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November 30, 2010Great Peyton Hillis Highlight Video
November 30, 2010Boston Celtics (12-4) vs
Cleveland Cavaliers (7-9)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
7:00 PM EST
FSOH/WTAM
Nobody is looking ahead to Thursday and everyone is focused on tonight’s game against the Celtics, right? I hope not. While it’s easy to understand the anticipation with Thursday’s homecoming game looming, this game tonight is still a big game for the Cavaliers. Sure, the Cavs are no longer the title contenders of years past, but any time you have a chance to try to beat the Celtics you should embrace how much fun it is. The Cavs-Celtics is by no means a major rivalry, but these two franchises do have a bit of a history with one another including some memorable playoff matches and it’s still a game I want the Cavs to win just a little more than most games. So for the rest of the evening, put LeBron and the Heat out of your minds and gear up for what will hopefully be another fun and exciting matchup with the Eastern Conference’s premier team.
Projected Starting Lineups
Boston Celtics:
-G Rajon Rondo (10.6 ppg, 14.2 apg, 2.5 spg, 19.15 PER)
-G Ray Allen (16.7 ppg, 3.4 apg, .452 3P%, 16.01 PER)
-F Paul Pierce (19.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 18.74 PER)
-F Kevin Garnett (15.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 0.6 bpg, 19.50 PER)
-C Shaquille O’Neal (12.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.6 bpg, 22.81 PER)
Key Reserves: Glen Davis, Marquis Daniels, Nate Robinson, Semih Erden, Von Wafer
Injuries: Kendrick Perkins (out), Delonte West (out), Jermaine O’Neal (out)
Cleveland Cavaliers:
-G Mo Williams (16.2 ppg, 5.4 apg, 1.5 spg, 19.05 PER)
-G Anthony Parker (7.8 ppg, 2.6 apg, .514 3P%, 9.49 PER)
-F Joey Graham (7.9 ppg, 0.4 apg, .364 3P%, 9.63 PER)
-F JJ Hickson (12.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.4 bpg, 13.85 PER)
-C Anderson Varejao (8.2 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 13.41 PER)
Key Reserves: Daniel Gibson, Antawn Jamison, Ramon Sessions, Jamario Moon, Ryan Hollins, Jawad Williams
Injuries: None
Team Efficiency Stats
Boston Celtics:
-Off (100.5 ppg, .504 FG%, 38.6 rpg, 26.3 apg, 14.5 TOpg, Eff-106.8, Rank-8)
-Def (93.3 ppg, .443 FG%, 38.8 rpg, Eff-98.5, Rank-1)
Cleveland Cavaliers:
-Off (95.1 ppg, .440 FG%, 40.8 rpg, 20.4 apg, 13.4 TOpg, Eff-99.5, Rank-28)
-Def (99.6 ppg, .461 FG%, 41.8 rpg, Eff-105.2, Rank-19)
Previous Matchups
- Boston 87 at Cleveland 95 – 10/27/2010 [box]
Future Matchups
- Tue, Jan 25 at Boston
Game Notes
Here we are, a month into the season and things haven’t gone quite as well as some had hoped in the wake of that emotional opening win over Boston. The Cavs offense has been slowly and steadily digging deeper and deeper toward the cellar. Tonight they face the Celtics, who come in boasting the NBA’s best defense. What happens when the league’s 3rd worst offense takes on the league’s best offense? It’s usually not pretty.
And hey, this game probably will be a blow out loss for the Cavaliers. Just look at those numbers and efficiency ratings for the Celtics starters above. The last time around, the Celtics overlooked the Cavaliers and were coming off an emotional win of their own the night before against Miami. This time around, the Cavs won’t be as fortunate.
Tonight, the Celtics come into this game fresh off a nice 4 day break since their last game, Friday at home against the Raptors. And there’s no way the Celtics are going to overlook the Cavaliers this time around. The Cavs have the Celtics’ attention, and Boston will certainly make this game much more difficult than the first. Or, at least, that’s what it says on paper.
So how can the Cavaliers win this game? The big advantage for the Cavs is in bench play. The Celtics are down 3 men (well, ok, 2.5 if you only want to count a washed up Jermaine O’Neal as a half) due to injury and their bench is painfully short as it is. The Cavaliers must, must, must use their depth and youth to try to wear down the Boston starters. And when Boston does go to their bench, the Cavaliers reserves who have been so reliable all year absolutely must take it to Boston as much as they possibly can. Focus on efficiency, ball movement, limiting turnovers, and pushing the pace whenever possible. Boston may have the NBA’s best transition defense, but the Cavaliers still have to push the ball against them whenever possible.
Beyond just fastbreak points, though, the Cavaliers need to push the ball just to keep the pressure on Boston’s defense. This is where having Mo Williams in the lineup this time around really helps. The Cavaliers may not play at a lightning fast pace in terms of Pace Factor, but Mo Williams has been excellent for most of the season at pushing the tempo and getting the Cavaliers into their offense quickly. This forces the defense to constantly hustle back and not let up at all and not jog back too often. Eventually, the Cavaliers have been able to wear down some defenses this way.
If this game turns into a half court slugfest the way the Celtics like it, the Cavaliers will get slaughtered. I’m convinced of that much. However, if the Cavaliers can pick their spots and impose their pace on the Celtics just a little bit, it may pay off down the stretch and the Cavs key bench guys can help push the Cavaliers to another stunning win over the Celtics. It won’t be easy, but it sure will be fun to watch.
Vegas Line
Cleveland +6.5
Over/Under 192.5
From The Outside Looking In
CelticsBlog
Celtics Hub
Red’s Army
Hardwood Houdini
Perk Is A Beast
Birds Of A Feather
Stepien Rules
Cavs: The Blog
The Wine and Gold Rush
Random Thoughts
Next Game For The Cavaliers
Come on, you know what the next game is…
5 Comments
If there’s such a thing as a “trap game” against a top team, this would be it. Forget the won’t-look-ahead talk; will be shocked if the Cavs are up for a fierce effort tonight. Best chance is if Boston is real flat.
[Bleacher Report]
Pretty accurate if you ask me. I didnt know if anyone has seen this or not.
Thanks for the laughs, bobby.
You’re too rich, with your ‘Bleacher Report is accurate’ jokes.
O i didnt mean it was accurate reporting. just seems accurate in LBJs effect on the Cs when with the Cavs vs. what the Heat have been this year.
Celtics the real beast in the east! To bad LeWhine!