Kyrie Irving's status is still unknown, but if I had to guess I would say that he will NOT play tonight against Milwaukee. That means Ramon Sessions would start and have another chance to show NBA teams around the league what he is capable of as a starting point guard. The Bucks starting point guard, Brandon Jennings, was also recently snubbed from the All Star Game and has reports surrounding him that he is already thinking about moving on from Milwaukee.
Song Of The Day: Give It To Me Baby - Rick James
Funky Friday!
Tonight's Overview:
Milwaukee Bucks (11-14) at Cleveland Cavaliers (10-14)
7:30 PM EST, Quicken Loans Arena
This is a matchup between two teams in pretty similar positions. Each is in that "should we tank or should we go for the 8th seed" dilemma. The Bucks have had terrible luck with the health of their best player, Andrew Bogut, and he is out once again with a broken ankle.
Brandon Jennings stats are very similar to those of Kyrie Irving's at 18.9 points and 5.3 assists per game. It's a shame that we likely won't get to see the two promising young PGs play against one another, but such is life. Ramon Sessions played a fantastic game in the place of Irving against the Clippers and I expect him to have another nice night.
The always volatile Stephen Jackson is the Bucks second leading scorer at 12.4 points per game and provides some offense at the shooting guard position that the Cavaliers lack. The struggles of Cleveland's SGs are well-known, but I'd expect to see Alonzo Gee guarding S-Jack when they are on the floor at the same time. The best strategy at this point seems to be to place our best perimeter defender (Gee) on the opponent's best perimeter scorer. I know that this is groundbreaking logic, but I figure that Byron Scott will be smart enough to do it.
Anderson Varejao suffered that nasty fall against the Clippers, but was able to return to the game and finished with his normal stat line. With Kyrie sidelined, Varejao is once again elevated to the status of the best player on the court. It's hard to say that Andy will bring more effort or leadership knowing that his team is shorthanded because, well, he basically gives everything he could possibly offer in every game. Expect the same old Andy.
As Antawn Jamison goes, the Cavaliers go. If Jamison has an efficient night scoring the ball, the Cavs generally win those games. His shooting percentage in wins is 47.0%. In losses, it's just 36.1%. If Jamison can get it going and score on a reasonable amount of shots, the Cavs should be in good shape.
Key Matchup:
Brandon Jennings vs. Ramon Sessions
Coming off a stellar 24 points-13 assists performance against LAC, Sessions will continue to fill-in for rookie Irving at the starting PG spot. Brandon Jennings is one of the better young point guards in the league and has also been regarded as one of the better defensive point guards. Ramon Sessions, meanwhile, is not a good defensive point guard. We'll have to see if Razor Ramon can once again orchestrate an effective and efficient offense. If he can, it will put the Cavaliers in solid position to win another game.
Fear The Sword's Fearless Prediction:
Remember what I said like, 13 seconds ago? Yeah, I believe Ramon "Class Is In" Sessions will come out and have another solid game. He'll be able to get into the paint and FINISH at the rim while also facilitating the offense effectively. Jamison finishes with 24 to lead the Cavaliers in scoring and Andy records another double-double with 14 points-16 boards (5 offensive). Cavs win, 101-96.