Cavs @ Grizzlies (Tuesday 8PM, FSNHD)

[chiefwahoo]

@

Tuesday, January 15, 2008
8:00 pm ET, FedExForum, Memphis, TN
TV: FSN Ohio HD, Radio: WTAM 1100

Memphis Grizzlies

PG Mike Conley

ESPN's Scouting Report

The Grizzlies' first-round pick figures to be their opening-day point guard, and with good reason. In his first and only season at Ohio State, Conley proved to be both a capable floor general and, when needed, a terror off the dribble. Though he's a bit small at a slightly built 6-1 and his jumper needs some work, Conley's quickness is reminiscent of Chris Paul or Tony Parker. He pilfered 2.2 balls a game as a collegian, another sign of his turbo jets, and at just 20 years old this October he figures to get substantially better before all is said and done.

SG Mike Miller

ESPN's Scouting Report

Miller has good size and a beautiful shooting stroke, making him deadly coming off pin-downs for 3-pointers. One play Memphis ran to great effect had Miller back-picking for Gasol in the lane, which inevitably caused his man to help on Gasol. Then Miller would dart out past another pick to the top of the key and be wide open for a 3.

Miller is a good enough ball handler to play point guard in emergencies, and sees the floor well enough that he rated 17th among shooting guards in assist ratio. However, he's overwhelmingly right-handed, so playing his drives isn't a challenge for smart defenders. Miller also constantly leaves his feet to make passes, one reason he has a high turnover ratio for a jump shooter.

Defensively, he's a lot better off at small forward than shooting guard, because he can be exposed off the dribble by quicker guards. But he has the size to battle opponents around the basket and does a passable job on the boards.

SF Rudy Gay

ESPN's Scouting Report

Gay is well above par athletically, plus he's 6-9 and lean, so one see a little bit of Shawn Marion in him. It came out at times last year, like in the Houston game when he rejected a 3-point attempt then went the other way for a Statue of Liberty dunk over a defender. The three areas where he was well above average for his position were blocks, steals and rebounds -- again indicating his superior athleticism.

On the other hand, he still needs to learn how to use that ability on a more consistent basis. His length especially could become a factor defensively if he'd use it more -- nothing was more frustrating than watching Gay double a big man and leave his arms at his sides. His overall defensive fundamentals could use some work too, as Memphis' attempts to use him as a stopper were mostly met with a torrent of buckets. In his defense, he wasn't getting much help.

Offensively, Gay really needs to work on his ballhandling. He's a good athlete and can shoot over anyone, but he has little ability to evade defenders and free himself for clean looks. Doing so might also reduce his above-average turnover ratio.

PF Pau Gasol

ESPN's Scouting Report

Gasol gets no respect from NBA folks because he's considered soft and he's never won a playoff game, but I defy you to find 15 players better than this guy. He's put up All-Star caliber numbers for four straight seasons, and at 27 his elevator still appears to be going up.

Gasol is incredibly quick for a 7-footer, plus he's skilled enough to put it on the floor and go past opponents or turn over them for a hook shot. He's also a great passer who can punish opponents who double-team, and he does it without many turnovers -- both his assist and turnover ratios were in the top 15 at his position.

However, it's the development of the jumper that's really taken his game over the top. Gasol started complementing his array of left-block post moves with a turn baseline for a jumper, something he showed little in previous season. Combined with the right-handed drive and baseline spin that had previously been his go-to moves, it makes him impossible to overplay.

The stats tell the story (see chart). On non-layup 2-pointers, Gasol has increased both his shooting percentage and the proportion of his attempts from that range each of the past two seasons. As a result, he's become a multidimensional threat. While his release is hardly textbook -- a one-handed set-shot thingy that he takes after about an hour-long windup -- it's enough of a threat to open even more driving lanes for him, allowing him to abuse opposing big men off the bounce.

C Darko Milicic

ESPN's Scouting Report

The seven-foot southpaw can handle the ball a little and has a nice post game from the right block, where he likes to dive into the lane for a left-handed hook shot. From the other side he prefers to turn baseline, as he doesn't make much use of his right hand.

