LyXo
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GAME #4
Cleveland Cavaliers (1-2) @ (0-3) Toronto Raptors
Monday, November 7, 2005
7:00pm ET
TV: FSN OHIO, NBALP
Radio : WTAM 1100
Head Coaches
Sam Mitchell / Mike Brown
Probable Starters
Mike James / Eric Snow
Jalen Rose / Larry Hughes
Morris Peterson / LeBron James
Chris Bosh / Drew Gooden
Loren_Woods / Zydrunas Ilguaskas
Cleveland Cavaliers Bench
Jones/Marshall/Jackson/Pavlovic/Henderson/Wilks/Hamilton
Toronto Raptors Bench
Villanueva/Calderon/Graham/Bonner/Araujo/Williams/Williams
Cavaliers' Notes
* Cavaliers are 1-2, successul in the home opener VS NOK, then losing 2 tough games on the road against defending champs and Memphis.
* Toronto wraps up the 3-game West Coast road trip. The Cavaliers will be headed home for Wednesday.
* The point guard situation has been struggling. No change to the starting lineup should be due, but play in general should be tweaked.
* Donyell Marshall was out with a strained calf last game. Is he ready for return? He's uncertain for tonight's game.
Raptors' notes
* Raptors are off to a slow start, going 0-3.
* Although they are getting bench production from rookies Charlie Villanueva and Jose Calderon, it still has not proven to be enough to get the some points in the win column.
* Morris Peterson has recently displayed his discontent for the team's mediocrity and lack of competitive drive. Vince Carter has expressed his sympathy for the team. 2+2=4, they will come out with big energy tonight, being in front of their home crowd.
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lyXo's Keys to the Game
* Defense. Defense. Defense. Although Toronto is a weak team in general, they have the tools to dismantle us. Both Morris Peterson and Jalen Rose are perimeter threats, so one defensive rotation missed could mean a wide open trey from one of these guys. We cannot allow them to shoot 60% from the arc. Mike James is also a dangerous perimeter threat.
* Distribution: We need to get out of the chuck-mode offense. Damon Jones needs to handle the ball and pass it around before thinking shoot-first. LeBron James needs to use his complete arsenal rather than settling for an off-balance jumper. We need to set up Z. If we play a structured offense, then we will be near unstoppable. The Cavaliers were 17-0 when dishing out more than 25 assists last year. I don't think it'll be a different story this year.
* Stop Chris Bosh. This might be his breakout game. He was 20/10 towards the end of last season, but he's only 14/9 right now. An unsuspecting Drew Gooden could be his outlet to bust the interior.
* Missing Donyell Marshall hurts. On the defensive end of the floor, he was the one that didn't miss his rotations. Of offense, he parked on the perimeter and rained 3's like nobody's business. Henderson is picking up the slack on defense. Who's going to be the spot up shooter? It seems that it will either be Luke Jackson or Sasha Pavlovic. One of them must come through to spread the floor.
* Larry Hughes scored last night. But he was missing his assists. He needs to find a center point in between the two. Dish the ball, drive the ball, dunk the ball. A little of each should do nothing but help our team.
On a final note:
Toronto will be energized. It's at home and they are in desparate need for a win. But Cleveland far exceeds them in talent and should take this one in a hard-fought battle. We simply cannot allow them to shoot more than 60% from anywhere not called the charity stripe. If we do that, and don't have a poor shooting outing, then we should come out on top.
Prediction: Cavaliers win, 103-96
