TrueMagicFan07 674 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 GAME THREAD Eastern Conference Rivalry Thursday, February 11, 2010 * 8:00 P.M. Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH TV * TNT ONE TEAM - ONE HEART MAGIC STARTERS CAVALIERS STARTERS Medical Watch: G Mo Williams (sprained left shoulder) will be sidelined another two weeks. F Leon Powe (ACL left knee, microfracture surgery left knee) has returned to the practice court. He's expected to return after the All-Star break. SG Delonte West (broken left ring finger) could miss a 10th straight game. **************************************** HEAD-TO-HEAD STATS **************************************** Magic-Cavaliers Preview Magic (36-17, 16-12 away) ** Cavaliers (42-11, 23-3 home) quote: *Espn.go.com - February 11, 2010 With the longest winning streak in the NBA this season and the league's best record, the Cleveland Cavaliers look pretty unbeatable at the moment. Then again, they looked that way to everyone but the Orlando Magic last spring. Cleveland can tie its franchise record with a 13th straight win Thursday night against the Magic, who visit Quicken Loans Arena for the first time since stunning LeBron James and the Cavaliers in last season's Eastern Conference finals. James won his first MVP award last season while leading Cleveland to a league-best 66-16 record, but Orlando shocked the Cavaliers in six games before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals. Little has changed in 2009-10. James (29.8 points per game) leads the league in scoring and has Cleveland (42-11) six games ahead of the Magic (36-17) for the East's best record heading into the teams' second meeting since late May. James had 36 points in a 102-93 win at Orlando on Nov. 11. "They're coming into our building, and right now we're the best team in the NBA," James said after finishing with 32 points and 11 assists Tuesday as the Cavaliers beat New Jersey 104-97 for their 12th consecutive victory. "It's going to be a fun one." Cleveland has won 21 of 22 at home. James has been busy lately aside from averaging 38.3 points in his last three games. He and Olympic teammate Dwight Howard joined forces for a Super Bowl commercial, and they'll be playing together for the fourth time on the East All-Star squad Sunday in Dallas. Far less likely to be shooting a commercial with Howard is Cavs center Shaquille O'Neal, who has taken his share of verbal shots at the player now controlling the paint in his former home. O'Neal, acquired largely because of Cleveland's trouble dealing with Howard in the playoffs, held the Magic's big man to 11 points and seven rebounds in the November meeting. "It's going to be a good matchup," said O'Neal, averaging 15.3 points on 63.9 percent shooting during the winning streak. "Hopefully they play me one on one and hopefully they let us play." Orlando will likely see an entirely different Cleveland backcourt than what it faced in the playoffs. Mo Williams, who scored 28 points in the November meeting, remains out (sprained left shoulder) and Delonte West (broken left ring finger) could miss a 10th straight game. The Magic are fully healthy and have played that way lately, quietly winning 10 of 12 to seize the East's second spot. Vince Carter is starting to heat up along with his team. Orlando's much-maligned free agent acquisition has struggled for much of this season, but has averaged 24.2 points in his last five games. Howard had a team-high 18 points and Carter added 15 to lead seven Orlando players in double figures Wednesday in a 107-87 win in Chicago. "We had so many guys rolling tonight," said Carter, who had 29 points in November against Cleveland. The Cavaliers will be getting their first look of the season at Magic forward Rashard Lewis, who was suspended for the first meeting. Lewis averaged 18.3 points in the East finals against Cleveland, but his 14.9-point average this season is his lowest since 2000-01. The Cavaliers are 13-2 in the last two regular seasons when James scores at least 40 points, but Orlando has had success even when the reigning league MVP fills up the scoresheet. James topped 40 in three of the playoff games against the Magic, but Cleveland lost each time. James, though, may now have the help he needs with O'Neal on his side. "LeBron and I have pretty much the same formula: Stay dominant at home, beat teams you're supposed to beat and play above .500 on the road," O'Neal said. "Most of the time if you do that, things will go your way." The Cavaliers had a 13-game winning streak March 7-31, 2009. ***************************** Links for Watching/Listening to Game RADIO: http://www.nba.com/broadband/alp_schedule.html http://580wdbo.com/ Spanish Radio: AM 1030 WONQ BROADBAND: http://www.atdhe.net/index.html http://www.justin.tv/directory?category=sports http://www.channelsurfing.net/ STATS (Updated throughout the game): http://sports.yahoo.com/nba http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/scoreboard Other Links www.nba.com www.orlandomagic.com www.espn.com www.cnnsi.com www.nbcsports.com www.cbssportsline.com ********************************************************** ADDENDUM Photos of Cavaliers Starting Five Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barnettej 263 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 First Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrueMagicFan07 674 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 CubanMagic89 where are you? *In a singing voice* If he shows up mods, please remove this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Hi-Top 791 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 What's your record now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stock 3 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 yea, WIN! Atleast I hope we win. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SOWHATDETROIT 0 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 I hope the magic embarrass them. I cant stand Cleveland. This year is like last year all over again. Cleveland this, Cleveland that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan the Magic Fan 253 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 Man TMF you dont play around. Don't even let it get past noon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darthmagic 0 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 "Lets smote our enemy's ruin on the mountain side" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IronMaiden 43 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 Of course I want a win, but if they at the very least come out and play a tough game, that will be better than nothing. This game is a test of toughness. I think it's possible to pass that test without necessarily getting the W. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VaBchMagicFan 0 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 I would care more about this game if the Cavs were actually at full strength. Now if we manage to lose it will just upset me more considering they have the worst starting guards in the league, shows what you can do by being the hungriest team and playing great D every night and having outstanding team chemistry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IronMaiden 43 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 quote: Originally posted by VaBchMagicFan:I would care more about this game if the Cavs were actually at full strength. Now if we manage to lose it will just upset me more considering they have the worst starting guards in the league, shows what you can do by being the hungriest team and playing great D every night and having outstanding team chemistry. Having the best player on the planet doesn't hurt either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COLOMBIANO 118 Report post Posted February 11, 2010 LOL at LeBron's picture with the pacifier. Somebody has got to stop this team and we will not be that team! We lose! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