But the biggest problem is what he does when he's not being fed the ball -- nothing. Scouts talk a lot about a player's "motor", and Milicic's apparently came from an abandoned VW Beetle that never had its oil changed -- he doesn't appear to have any instinct or motivation to move without the ball into open areas or aggressively follow a teammate's shot.

Defensively, it's the same story. Milicic has the basic elements of a good defender: A knack for blocking shots and the size to defend the post. But he doesn't always play hard and sometimes takes himself out of position for he rebounds by chasing blocks he can't get. Transition defense is also a problem, and though he's not fat one wonders if he's in top shape.

MEMPHIS ROTATION

Kyle Lowry (PG) / Juan Carlos Navarro (SG) / Casey Jacobsen (SF) / Hakim Warrick (PF) / Stromile Swift (C)

MEMPHIS BENCH
>> Damon Stoudamire (PG)
>> Brian Cardinal (PF)
>> Andre Brown (C)

INJURY REPORT
No injuries reported.

Cleveland Cavaliers

PG Larry Hughes

ESPN's Scouting Report

Hughes found a new niche last season when he took over as the Cavs' starting point guard. This is strictly a ceremonial title, as LeBron James does most of the team's ballhandling, but it allowed the Cavs to play a huge backcourt of the 6-5 Hughes and the 6-7 Sasha Pavlovic and cemented what was already a strong defensive squad.

While Hughes isn't the offensive player he was in Washington, he's been better on defense. He stopped all the gambling that defined his Wizards tenure and become a much more consistent defender, with his quickness allowing him to keep up with most point guards. His foot injury was a major reason Tony Parker shredded Cleveland's defense so easily in the Finals.

Offensively, Hughes is a natural slasher but also likes to shoot jumpers from the right elbow while going to his right. Shot selection has always been an issue for him, especially regarding his wobbly jumper, and despite getting fewer attempts in Cleveland he hasn't become more accurate.

He's also started using a slow, deliberate shot fake on his jumper which acts as something of an idiot test for defenders. There's no reason to bite on the fake because getting Hughes to shoot a long J is a victory for the defense, but guys fell for it all season.

SG Sasha Pavlovic

ESPN's Scouting Report

An athletic 6-7 forward, Pavlovic can defend both wing positions and is a good finisher in transition. Defense is his best asset, as the Cavs used him as their primary stopper against high-scoring wings and he was a big factor in their fourth-rated defense.

While Pavlovic is a good leaper, he doesn't get many open-court chances because he's such a poor ballhandler, and his inability to handle also limits his ability to take slower players off the dribble in the halfcourt. He's developed a niche by cultivating his skill at shooting 3s from the wing, and since he doesn't turn 24 until early November his game has a chance to progress further from here.

SF LeBron James

ESPN's Scouting Report

One reason James often ends up trying to make a heroic shot at the end of the clock is because there is so little going on up until that point. James tends to be far too methodical when attacking defenses, often waiting several seconds to read the defense before he attacks. That tends to bring the offense to a halt and makes it easier for help defenders to collapse on him. His habit of retreating when double-teamed on the pick-and-roll only exacerbates this problem.

This is particularly noticeable when James tries to post up. Despite his imposing physique, James rarely attacks opponents on the blocks and isn't terribly effective when he does. All he does is wait for the double-team instead of making a quick move, neutralizing what should be his best tool.

Of course, other players would kill for such problems. James is an amazingly good ball handler for his size, acting as the Cavs' de facto point guard and ranking 12th among small forwards in assist ratio. He's almost impossible to stop once he gets some momentum toward the basket and, though a streaky shooter, can get his shot off over anyone. James is also a devastating finisher in transition, making it unfortunate the Cavs can't find a guard to help push the tempo more often.

Defensively, James does a poor job fighting through screens but the rest of his game has become pretty solid. He's still better at playing passing lanes than he is at making help-side plays or taking charges, and he rarely guards the opponent's top scorer. On the other hand, nobody seems particularly anxious to attack him, and he's virtually impossible to post up against.

