Game #64
Cleveland Cavaliers [38-25] VS. Sacramento Kings [28-34]
Tuesday, March 12th, 2007
7:00 PM ET
Radio = WTAM 1100
Television =
(HD)
The “Q”; Quicken Loans Arena [Cleveland, Ohio]
Cavs Uniforms
Kings Uniforms
Head Coaches
Mike Brown | Eric Musselman
Starting Backcourt
Point Guards
ESPN's Larry Hughes Scouting Report
Hughes has tremendous quickness for his size and is always a threat to score off the dribble or in transition. He's a strong finisher with a knack for drawing fouls, with the free-throw line often being his primary scoring vehicle. Hughes is a weak outside shooter who shoots 28.1 percent for his career on 3-pointers, and has a big problem with shot selection. When he's going badly he'll tend to force mid-range jumpers off the dribble, a shot he doesn't shoot particularly well. He's a good dribbler who can play point guard in a pinch, but all his drives tend to produce a high turnover rate.
Hughes' high steals total from two years ago looks like a massive fluke -- it's nearly twice what he's done in any other recent season -- but he's quick in the passing lanes and has good anticipation. He likes to gamble though, and his lack of strength makes him vulnerable to bigger shooting guards who can take him in the blocks. Hughes' focus tends to be on steals rather than stops, so his help defense isn't always up to snuff either. However, his quickness makes him a hardy defender against dribble penetration.
Hughes' injuries have become an increasing worry. He's missed 88 games in the past three seasons and hasn't played a full schedule since 1999-2000. At this point, it seems prudent to assume he'll only be around for 60 games or so.
Last 5 Games = 17.6 PTS
| 6.2 AST
| 5.4 REB
| 0.8 BLK
| 0.6 STL
| 44.4 FG%
| 35 3PT%
| 70.8 FT%
ESPN's Mike Bibby Scouting Report
Bibby is a shoot-first point guard with many scoring talents. Despite his small size and his reliance on a push shot from his shoulder, he has a quick release and is great shooting from long-range off the dribble -- especially when he fakes right and takes a quick bounce to the left. He's not nearly as good going to his right. Defenders can't just play him for the jumper, however, as he'll also drive to the rim and either finish the play or find a man in the opposite corner for a jumper. Bibby is also a smooth dribbler who rarely turns the ball over.
Defensively, he was pretty weak. Bibby has a small frame and has always been vulnerable to post players, and seemed to expend much less energy defensively than the season before. His rates of rebounds, blocks and steals all sank like a stone, and the Kings' gave up 5.1 points more per 100 minutes when Bibby was on the floor.
Last 5 Games = 22 PTS
| 4.2 AST
| 2.6 REB
| 1.4 STL
| 45.4 FG%
| 41.1 3PT%
| 88.2 FT%
Advantage = TIE (with the way Larry is playing)
Shooting Guards
ESPN's Sasha Pavlovic Scouting Report
Pavlovic has decent quickness and good size for a wing at 6-7, but has never been able to harness that ability into an effective package. He's a lousy finisher and has no in-between game, plus he's a poor ballhandler and doesn't see the floor. His jump shot is reasonably effective but he's not a pure shooter and has a slow release, and he's so weak in the other areas that it's tough to keep him on the court. His defense isn't as substandard as his offense, because he has good size and moves fairly well, but it's not like he's a stopper either.
Last 5 Games = 5.4 PPG
| 2.2 APG
| 3.4 RPG
| 1 SPG
| 30.5 FG%
| 27.2 3PT%
| 33.3 FT%
ESPN's Kevin Martin Scouting Report
Right now Martin is mostly getting by on his quickness and leaping ability, because his fundamentals remain poor. He's not a good ballhandler and mostly stays out of the way until a scoring chance comes his way. He also needs to learn how to jump off one foot when he goes to the basket. Right now he always comes to a jump-stop, but a lot of times this allows defenders to catch him from behind and bother his shot when he otherwise would have had a clear look.
More noticeably, his outside shot appears to be modeled on the leaning tower of Pisa. Martin slants his upper torso to the left while he cocks the ball on the right side of his body and shoots his flat-footed delivery. When he shoots a jumper, he tends to accentuate the lean by jumping to the left as well. Not surprisingly, Martin missed to the side with uncommon frequency for an NBA player.
Martin's saving grace is his opportunistic instinct for scoring. That's how a secondary offensive weapon with a low usage rate was still able to earn repeated trips to the free-throw line -- he knows how to get open for lay-ups and dunks away from the ball.
Defensively, Martin's athleticism allows him to make plays in the passing lanes but he's not a great one-on-one defender and, at just 185 pounds, needs to add at least 10 more pounds of muscle.
