| 2009/2010 NBA Regular Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 | VS |  |
| 6-2 | 4-3 | |
| November 11, 2009 | ||
| Orlando, FL | ||
| 7:00 PM | ||
| Radio - WTAM 1100 / TV - ESPN HD / FSOhio | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Jameer Nelson | PG | Mo Williams |
| Vince Carter | SG | Anthony Parker |
| Matt Barnes | SF | LeBron James |
| Brandon Bass | PF | J.J. Hickson |
| Dwight Howard | C | Shaquille O'Neal |
I'm sure many of you have had this game circled on the calendar for a while. Just keep in mind that neither team is a finished product and no matter what happens tonight - good or bad - there is A LOT more basketball to be played. Enjoy it for what it is.
Oh yea, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on Shaq V. Howard. This is what Shaq was brought here for.
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Cavaliers vs Magic coverage;Cavaliers vs Magic preview;Third Quarter Collapse
Some more Game Notes after the Jump -- >
- Cleveland will head to Florida for a back-to-back road trip with the top two teams in the Southeast Division, Orlando and Miami.The team will try to extend their streak of four victories in the last five games. The first game against the Magic will feature two ofthe NBA's Top 10 teams in three-point shooting with Cleveland (.440) ranking 2nd and Orlando (.388) ranking 7th. Both teamsalso take care of the defensive glass, each giving up only 8.6 offensive rebounds per game to their opponents, fewest in the NBA.
- With their 100-91 victory over the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Friday, Cleveland has won six consecutive games againstNew York, including the last four on the road. In this span, the Cavs have outscored the Knicks by an average margin of 110.2-95.7 while shooting .498 from the field compared to .426 from the Knicks.
- In Cleveland's last five games, the team's defense has held opponents to just .418 (164-392) shooting from the field and 86.6 pointsper game. Cleveland's defense so far on the season ranks 5th in the NBA in opponent points per game (89.9), 6th in defensivefield goal percentage (.427) and is tied for 8th in blocks (5.6) per game. The team is allowing 29.7 points in the paint, the 2ndfewest in the NBA and after giving up only two to Chicago last Thursday and four to the Knicks last Friday, and ranks 1st insecond chance points allowed at only 9.0 points per game. The Cavaliers rank 8th in fewest fast break points allowed at 10.1.
- Against the Knicks, LeBron James scored 19 points in the first quarter on 8-9 (.889) shooting, the third-highest opening periodtotal in his career, on his way to a game-high 33 points on 12-17 (.706) shooting, eight rebounds, a game-high nine assists and threesteals in 36 minutes. James' performance led the team to score a season-high 40 points in the first quarter on 16-22 (.727) shooting.
- In 11 career games at the Garden, LeBron James has averaged 30.4 points on .487 shooting, including .458 from behind the arc,5.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.4 steals. James ranks 2nd in scoring behind K. Bryant at 30.5 for visiting players. (STATS, Inc.) Forthe season, James is averaging 26.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists (ranks 2nd in the East) and 1.7 steals in 37.9 minutes.
- In his first game off the bench this season on Friday, Anderson Varejao finished with eight points, a game-high 14 rebounds (fiveoffensive), two blocks and two steals in 34 minutes. Varejao has now led the team in rebounding in five straight games andrecorded double figure rebounds in three straight games.
- Against the Knicks, Daniel Gibson scored 11 points and connected on three three-pointers. Gibson has scored in double figures infour of the team's seven games this season and is averaging 8.7 points while shooting 17-34 (.500) from behind the arc.
- Through the first seven games, the team has made 59 three-point field goals, which is twelve more than the team's previous bestmark of 47 in 2007-08. The team ranks 2nd (Phoenix) in three-point percentage at 59-134 (.440) and is one of the most improvedteams in shooting three-pointers from last season (.393) to this season (.440). (STATS, Inc.)
- For players with at least 10 three-point attempts, the Cavaliers have three players in the Top 25 in the NBA. Anthony Parker, whowent a combined 5-6 (833) over the last two games, ranks 8th in three-point shooting at 14-25 (.560) while Daniel Gibson ranks16th at 17-34 (.500). Mo Williams is also shooting 14-30 (.467) on three-pointers this season, which ranks 23rd.
- Against the Knicks, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a near double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds. Ilgauskas (714 games played,667 starts) is only six games away from tying Bingo Smith (720 games) for second all-time (Danny Ferry, 723 games) in gamesplayed in franchise history.