02/25 Morning Minute: Well, That Wasn’t So Bad
February 25, 200802/26 Morning Minute: Crickets…
February 26, 2008Cleveland Cavaliers (32-24) vs Milwaukee Bucks (21-35)
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
8:00 PM EST
FSN OH/WTAM
Another trial run for the new Cavaliers. Not quite as easy as playing the Grizzlies at home, but still a game the Cavaliers should win….and a game they better win. It will be a nice road test against a team that seems to be heading backwards in general. At the beginning of the year, I really liked this Bucks team a lot and I thought that if Yi Jianlian panned out that this could be a team that could create some serious matchup problems for many teams. However, Yi has struggled to really find his game in the NBA thus far and has experienced a bit of a roller coaster ride of a rookie season, and with Michael Redd suffering some injuries, this season has been a serious letdown for the team and its fans. Now the Cavaliers roll into town and look to strike with a new group of players still trying to figure one another out.
Starting Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers:
-G Delonte West (6.8 ppg, 3.3 apg, 32.8% 3pt, 9.78 PER)
-G Devin Brown (6.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 11.02 PER)
-F LeBron James (30.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 7.5 apg, 30.18 PER)
-F Ben Wallace (5.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 12.17 PER)
-C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (13.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.7 bpg, 18.80 PER)
Key Injuries: Anderson Varejao (Game Time Decision), Daniel Gibson (Out), Sasha Pavlovic (Out)
Milwaukee Bucks:
-G Mo Williams (17.5 ppg, 6.4 apg, 1.3 spg, 17.18 PER)
-G Michael Redd (23.2 ppg, 3.7 apg, 37.3% 3pt, 20.62 PER)
-F Desmond Mason (8.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.9 apg, 12.76 PER)
-F Charlie Villanueva (10.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.4 bpg, 14.70 PER)
-C Andrew Bogut (13.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 1.7 bpg, 16.65 PER)
Key Injuries: Ramon Sessions (Out)
Team Efficiency Stats
Cleveland Cavaliers:
-Offense (97.3 ppg, 44.2 rpg, .440 FG%, .720 FT%, 19.6 apg, Efficiency-102.8, Rank-17)
-Defense (98.1 ppg, 40.8 rpg, .459 FG%, Efficiency-103.8, Rank-16)
Milwaukee Bucks:
-Offense (95.0 ppg, 40.5 rpg, .449 FG%, .744 FT%, 21.2 apg, Efficiency-101.6, Rank-20)
-Defense (101.5 ppg, 40.5 rpg, .470 FG%, Efficiency-108.3, Rank-29)
Game Notes
Fate is shining down on the Cavaliers. Sunday they played the 28th ranked defense and next up they play the 29th ranked defense. These 2 games (Memphis and Milwaukee) are important as they are both tune ups for the big Boston game Wednesday night as well as being games the Cavaliers needed to win. The chase to 50 wins is on and this team cannot afford to throw away games like this one. So the mission will be twofold…..1) continue to develop on court chemistry and assimilation with the new players, and 2) win the game.
The Milwaukee Bucks are a team that features stellar guard play, weak frontcourt play, and no defense at all. However, the backcourt excellence of this team will provide a nice test again for the Cavaliers perimeter defense, and we will all get to see how Delonte West does defensively against an offensive minded PG who is looking to score like Mo Williams. Michael Redd, as always, is a dangerous foe and you cannot let him get open looks. Even getting in his face isn’t always enough as Redd features a lighning quick delivery which he uses to get shots off from anywhere with defenders draped all over him. Sure, I’m somewhat biased as an OSU alumnus, but Michael Redd is one of my favorite players to watch in the NBA. However, the hope here is that the Cavs will be able to limit how often we have to see him in this game. In the frontcourt, Andrew Bogut is having a very nice season, and his skills have gone largely overshadowed this season. However, the Bucks aren’t getting much else help down low. Mason is a role player type guy for the most part, and Charlie Villanueva is decent, but not exactly a guy who strikes fear into his opponents. Coming off the bench, Yi has nice touch on his shot, but he is not a presence down low at all, whether it be offensively or defensively. Defense, or the lack thereof, is definitely Yi’s most glaring weakness.
For the Cavaliers, I will look to see how West continues to develop in this system. Furthermore, I’ll be closely watching his shot. I saw Delonte drill big shot after big shot at St. Joe’s, and I know he’s a better shooter than the 2-12 performance he put up the other night. All I know, is that Delonte was setting up the pick and roll beautifully and that was without having much of a feel for where his teammates were going to be on the court. This kid’s only going to get better, and I look forward to watching that development. Overall, the new guys definitely made their mark Sunday night, putting up a combined 41 points, 18 rebounds, and 6 assists. In total, perhaps the most encouraging stat was the 27 team assists, the 4th highest total of the season. Prior to putting up an astonishing 39 assists on January 23rd against the Wizards, you have to go back to game #13 on November 24th to find a game in which the Cavaliers had more than 27 assists as a team.
The Cavaliers were on fire prior to the trade deadline, and they look to carry that momentum into this stretch run with the new roster. In this game, I look for the Cavaliers to try to play a more complete game for the whole 48 minutes rather than the 38 minute performance they put forth against Memphis. If you allow yourselves to get ahead of yourself and start sleeping on the Bucks, they will unleash an offensive fury before you know what hit you with Mo Williams and Michael Redd. This will basically be a game of improvement for the Cavaliers.
Vegas Line
Milwaukee +3
Over/Under 199
From The Outside Looking In
Brew Hoop
The Bratwurst
Bucks Diary
Bango’s Bunch
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4 Comments
nicely done Rock
Hey, seeing as we are both Cleveland based sports sites, would you be interested in a link swap?
hellyesguy.blogspot.com
Warning Track Power
Wonderful post. I’m already prepping – cold Coke, warm pretzel, cozy blanket, legal pad and pen. Happy to be snowed-in.
@WTP: Sure thing. Checked out your site and enjoyed it, and so I went ahead and added your site to the blogroll. Keep up the good work!
@carolyn: snowed-in? In Columbus it is raining, which will probably freeze tonight and turn into pure ice. I wish I was snowed in.