Last 5 Games = 25 PTS
| 2.2 AST
| 6.44 REB
| 1.2 STL
| 48.2 FG%
| 28.5 3PT%
| 87.5 FT%
Advantage =
Starting Frontcourt
Small Forwards
ESPN's LeBron James Scouting Report
James is a breathtaking talent who has as much straight-line speed as any player in the game despite being built like a power forward. He understands the game phenomenally well for a player his age and can be a spectacular passer, which combined with his ballhandling skill makes him capable of playing point guard -- where he creates monstrous match-up problems because of the size differential.
The scary thing is that he's about the best player in the league, and yet you get the sense he could be a lot better. For instance, James is still developing as a jump shooter. He has a nice stroke with a high arc and can comfortably fire away even with a hand in his face, but his accuracy remains middling. He started developing more of a post game last season and he should continue working on it to take better advantage of his size.
Another quibble with his offensive game is how he runs the pick-and-roll, because he tends to bring the offense grinding to a halt. Detroit exploited this beautifully in the playoffs -- when a big man shows hard on the screen, LeBron's instinct is to retreat almost to half court and then just go one-on-one with whomever is left guarding him. That breaks down any other movement going on with the play and makes the Cavs easy to defend. James is good enough that he still can score occasionally when he does this, but he needs to either split the trap on this play or get rid of the ball sooner.
James also needs more work on the defensive end. He's a decent on-ball defender, though a bit overaggressive, and nobody even bothers trying to post him up because of his size. But he has to get better from the weak side. James will play passing lanes and go for steals, but the basic help-and-recover moves are still developing.
Last 5 Games = 33.4 PPG
| 7.4 APG
| 7.8 RPG
| 1.8 SPG
| 1.2 BPG
| 51.2 FG%
| 45.8 3PT%
| 79 FT%
ESPN's Ron Artest Scouting Report
Artest is strong and physical, yet unusually quick for his size. That combination makes him one of the game's premier defensive players. He's also great in the passing lanes, picking 2.1 steals per game for his career. Not surprisingly, Sacramento's defensive numbers improved sharply as soon as Artest arrived, with the team allowing six points fewer per 100 minutes with him on the court.
However, one still wonders if he was a more valuable defender under the old rules. With the league opening up and post-ups and isolations becoming fewer, Artest's trademark strength becomes less of an advantage. When asked to chase players around screens and rotate out to the 3-point line, he's a much less imposing force.
Surprisingly, he's also a bad rebounder, ranking 53rd among small forwards in rebound rate. It's puzzling that a player of his size and talent would be so ineffective in this area, but his rebound numbers have never been impressive.
Offensively, Artest is a good ballhandler who effectively took over as the Kings' backup point guard after the trade -- when Mike Bibby checked out, Sacramento would have Artest bring the ball up. He can penetrate to the rim and easily absorb contact while going up for a shot, and he's a load for opponents to handle in the post. He tends to force shots, however, especially long jumpers from the perimeter.
Last 5 Games = 19.7 PTS
| 4.3 AST
| 6 REB
| 0.3 BLK
| 2 STL
| 48.8 FG%
| 33.3 3PT%
| 64.7 FT%
Advantage =
Power Forwards
ESPN's Drew Gooden Scouting Report
Gooden makes for a good role player because he can score without having plays run for him. He's a quick leaper who can finish around the basket, and he has a decent mid-range jump shot despite his somewhat awkward form. He's not as adept in the post because he lacks strength and can get bodied out of the lane, but he does have a nice jump-hook move.
Defensively, Gooden's quickness makes him very good at picking up guards on switches, and he has long arms that earn him lots of deflections. He doesn't have the power to deal with some of the league's bigger power forwards, but he partly makes up for it by helping on the defensive glass. Despite his leaping ability and quickness, he's not a shot-blocker.
The biggest criticism of Gooden has been his lack of focus. Whether it's losing track of his man at the defensive end or not knowing a play on offense, Gooden has baffled coaches with his mental miscues, and that's one reason he hasn't played as many minutes as you might expect for a player with such a high PER.
Last 5 Games = 13 PPG
| 0.6 APG
| 7.6 RPG
| 1 SPG
| 0.2 BPG
| 51.9 FG%
| 64.7 FT%
ESPN's Kenny Thomas Scouting Report
Thomas' size hasn't hindered him from becoming a quality power forward and even playing center at times, because he's strong, elevates well, rebounds and plays hard. However, he tends to fall asleep on defense at times and lose track of his man away from the ball. On the plus side, he's nimble enough to switch out against guards on the pick-and-roll and slow their progress. He's also durable, playing all 82 games in 2005-06.
