POS. NO. PLAYER
HEIGHT WEIGHT
PPG RPG APG FG%(Points, Rebounds, & Assists Per Game, Field Goal Shooting %)
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
NUGGETS PROBABLE STARTERS
Small Forward 15 Carmelo Anthony
6-8, 230
2007-08: 26.3 4.6 5.3 .442
Recorded his first double-double of the season with 32 points and 10 rebounds at Indiana on 11/10.
Power Forward #4 Kenyon Martin
6-9, 240
2007-08: 8.0 5.3 0.3 .431
Pulled down a season-high-tying seven rebounds while playing a season-high 27 minutes at Indiana on 11/10.
Center #23 Marcus Camby
6-11, 235
2007-08: 10.7 14.3 3.6 .500
With five blocks at Indiana on 11/10, Denver is now 3-0 this year when he has 5+ blocks (33-7 since 2005-06).
Shooting Guard #5 Yakhouba Diawara
6-7, 225
2007-08: 4.9 1.6 0.9 .565
Topped 10+ points for the second time this season with 11 points in 11 minutes at Indiana on 11/10.
Point Guard #3 Allen Iverson
6-0, 165
2007-08: 24.0 3.4 8.1 .419
Denver improved to an impressive 13-1 all-time when Iverson has a double-double with their win at Indiana.
CAVALIERS PROBABLE STARTERS
Small Forward #23 LeBron James
6-8 250
2007-08: 26.6 7.7 7.6 .446
LeBron James has 10 blocked shots in his last four games. His 10 blocks mark the highest four-game total of his career.
Power Forward #90 Drew Gooden
6-10 250
2007-08: 14.9 10.4 1.3 .453
Had 17 rebounds against the Clippers on Sunday, Nov. 11.
Center #11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas
7-3 260
2007-08: 17.6 13.1 0.6 .515
Zydrunas Ilgauskas posted his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 15 rebounds at Sacramento on Friday night. Ilgauskas has grabbed at least 12 rebounds in all six games this season and ranks fourth in the NBA in rebounds per game (14.3 per game). He leads the NBA in offensive rebounds per game (6.0)
Shooting Guard #3 Sasha Pavlovic
6-7 239
2007-08: 5.4 2.0 1.2 .250
Scored 17 points in 35 minutes against Utah on Nov. 7.
Point Guard #1 Daniel Gibson
6-2 194
2007-08: 13.7 2.8 3.0 .549
Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson has connected on 18-32 (.563) from three-point range this season. He has hit at least three three-pointers in each of his last three games
and on the season ranks tied for third in the NBA in three-pointers made.
TEAM STATS COMPARED
Points Per Game:
Denver....106.1
Cleveland..97.3
Field Goal Accuracy
Denver.....457
Cleveland..438
Rebounds Per Game:
Denver.....44.4
Cleveland..46.1
Assists Per Game:
Denver.....24.0
Cleveland..18.7
NUGGETS INJURY REPORT
OUT: Anthony Carter suffered a 3rd metacarpal fracture on his right hand and underwent successful surgery on 10/10. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks
OUT: Chucky Atkins suffered a severe right groin strain at Phoenix on 10/25 and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
OUT: Nene suffered a torn ulner collateral ligament in his left thumb at Boston on 11/7 and will undergo surgery on 11/9.
QUESTIONABLE: Mike Wilks suffered a right hamstring strain vs. New Orleans on 11/4
and has missed each of the last four games. He is considered questionable for tonight’s game.
CAVALIERS INJURY REPORT:
OUT: Donyell Marshall PF Wrist I-L. Out until at least mid-November
OUT: Eric Snow PG Knee
PROBABLE: Larry Hughes SG Knee
ON THE AIR:
Tonight’s game will be televised on Altitude with Chris Marlowe calling the action and Scott Hastings providing analysis. The game will also be broadcast on KKFN AM 950, with Jerry Schemmel doing the play-by-play and Jason Kosmicki hosting the studio courtside.
