PG Raymond Felton
ESPN's Scouting Report
Felton's penetration skills are his primary asset. He is very quick off the dribble, can go with either hand and is effective pushing the ball in transition. He has good court vision, too, and might be able to indulge that part of his game more now that he has a few teammates who can score. While Felton has a reputation as a poor outside shooter, he's actually done decently from outside the past couple seasons. Instead, finishing at the rim has been his big problem.
Defensively, it would be nice if he were an inch or two taller, but Felton does a good job keeping opposing guards in front of him and doesn't appear to have any glaring weaknesses. Opponents rarely attacked him since some of his teammates were such easy targets, but that might change this season.
SG Jason Richarson
ESPN's Scouting Report
Richardson has a smooth outside shot with a quick release, and he elevates so well that he can get it off in close quarters. He doesn't like to shoot off the dribble nearly as much, but will pull up from long range when he goes one-on-one. While his leaping ability makes him a major threat on alley-oops and transition plays, he doesn't handle the ball well enough to get to the rim often in the half court. And despite being big for his position, Richardson has virtually no post game.
Though Richardson's defense has come a long way since his rookie year, he's still a mediocre defender. His explosive leaping comes in handy on the boards and in the occasional shot-blocking situation, but he doesn't move particularly well laterally and doesn't make many plays from the weak side.
SF Gerald Wallace
ESPN's Scouting Report
Wallace is one of the game's great ball hawks at the defensive end, with his steals and blocks often igniting a transition opportunity that results in a crowd-pleasing throwdown for him at the other end. As such, he's one of the league's most electrifying players.
However, his defensive fundamentals need a lot of work. Wallace takes some low-percentage gambles going for steals and can be beaten off the ball with shocking ease. He's still a plus in the big picture because of the blocks and boards, and he's pretty good one-on-one as well. But with a little more discipline, he could be a lot better.
Offensively, he's become very effective penetrating from about 15 feet -- he'll catch at the mid post and make a quick drive against bigger defenders, while he'll more cautiously back his way into position against the little guys. He has a cross-handed jump shot that likely always will be a liability, but last season he made enough from midrange to keep defenses honest and he's become proficient at bank shots. He has to keep improving from the line, though -- last year's 69.1 percent, poor though it was, represented a career high.
PF Emeka Okafor
ESPN's Scouting Report
One reason Okafor fared better offensively is because the Bobcats stopped making him the go-to guy. He's a reasonably effective scorer, but doesn't have the variety of moves nor the shooting skill to be The Man.
What he does have is a nice turnaround from the right block that he'll take without a dribble. He tends to travel when starting a post move, though, and his game on the blocks isn't terribly refined. He's much better at finishing what other people start, either off a feed or a put-back.
Though only 6-10, Okafor has become one of the best defensive centers in the game. He has the strength to bang in the blocks and the leaping ability to affect the shots of bigger players, but he saves his best work for the help side. Okafor is great at coming over and snuffing shot opportunities, whether by blocking a shot or rotating quickly and forcing an extra pass.
CT Nazr Mohammed
ESPN's Scouting Report
Mohammed is undersized for a center and not a great athlete, characteristics that limit his defensive contribution. However, he's a widebody with a great nose for the ball, and those traits make him a force on the glass. He also moves well without the ball and gets himself easy buckets that way, though part of that advantage is offset by a terrible set of hands.
Mohammed doesn't have great form on his shot but is willing to hoist the 10-foot jumper, even if he's covered. He's something of a black hole in that respect, but enough of them find the net that the team does OK on the tradeoff.
CHARLOTTE ROTATION
Earl Boykins (G) / Jared Dudley (F) / Matt Carroll (G) / Ryan Hollins (C)
Charlotte BENCH
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Jermaeo Davidson (F-C)
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Derek Anderson (G)
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Othella Harrington (F)
INACTIVE LIST
Sean May (F) | Status Alert: He had season ending surgery on his knee near the beginning of the season.
Adam Morrison (G) | Status Alert: Expected to miss the entire season with a torn ACL.
PG Delonte West
ESPN's Scouting Report
A left-handed guard with decent quickness and a soft perimeter touch, West is a classic combo guard who makes a great sub backing up both positions but seems a bit overmatched as a starter at either one. He should focus more on his catch-and-shoot game since he can be a potent long-range threat; that would also create more openings for him to shot fake and pull up from midrange.
