Cleveland @ Phoenix

[Karma]

@

When: Thursday, Jan. 11, 10:30pm
Where: Phoenix, Arizona
TV: TNT
Radio : WTAM 1100

HEAD COACHES

MIKE BROWN | MIKE D'ANTONI

POINT GUARDS

ERIC SNOW | STEVE NASH

SHOOTING GUARDS

LARRY HUGHES | RAJA BELL

SMALL FORWARDS

LEBRON JAMES | BORIS DIAW

POWER FORWARDS

DREW GOODEN | SHAWN MARION

CENTERS

ZYDRUNAS ILGAUSKAS | AMARE STOUDEMIRE

CAVALIERS ROTATION

JONES | GIBSON | MARSHALL | VAREJAO

SUNS ROTATION

BARBOSA | BANKS | JONES | THOMAS​

FORM GUIDE

* The Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Eastern Conference with a 22-12 record courtesy of a 5 game win streak and 8 of 9 games.
* The Phoenix Suns hold down 2nd place in the Western Conference on the back of a 7 game win streak with a 26-8 record. They trail Dallas by one game.
* Cleveland bring to Phoenix an ever increasing road record of 7-9. However trying to improve on that will be tough with the Suns boasting an impressive 15-3 run, coincidentally the same as the Cavaliers at the Q.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

* First off look out for their reigning MVP at the point, but dont forget their allstar power forward who can mix it up inside and out. Anchoring the team at center is another allstar and powerhouse offensive player. At shooting guard is a strong defensive influence and an ever improving shooter. At small forward is a guy who can do a little bit of everything well enough to worry you. Once you've got that covered be sure to watch their energetic Brazilian sparkplug who can put 10 points on you in a matter of minutes. Oh yeah, they have another 146 shooters as well to look for.
* No use putting names on this offensive juggeraut. Focus too heavily on one of these players and you are burned elsewhere.
* Cleveland's defensive schemes is quite suitable for a large segment of Phoenix's offense. No team is better aquipped on the fast break then the Suns. However Mike Brown has successfully given Cleveland an effective transition defensive game. This however will be tested strongly and often.
* Defensively the Cavaliers need their heads screwed on for 48 minutes. They will be forced to make many switches, with help defense critical on a team that will continually circulate the ball.

WHAT TO DO?

* Prey for a poor shooting night. I've started ray:
* Hope that Phoenix, with an impressive seven game streak wont be mentally all there. OK, this will not happen. Cleveland are the hottest team in the East, and this in on national (and international :headbang television on their home court. The Suns will be primed for this one.
* Continue doing what we have the past couple of weeks. Getting the ball inside to Ilgauskas and Gooden, who have responded, takes the focus away from LeBron momentarily. When this happens, James can put 20 on you in the blink of an eye.
* Go at Amare Stoudemire. He can be sucked into some cheap fouls. Phoenix are very thin up front and dont like going deep as they have zero depth outside of Kurt Thomas.
* We have to show plenty of faith in Eric Snow. He is our smartest defender, which is what we require against Nash. The MVP can destroy anyone, despite often being athletically overmatched. Mix up our defensive looks by throwing Hughes on him then switching alternatively with Snow. Nash thrives by getting a feel for the defense, continually switching may cause some disruptions.
* Maybe I've been hanging out with Terry Stotts a little too long, but we need to be offensively efficient. This means we just have to be in single figures for turnovers, and limit our random bombs. The Suns don't need charity to run and gun.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

I just dont see us being able to sustain enough defensive effort to keep with the Suns in Phoenix. I can see the Cavaliers getting a little caught up in the uptempo feel of the game and may go away from what has been successful. I will keep a watchful eye on the amount of touches Ilgauskas and Gooden get in the 2nd half in comparison to the first.

For us to be in this one.....we need our "other starters" to produce their best efforts, and for LeBron to show the World why he can be the league's MVP, capable of leading his hometown team to the Show!

Another day maybe, definately another place.

 

[Karma]

Thats better. Posted this in the Cavs forum accidentally.

Cavs @ Suns......... UGH

 

[crazedcav333]

What a win that would be, I just don't see it happening.

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

This match-up was one of my favorite games last season (the one where we came from like 25 down in the late 2nd half). Miami was the other one.

This year though, the Suns have Amare. Him and Marion are way too quick for any forward that we can throw at them, including AV, who is a liability when he trys to guard someone away from the hoop.

TEAM defense will be a must to come away with a win in this one. I hope it isn't a shootout - although I think we can compete in those, the Suns are way more fine-tuned than we will ever be.

Have pool league that night, so won't be able to watch every play - but will be sneakin peeks.

 

[chiefwahoo]

POINT GUARDS

ERIC SNOW | STEVE NASH

​

Hmm... not sure which team has the edge in this matchup.

I'm going into this game expecting to be blown off the court. And hopefully I will be surprised when we win.

 

[WitnessLBJ]

We won't get blown out but will be a very tough game to win thats for sure..

 

[Dungong]

Getting back on transition D is going to be huge. 1) It will slow the game down. The Suns like chucking the ball up early in the shot clock, but a solid D will prevent that. 2) It takes away from both Amare's and Marion's threat quite a bit, as they thrive as open court players. Zydrunas Ilgauskus is not quite the open court defender you want to have countering these guys but he's more than capable in the half court.

Closing out the shooters is going to be key too. Just getting a hand up or a bit of a challenge. Nash is going to run in circles around Snow, DJ, Gibson, and Hughes all night (thats just what he does to everyone) so make sure the people he passes to are contested. He'll have trouble finishing inside if Z can stay home.

No bone head fast breaks. Dont let them run off made shots or field goals, this kind of stuff kills teams that play Phoenix.

 

[Karma]

Varejao has a massive role to play in this open court affair. I can also see Coach Brown giving Marshall some extra minutes as there will be ample opportunities for his bombing assualt.

 

[WitnessLBJ]

FYI - Lebron DESTROYED Phx last year, both games 40+ and close to triple doubles

 

[Karma]

Looking down the Phoenix roster, I notice Jalen Rose sitting very deep. Spends most his time chilling with Piatkowski. Rose wouldn't be too bad playing a few minutes behind Larry or LeBron.

 

[DDJ7777]

They better win this one for me.

 

[WitnessLBJ]

Didn't realize this is a TNT game..nice

 

[chiefwahoo]

Didn't realize this is a TNT game..nice

TNTHD - even nicer

 

[Maximus]

This is the one game on the schedule that I have no faith in winning whatsoever...just being honest. There's just bad matchups everywhere. I see Nash running circles around Snow. I see Mike Brown trying to matchup against them instead of forcing them to matchup with us...that means Z on the bench a lot. This is one of those games where i see us shooting 22+ three pointers.
Lebron needs to be magical and we need to hit 50%+ from 3 point range. Can't turn the ball over either. What I'm saying is we need to be perfect.

 

[Jon]

We've played the Suns well, just not in Phoenix.

Do we have a prayer? Let's see...

Their losses came to Utah, Washington, and Dallas. It's not like they've been blowing out good teams at home. The best teams they've beaten at home are the Clips and the Rockets, but that was earlier in the season.

So IMO, we have a shot here, it just depends who's hot. On the plus side, we should be able to run any sort of offense we want against the Suns.

Like always, Larry Hughes is the wildcard in this game as we didn't have him for either game against Phoenix last year. On the flip side they didn't have Amare, but he seems to be slowing down, perhaps showing fatigue or wear and tear?

Last year they had success with Andy in the game and switching on all the P&R's. This is a big game on national TV, so, motivation should *not* be an issue.