Offensively, Thomas' size limits him at times around the basket, where he has a hard time finishing, and the Kings rarely post him up since he's usually giving up inches. But Thomas is a good fit in this system because he can hit jumpers from the foul line area and handles the ball well enough to go by bigger opponents off the dribble.
Last 5 Games = 6.6 PTS
| 0.6 AST
| 5.6 REB
| 0.4 STL
| 44.1 FG%
| 75 FT%
|
Advantage =
Centers
ESPN's Zydrunas Ilgauskas Scouting Report
Ilgauskas is one of the best post players in basketball. Though 7-3, he's fairly mobile and has range out to 17 feet. He likes to set up camp on the left block and shoot a turnaround going to either side, although of late he's added a sweeping hook shot where he dribbles right and never puts his left hand back on the ball as he goes up.
Ilgauskas is a good shot-blocker and his size makes him difficult to score against in the blocks, but he has trouble farther away from the basket. Teams try to involve him in screen-and-roll plays and take advantage of his poor lateral movement. He gives a good effort, though, and overall the Cavs defended better with him on the court last season. He's also not a good defensive rebounder -- an unusually big chunk of his boards come at the offensive end.
If I could choose one player to be on my team for a five-minute overtime, Ilgauskas might be the guy. Not because he's a great clutch player, but because he's perhaps the best jump-ball taker in the game. His height helps, but his real genius is in the art of stealing the tap without being so blatant about it that the ref calls a violation. They must teach this in Lithuania or something -- Arvydas Sabonis was great at it too.
Last 5 Games = 8.4 PPG
| 0.8 APG
| 7 RPG
| 2.2 BPG
| 1 SPG
| 50 FG%
| 100 FT%
|
ESPN's Brad Miller Scouting Report
Outside of Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki, Miller may be the most skilled 7-footer of the past decade. He's an outstanding stand-still shooter who hit 38.6 percent on 3-pointers last season, and he kills opposing big men with shot fakes and dribble drives from the high post. Finishing closer to the rim gives him problems. He doesn't elevate well around the basket and has increasingly resorted to a desperate routine where he flails his arms, stares at the ref for a few seconds and then disgustedly jogs back downcourt.
Miller's lack of quickness and elevation have become defensive problems as well. Although he's tough, Miller isn't particularly strong and his overall defense has slipped the past two seasons. Last season the Kings gave up fewer points per minute when he was off the court, which is shocking considering they really didn't have a backup center.
=====> Key Matchup <=====
PG | Mike Bibby
AGAISNT
PG | Larry Hughes
~ Hughes has been on fire of late and has been running this team real well. I’m curious to see how he handles the defensive matchup of Bibby. I’m not questioning him, but Bibby. Bibby was rumored to come here near the trade deadline and I’ll be looking to see if he’ll be playing extra hard/with a vengeance because he isn’t in Cleveland. I’m also interested to see if Hughes can contribute, scoring wise, with Artest in town.
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Last 5 Games = 8.2 PPG
| 4.2 APG
| 6.6 RPG
| 0.6 BPG
| 0.6 SPG
| 45.4 FG%
| 00 3PT%
| 84.6 FT%
Advantage =
-
G David Wesley
Key Cavalier Injuries
---
Daniel Gibson | G =
Status Alert: Cavaliers rookie guard Daniel Gibson could miss two weeks with a sprained left big toe.
Key Sacramento Bench Players
F/G John Salmons | F Corliss Williamson
F/G Francisco Garcia | C/F Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Rest of Bench
-
G Quincy Douby
-
G Ronnie Price
-
C/F Vitaly Potapenko
-
C/F Justin Williams
Key King Injuries
NONE
Advantage =
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Smooth32's 3 Keys To Get The "V"
1). Stop their perimeter scoring. Period. Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin and Ron Artest combine for 57.4 of their average of 100.9 pts per night, which is around 55% (I estimated). And besides those three, none of the other players on their team is averaging in double digits, including Brad Miller, Abdur-Rahim and Thomas. Those 3, account for a measly 23.9 points of the 100.9. So the basic goal is to limit/contain the Kings perimeter attack.
2). Who’s gonna step up this game? Larry? – We all know LeBron is going to have trouble with Artest guarding him. He’ll get his buckets but he’s going to be worked and forced to take some bad shots. We’re going to need someone else, my guess is Larry, to step up and score
3). Can we keep it up? – The intensity and effort during this 5 game winning streak, is something we haven’t seen much throughout the season and it’s good to see them starting now. Hopefully we can keep this up and jump on the Kings early. They’re on a 2 game losing streak now, so if we can take advantage of that, maybe once their down, they won’t give us much a fight.
Prediction
Cavs - 104
Kings – 91
(Get your chalupa Anderson!)
GOCAVS !!
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Note - The scouting reports are from ESPN. So credit should be given there.
(HD) 