West is one of the best shot-blocking guards in basketball, ranking fourth among shooting guards in blocks per minute despite being shorter than most of his contemporaries. However, he's not really a good defensive player. The blocks often are desperation plays after a man has beaten him off the dribble, and at the shooting guard spot he's undersized. Boston gave up 3.0 points more per 48 minutes when he was on the court, although a bad back may have played a role here too.
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 Ben Wallace
ESPN's Scouting Report
Wallace is as bad an offensive player as you'll see. Anything that isn't a dunk is pretty much a no-hoper, and even the dunks aren't a sure thing because the ball slips out of his small hands so often. He has never hit half his free throws in an NBA season and is at 41.7 percent for his career; some opponents have tried to take advantage of this weakness by fouling him intentionally, and conversely the Bulls often take him out of games down the stretch to avoid his being sent to the line. Among the league's 62 centers, Wallace ranked 60th in true shooting percentage and 56th in usage rate.
One thing he can do is pass. Wallace had the second-best assist ratio at his position last season, and it's not just from hot-potatoing the ball to a guard every time he gets it. He also had a low turnover ratio, which is pretty remarkable for a big man who rarely shoots -- most of these guys will have a high mark by virtue of setting illegal screens, but Wallace is almost never called for illegal picks.
CT 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
Joe Smith (F) / Wally Szczerbiak (G/F) / Anderson Varejao (C/F) / Devin Brown (G-F)
CLEVELAND BENCH
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Dwayne Jones (F-C)
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Damon Jones (G)
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Lance Allred (C)
INACTIVE LIST
Daniel Gibson (G) | Status Alert: Gibson's sprained ankle still is not completely healed and isn't expected to be ready for another few weeks.
Eric Snow (G) | Status Alert: Snow is experiencing some problems with the same knee he had surgery on over the summer and will be out 4-6 weeks.
BREAKDOWN OF LINEUPS AND BENCHES
PG
Delonte West vs. Raymond Felton
West has really provided this team with a nice presence at the point guard spot ever since he came here and he's been playing well in all facets of the game. Felton has been up-and-down with the Bobcats, as he's struggled to be the leader of the offense. There is no clear cut advantage here with Felton's play and West's surge.
Advantage: EVEN
SG
Sasha Pavlovic vs. Jason Richardson
Sasha is coming off a recently sprained foot and looked real good in his 2nd game versus the Wizards but battled foul trouble. Richardson has really played well with the Bobcats and with him being in rhythm and fully healthy, the edge goes to J-Rich.
Advantage:
SF
LeBron James vs. Gerald Wallace
What can you say about LeBron? He's stepped up his game ever since the trade. Wallace is coming of an injury and should start in his 3rd game back with the Bobcats facing LeBron. Wallace is always a tremendous player when healthy and even when healthy, this isn't much of a contest.
Advantage:
PF
Ben Wallace vs. Emeka Okafor
Wallace has been battling back spasms ever since coming to the Cavs and now should be okay with a few days of break. Okafor is always a beast and a double-double machine. With Okafor's youth, the advantage goes there.
Advantage:
CT
Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Nazr Mohammed
Ilgauskas is expected to be back after sitting out a couple of weeks with a bad back. Mohammed is playing solid for th e Bobcats but should be no match for Z.
Advantage:
Benches
Clevaland Bench vs. Charlotte Bench
The Cavs bench is starting to become deeper with the recent returns of Wallace, Pavlovic and Ilgauskas to the lineup. The bench is now 10 deep, can give you different looks and can both score and defend.
The Bobcats aren't very deep although they can throw quite a scoring punch of Matt Carroll and Earl Boykins. Ryan Dudley and Ryan Hollins or Othella Harrington round out a weak and under-sized bench.
Advantage:
SMOOTH'S KEY POINTS & PREDICTION
This has been a major point ever since the trade and now with our roster almost being back to normal, this team needs to gel and start creating some chemistry. Great teams have great chemistry and play well with each other on the court and if we want to beat the Pistons and Celtics, we need to do just that.
The Cavs stand around and watch LeBron far too often and it usually gets them in trouble offensively. When we have high assist totals and the ball is moving, we really are a good offensive team. But when we start to isolate and stand in corners is when we get into trouble. Moving the ball combined with player movement is usually a good formula for a successful offense.
This team is so inconsistent the whole game, it's maddening. If we want to win a ring, we need to play the whole 48 minutes and not just show up for the 4th quarter. We need to play hard, confident and show up all 48 minutes to get a win.
but im confident since we got Z back in our line up and we have a 6 game winning streak in the Q