PF Drew Gooden

ESPN's Scouting Report

Gooden's best asset isn't his scoring, but his rebounding. Despite a slender build, Gooden is a force on the glass because of his quick hops and a nose for the ball. Gooden had the sixth-best rebound rate among power forwards last season, and that was completely consistent with what he'd done the previous two campaigns.

Gooden can be a frustrating player because of his concentration lapses. He'll lose track of his man or forget a play and go the wrong way. He cemented this impression at the end of Game 5 of the Cleveland-Detroit series, when the Cavs had a four-point lead in the final seconds and you could see LeBron James screaming at Gooden during a timeout to stay on the floor. The first thing Gooden did? Take a flying leap at Rasheed Wallace while he was shooting a 3-pointer -- even though the only way Detroit could tie was by being fouled on a triple.

People tend to focus on Gooden's mental lapses, but he also makes a lot of positive plays at the defensive end. Gooden is very quick for his size and his ability to switch out on guards on screens or rotate off his man is one of the reasons the Cavs were the league's fourth-best defense last season. He's not as good in post defense, where his lack of strength becomes a factor, and he's a poor shot-blocker, but overall he's a solid defensive player.

C Zydrunas Ilgauskas

ESPN's Scouting Report

Though the Cavs go to him less often these days, the 7-3 Ilgauskas is still a weapon in the post. He's become increasingly reliant on a sweeping one-handed hook shot going to his right, although he also has a nice touch on turnarounds going to either side.

Ilgauskas is also very dangerous on the offensive boards, where despite a lack of elevation he has an almost Rodman-like knack for tipping the ball multiple times before either possessing it or tipping it in. Along with his height, that same ability makes him very good on jump balls.

Defensively, Ilgauskas has the size to be an effective deterrent around the basket, but struggles when he is pulled farther from the basket. Teams try to attack him in screen-and-roll plays, where he struggles to help on the guard and still get back to his man. For that reason, Anderson Varejao often finished games in the middle instead of Ilgauskas.

CLEVELAND ROTATION

Daniel Gibson (PG) / Anderson Varejao (SF) / Damon Jones (G) / Devin Brown (G-F) / Dwayne Jones (F-C)

CLEVELAND BENCH
>> Eric Snow (PG)
>> Ira Newble (SF)

INJURY REPORT

Donyell Marshall (F) | Status Alert: Out until at least late January with a right wrist injury.

AccuScore Prediction
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CHIEF'S PREDICTION
CAVS - 102
Grizzlies - 89
=============================================

​

 

[Splitz]

we need a W here, the Raps and Wiz have some good momentum and NJ is on our heels.

 

[Joe Henderson]

Every time i look at that Griz lineup, it's the same: i like every one of their players and can't really figure out how they can lose so many games.

 

[davedugan43]

here's a stat for you stat geeks, did you know the cavs are 19-0 when they outscore their opponents

 

[PIP]

^^ I don't believe it, I'm going to look it up..

BTW, I have Conley on two of my fantasy teams, so I need him to pick it up, and torch us..Go Cavs !!

 

[CavsRules]

^^ I don't believe it, I'm going to look it up..

BTW, I have Conley on two of my fantasy teams, so I need him to pick it up, and torch us..Go Cavs !!

I actually drafted him last round, but dropped him when he wasn't getting any minutes. Hes really not lighting it up, either, so I didn't bother to re-sign em.

Anyway, we need this win to get TWO! games over .500. Hughes is finally over 10 PPG? Shocker... -_-

 

[crazedcav333]

^^^ on 47 shots per game.

 

[Karma]

Cavs motoring along nicely thus far.

 

[Karma]

Drew is a turnover machine of late it seems.

 

[PIP]

Fred is trying to be smooth with Rudy Gay.

"Anderson is stripped of the ball from the long armed Gay"

 

[Karma]

Navarro and Gibson in a nice shootout tonight.

 

[Troy Wingate]

I see Hughes is back to being the pathetic Larry Hughes we all know and hate

 

[Karma]

LeBron with a big 3 ball.

 

[Karma]

Lacking an inside presense defensively.

 

[Dungong]

Time out Cavs, lets see if we can get something better than a turnover...

at least got an open devin brown 3.