Rick, I share your concerns – we have played some banged up teams.
But remember Denver went INTO Boston last night and beat them. And Billups played BY FAR his best game this season against us.
I say it all the time to my football team, you don’t get better by beating up on people weaker than you. If you want to get better you have to play against the best and learn.
Screw that! i’m glad they not playing. I hope we blow em out so bron can rest the 4th quarter. I’ll worry bout seeing where we at later in the season when we play l.a and boston again. Who was dallas missing?
I’ve always hated the Jazz. That is all.
This is not a young, inexperienced team that needs to test their mettle agaisnt the best in the league. i’m sure bron and the boys will be ready when the playoffs come. if Utah wants to give us a win by resting a bunch of guys, i say take it. this team needs wins in the regular season so they can play at the O as much as possible in the spring.
that would be the Q, of course. not sure what the O would be. sorry.
Boobie head stencils!!!
this team is so much fun to watch… just got league pass broadband… no more crappy p2p streams for me…. came out slow, but a decent 3rd quarter for once…. go cavs!
Suck it, Boozer
Boozer Sucks
Dude, is that another dude named Amar on that “All That Jazz” link you provided? Who’da thunk it?
We are fun to watch. Mo takes advantage when teams are worried bout lebron. I loves it when he goes coast to coast. He like a blur ha ha. Good win