KEY MATCHUPS:
SF Carmelo Anthony vs LeBron James Both have had 1 bad game so far this year, and both have missed a few more shots than usual. Right now, James has a slight lead on Anthony in points scored per game, 26.6 vs. 26.3. James is rebounding more this year than last at 7.7 rpg, and also assiting more, at 7.6 apg. Anthony is down from last year in rebounding at 4.6 rpg and up in assists, to 5.3 apg. But Melo has Iverson and Camby to rack up assists and rebounds, respectively. Melo has the richer team, but LeBron has the finals appearance. But Melo’s team took one game from the Spurs and LeBron’s team was swept.
C Marcus Camby vs Zydrunas Ilgauskas In the front court, both PF Drew Gooden and C Zydrunas Ilgauskas are off to solid starts whereas, for the Nuggets, Kenyon Martin is limited and not totally consistent yet and Anthony is on again, off again in rebounding. But Nuggets C Marcus Camby is having a career year and one on one will give Ilgauskas, who led the Cavs with 25 points Sunday in L.A., all he can handle. On the other hand, however, the Ilgauskas/Gooden combination is a stronger combo in the front court than anything the Nuggets have right now.
NUGGET'S KEYS TO VICTORY
Stay cool and confident. I’m going to have to keep including this key until the Nuggets maintain their confidence more consistently.
Plug in the big guy Steven Hunter for 12 minutes or so if the Nuggets are getting destroyed up front as in the Knicks game. Hunter had 5 rebounds a game in 23 minutes a game last year. What is there to lose if you’re already being destroyed?
Don’t be like the Clippers: guard Lebron James at all times. Unfortunately, the Nuggets don’t have the luxury of double teaming James much due to all the injuries and the Ilgauskas-Gooden problem.
CAVALIER'S KEYS TO VICTORY
Double team Melo. There is a reason most teams do this.
Pound the ball inside all night. The Knicks were very successful with it, and that was before Nene was injured, so the potential for destroying the Nuggets here is greater than ever.
Guard the 3-point tries. The Nuggets have been working hard to bring their 3-point shooting up to speed so that they can compete with the dreaded Spurs, and the work is paying off. The Nuggets were 16th in made threes last year, but are 8th so far this year.
OVERALL PREDICTIONS
Both teams come in with 4-3 records. The Cavaliers are playing on back to back nights of a long 6 game Western road trip. They are 3-2 on the trip, having defeated the Warriors, Clippers, and Kings, and having lost to the Suns and the Jazz in a close one. .
In the back court, the Cav’s Eric Snow is day to day at guard, but the more important Larry Hughes was back from a bruised knee on Sunday in Los Angeles and scored 12 on 5/8. The Nuggets are badly banged up at guard. Among the Nugget’s guards, stop-gap Wilks remains questionable, Chucky Atkins is out until sometime in December, and Anthony Carter is expected back sometime in the next 10 days, but apparently not for this game. Some Nuggets fans get nervous with Iverson playing point, thinking he’s going to hog it, but A.I is #6 in assists in the NBA right now and that “all Iverson all the time” thing was just a bad playoff strategy
The Cavaliers are one of the best rebounding teams in the League right now. In the front court, although the Cavaliers are without PF Donyell Marshall, the Nuggets are without PF Nene, who is more important to the Nuggets than Marshall is to the Cavaliers. And Martin is still getting up to speed. So as in the back court, you have a substantial advantage to the Cavaliers as a result of all of these injuries.
The point of going through all these injuries is to show that the Nuggets are weaker in both the front court and the back court from injuries than it is safe to be when playing a team like the Cavaliers. So the Cavaliers could easily win this game despite the home court and rest advantages for the Nuggets. If Melo doesn’t get at least 9 rebounds and 27 points, the Cavaliers will probably win this game. If he doesn't get at least 7 rebounds and 22 points, they will most likely win. And, as usual, the Nuggets will lose if the reserves don’t show up and most likely win if the reserves score at least 30 points and get at least 15 rebounds. I’m thinking the reserves get close to the 30 points in this one, but not to the 15 rebounds. So flip a coin to guess who will win, and look out for a very close finish in this game.
DON'T TICK ME OFF MORE THAN USUAL GK
If the Nuggets get pounded at the hoop as expected, don't save Steven Hunter for garbage time. Use Adrian Dantley in garbage time. That's a joke if you didn't know.
