Saturday, January 10, 2009 8:49 PM
The Cleveland Cavaliers won the Boston Celtics by a large margin of 15 points today;the main contributor to the win is none other than King James himself. It was clear throughout the whole game that the Cavs were dominating,despite a 10 point Boston lead in the opening minutes of the 4th quarter. The Cavaliers have shown great improvement since the start of the 08-09 season are are now leading the Eastern Conference by 3 games over the Boston Celtics. They could be favourites to win now.
Of course, do not miss the upcoming match up between the Cavaliers and the Lakers this Friday. Check out local listings or log on to NBA.com to get a piece of the action. To add some professional flavour to this blog, I shall be weighing the upcoming match ups in the game.
Firstly,in the point guard position: Cleveland's Mo Williams against LA's Derek Fisher. Williams is a good shooter outside and inside the arc, as well as a good free throw shooter(2nd in the league) so LA will think twice about hacking him. Fisher is also a good three point and free throw shooter. However, Mo Williams seems to be better at handling the ball and protecting it. Fisher, on the other hand will most probably dish the handling work to Kobe in clutch or tight moments in the game. Thus Mo's ability frees up other teammates and this will allow Cleveland to execute more offensive plays against LA. Thus, my take is Mo Williams on this match up.
Secondly,the shooting guard position: Cleveland's Delonte West against LA's Kobe Bryant. No qualms about this match up. Kobe Bryant the better shooter,handler,defender would surely win this match up. However, we should expect LeBron James to give Kobe one on one coverage late in the thrid quarter or maybe as early as the second quarter to restrict Kobe from starting an offensive rythm.
Thridly,the small forward position: Cleveland's LeBron James against LA's Vladimir Radmonovic or Luke Walton,depending on who Phil Jackson fields. But the most likely option would be Radmonovic. Radmonovic is a good three point shooter,but would be ineffective if he is often denied the ball by James,who is often playing the passing lanes to get steals. James also drives to the basket very often and makes opponents pick up quick fouls. Thus LeBron would win this match up. However,Kobe might be shifted over to guard LeBron or help the small forward by double teaming LeBron.
Fourthly,the power forward position:Cleveland's Ben Wallace against LA's Pau Gasol. Wallace has a 3 inch heigh disadvantage against a more skilled Gasol,who can shoot the mid range jumper,post up,and get easy points in the paint with the aid of his height. However, we should watch out for Wallace,after all he is not called Big Ben for nothing. His size and strength could be crtical in this match up-allowing him to box out Gasol and get rebounds as well as block shots. This will most probably end up with a tie.
Lastly,the centre position: Cleveland's Zydrunas Illgaskas against LA's Andrew Bynum. Big Z has a 3 inch height advantage over Bynum and can shoot mid to long range jumpers if his is denied post postion. Big Z is also more experienced in the paint-grabbing rebounds and changing shots. However,Bynum is a prolific shot blocker and would cause many problems for the Clevland offense and there is little Cleveland can do. Thus I would say that this match up is also a tie.
Who will prevail? We will only know this Friday,but...my take would be LA. They have more experienced players and a deeper bench,plus they are at home.
Thursday, January 8, 2009 7:44 PM
The Boston Celtics go on a 3 game skid, losing to under performing teams in the NBA. But Celtic fans need not worry-Boston will be back and fully energized in their next game and will most probably end their skid-their longest in this season.
On the other hand,due to Boston's three loses in a row, the Cleveland Cavaliers have moved to the top spot in the Eastern Conference by beating Charlotte 111-91. Btw, the Cavs look good in their new home outfits-blue and yellow,a refreshing change from their usual red and white.
The Cavs and Lakers now tie for the best record in the NBA this season. The deciding match to separate the two teams will be on 19/1/2009(USA-20/1/2009SG) when Cleveland goes to LA to match up.