The Boots: Joe Smith, Akron Zips, Cliff Lee, Cavaliers on Road
April 8, 2009Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Blackhawks (Game 80)
April 8, 2009Washington Wizards (18-60) vs
Cleveland Cavaliers (62-15)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
7:00 PM EST
FSNOH/WTAM/WUAB
Here we are again, the final matchup this year with the Cavaliers’ annoying little brothers, the Washington Wizards. This matchup with the Wizards has been a nuisance for so long, but now it’s time for the Cavaliers to take the Wizards seriously. After all, the Cavs currently have a losing record against the Zephyrs this year. Even in the Cavaliers’ lone victory against the Wiz it was a brutal struggle to the very end to pull out an ugly win. Beyond a severe difference in motivation, I have no clue why the Cavaliers struggle with the Wizards so much this year. The Wizards are pathetic on defense, but yet the Cavaliers and their #4 offense continuously struggle to get anything going whatsoever against the Wizards. We’ll see if that changes tonight, as the Cavaliers are in the fight of their lives for this #1 seed throughout the playoffs. You know the Wizards would love nothing more than knocking the Cavs out of that top spot.
Projected Starting Lineups
Washington Wizards:
-G Gilbert Arenas (13.0 ppg, 10.0 apg, 0.0 spg, 18.96 PER)
-G Dominic McGuire (4.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.9 bpg, 10.94 PER)
-F Caron Butler (20.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.4 apg, 18.59 PER)
-F Antawn Jamison (22.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 0.3 bpg, 20.71 PER)
-C Brendan Haywood (10.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 15.76 PER)
Key Reserves: Andray Blatche, Nick Young, Javaris Crittenton, Darius Songalia, JaVale McGee
Injuries: Gilbert Arenas (questionable), Juan Dixon (questionable), Mike James (out), DeShawn Stevenson (out), Etan Thomas (out)
Cleveland Cavaliers:
-G Mo Williams (17.9 ppg, 4.0 apg, 0.9 spg, 17.26 PER)
-G Delonte West (11.6 ppg, 3.6 apg, .394 3P%, 14.20 PER)
-F LeBron James (28.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 7.2 apg, 31.72 PER)
-F Anderson Varejao (8.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 0.8 bpg, 14.45 PER)
-C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (13.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 18.06 PER)
Key Reserves: Ben Wallace, Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, Sasha Pavlovic, Darnell Jackson
Injuries: JJ Hickson (out), Anderson Varejao (questionable), Ben Wallace (questionable)
Team Efficiency Stats
Washington Wizards:
-Off (96.0 ppg, 40.0 rpg, .449 FG%, .768 FT%, 20.2 apg, Eff-102.3, Rank-26)
-Def (103.6 ppg, 41.6 rpg, .484 FG%, Eff-111.5, Rank-29)
Cleveland Cavaliers:
-Off (99.9 ppg, 42.1 rpg, .467 FG%, .756 FT%, 20.1 apg, Eff-109.2, Rank-4)
-Def (91.1 ppg, 39.1 rpg, .430 FG%, Eff-99.2, Rank-3)
Previous Matchups
- Washington 89 at Cleveland 93 [box]
- Cleveland 77 at Washington 80 [box]
- Cleveland 101 at Washington 109 [box]
Game Notes (by Rick)
The Cavs are gearing up for one the most intense rivalries in sports tonight. (See how dumb that sounds Washington?) There will be some intensity tonight. At least, there better be a little intensity tonight at the Q on Cleveland’s part. LeBron doesn’t like to be embarrassed, and certainly the way the team played last week in Washington was a little bit of an embarrassment.
But let’s not get crazy here anointing the Wizards as a ‘playoff lock’ had they not lost Arenas and Stevenson this season. Easy there Wiz. You still have to play the games. But whatever keeps you interested I guess. Funny how one player “whines and cries” and another “works the officials.” Guess it depends what side of the bench you sit on huh?
For the Cavaliers, word is that Andy Varejao and Ben Wallace will both play tonight. Watch Ben’s vertical tonight. That should tell us all we need to know about how ready he is to be on the court. How confident is he when he lands? One piece that the Cavs will be missing is rookie JJ Hickson. Hickson “will miss the next 2 weeks or so with a sore back”. Translation- you have seen the last of Hickson this season. Not that he was getting much burn before.
How about some keys to the game? 1. Man up. Each Cavalier needs to take care of their business. No letting the Wizards race down court for easy baskets in this one. (I’m looking at you Mo and Delonte.) 2. Chop down the trees. There is no reason that Haywood and Songalia should look like Duncan and Robinson against us. Get in their face. Use your fouls wisely. 3. Attack the basket and don’t stand around. The more Delonte and Mo drive the lane the better the Cavs offense is. It really is that simple.
12 Comments
Let’s see if the Wizards can defend their imaginary title.
The Wizards have only lost 60 times because the refs have a crush on LeBron!!!!! It’s so obvious!!! Everyone hates LeBron!!!!
I don’t say this very often… but this is a game that is not only a must win for the Cavs… but it’s a game that is a must dominate like it’s the playoffs and show that they understand that last week’s two losses was just a small bump in their eventually crowning as Eastern Division Champions
Oh and everytime I see Darnell Jackson as a key reserve it just brings a smile to my face
We really must win every game from here on out to secure home court. Although, I think the LAkers could realistically lose 2 if not 3 games they have left b/c their against Denver Memphis Portland and Utah. Utah and Denver are big games for both teams because it’s for playoff positioning and those two teams are VERY good. Portland might be able to do us a favor and win one because they match up very well with LA, and Memphis wont even sniff a win.
I cant find the game on tv in Columbus because of the Reds and the Blue Jackets…
Joe, here ya go:
http://atdhe.net/index.html
Listening to the Wizards announcers is not fun.
You’ve got that right Denny. Buckhantz couldn’t say Andy’s last name right if his life depended on it.
have u noticed how the cavs walk and foul on every play according to the wiz announcers
i’ve got Joe Tate streaming on nba.com synched with the wiz feed
Yea obviously Z fouled Nick Young, says the Wiz announcer. Or, stupid just can’t dunk.
Can’t wait to read tomorrow about how the Wiz were hosed, and that they would have won if Arenas played. Of course, Arenas was given the option to play or not. Brave sir Gilbert doesn’t do tough games on the road apparently.