# Cleveland at Orlando (4/11/05)



## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

@









*TIME:* 4:00 pm PT, 7:00 pm ET
*TV:* *NBATV*, *WUAB*

After defending the Gund against the Bucks, Cleveland must hold serve yet again on the road against Orlando. With the other teams in the playoff race still winning, the pressure is on. The Magic will have had an extra day of rest to prepare for this game and should be ready to go. James has been playing huge minutes down the stretch but he has to hold up. Cleveland has to make an effort to box out and rebound the basketball. There’s a good chance Howard and company will go nuts on the offensive glass. While Hill is out, this team is still dangerous offensively. They can put points on the board. 










Cleveland’s second mate had a big game against the Bucks. Drew’s playing with more confidence these days.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Drew is going to be the key again along with Lebron, he's got to take it to his old franchise. Luckily for us with Hill out I don't think the Magic have anybody that can match up with lebron. So in short we need big games from both Gooden and Lebron and somebody anybody else to step up.

This is a huge game-we need one more road win atleast to make the playoffs and this one is winnable


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Pioneer10 said:


> Drew is going to be the key again with Lebron out


If King James was out, Cleveland would get smoked.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

We really need this game fellas, if we can pick this up I think we are in. New York coming up next at home should be a win, putting us at 41 wins with @Wash, @Det, Bos, and @Tor left. 

Tough stretch but I have a feeling we can pick up 1 of those 3 road games and pick up that win against Boston (it will be tough since they always play us hard).

If we bring the defensive intensity early and start out strong on offense, I think the team will feel confident about winning on the road and get this one!


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Also lets hope Drew brings it strong against his former team! So far on the season he's put up 18ppg 9.3rpg 3apg 2spg on 61%fg against them in 3 games so we should expect good things from him once again.


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## VCFSO2000 (Apr 10, 2005)

I hope Dwight Howard has a big game so Cleveland can finally have that loss the Nets have been waiting for


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Man I really like how Drew has been playing lately, very aggressive attacking the bucket and strong on the boards. Without Silas around he seems to be playing with much more confidence. 

Him and AV together seems to work very well, arguably better than him and Z.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Damn nasty jackhammer slam by Lebron


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Strong 1st half, Cavs up 59-54.

Drew and Bron playing great again, combined for 35 in the 1st half.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

^

Yeah, James did dunk that ball hard as hell.

----

Halftime
Cavaliers - 59
Magic - 54

From the way the team looked in the first quarter, I thought they were well on their way to being down by 10+ at the half. The James-Gooden show seems to be doing well tonight and you have to like Malone's rotations. Sasha came into the game right off the bench (no Harris) and when AV got good run, nice things happened for Cleveland. If Cleveland can continue to attack and draw fouls on the bigs, good things will continue to happen.


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## YoYoYoWasup (Nov 14, 2004)

The Magic's continual ignoring of Howard, as usual, has come back to bite them in the ***. Howard was dominating early, and then never saw the ball again, unreal.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

^

Even as a Cavs' fan, I simply don't understand that. Howard should be the number 1 option on offense (while Steve-O can rip McInnis/Snow up, the Cavs have even less of an answer for Dwight).


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## YoYoYoWasup (Nov 14, 2004)

It's particularly frustrating in this case, because the Magic sure as heck are not going to make the playoffs. Just get him the ball, sheesh.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

remy23 said:


> ^
> 
> Yeah, James did dunk that ball hard as hell.
> 
> ...


I loved the rotations in the 1st half, excellent game plan and substitution pattern by Malone. :cheers:


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Good job by Malone so far tonight. Good job with the rotations.

We need to jump out in the 3rd quarter. Get this lead above 10 points and I think Orlando will fade away and lose hope


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

James with the nastiness!! that was a sweet dunk, definitely one of his best.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Stevenson is matching freakin Lebron in production. Where did this guy come from, he's been playing great lately


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

We need to put this team away before the 4th. Is Stevenson a FA?


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Pioneer10 said:


> Stevenson is matching freakin Lebron in production. Where did this guy come from, he's been playing great lately


Stevenson has been killing us with 3's, they put up a stat saying he's been averging 20ppg this month.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Dammit, we can't put this team away. Every time we get a cushion, Orlando comes back


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

I know, I don't like the way this game is going. We should have put them down when we were up 5. 

Damn it. Why is Orlando playing so hard anyways


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## YoYoYoWasup (Nov 14, 2004)

Pioneer10 said:


> Stevenson is matching freakin Lebron in production. Where did this guy come from, he's been playing great lately


Well, NBAdraft.net did compare to Michael Jordan :biggrin:


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Orlando all over Lebron giving Jmac/Newble wide open shots. They're gonna have to convert if we're gonna win.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

This game is entirely too close for my comfort. The future of the Cavs is Lebron, Gooden, and AV. Will we get enough talent around these guys I don't know


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Nice defense on Francis guys.

They didn't count it? NICE we need a break


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Lebron about to put in another 48 minute game, *if* we get in the playoffs hopefully he has something left in the tank!


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

I don't understand why people don't think Lebron is an MVP candidate. What more can you do for a team.

Plays every minute, score, passes, boards for a team that is clearly flawed


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

James taking over!


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

lead up to 10. I doubt the Magic will come back now


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Pioneer10 said:


> I don't understand why people don't think Lebron is an MVP candidate. What more can you do for a team.
> 
> Plays every minute, score, passes, boards for a team that is clearly flawed


Good question.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Here they come again...damn Newble with 2 bonehead plays and Stevenson AGAIN hitting a three.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

.....what the hell


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Jesus use you're freakin timeouts Malone. Just let the lead bleed away


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Just when I was going to complement Newble, he shows why he should never start in the NBA


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Malone another good sub bringing in Snow: need a defender in there badly as well as more ballhandling


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Why did Paxson give Newble that long deal again? Still confused about that one.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Pioneer10 said:


> Malone another good sub bringing in Snow: need a defender in there badly as well as more ballhandling


Yes excellent move.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Gooden has been playing at an All-star level since Malone took over. Silas must have really got into this kid's head: he looks like an uncaged animal out there


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

I like the AV/Gooden/Bron frontcourt, all 3 young and athletic, and Gooden seems to be able to pick up his scoring to a 20-23ppg level. He's been doing it for awhile now, definitely our core for the future no question.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

James vertical speed is amazing for his size, he closes gaps ridiculously fast.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

I wonder if Orlando would do a Z for Francis/Stevenson trade. We could throw the rest our money at somebody like Dalembert.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

We need to sharpen a few things for the playoffs = execution against full court press, movement on offense, intensity 1st/3rd quarters, not giving up leads. 

But this was a big win, I liked how the guys fought back and the James/Drew combo has been exceptional in this stretch. 

20 from Traylor tonight was big, Jmac another strong night with 14pts 8asst. 
AV the unsung here with 5pts 8rebs 2stls off the bench in 21 mins was huge.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

*Cleveland 114, Orlando 106*

Orlando's fullcourt press gave the Cavaliers trouble for a while but whenever they managed to split them, it led to and-1 plays (there were a ton of three-point plays tonight). The guys did well despite Orlando's rally. Drew is starting to really get it. It was always bits and pieces before but something is happening out there.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Huge win. I didn't expect the Cavs to win this game when I was making my predictions. Now if only New Jersey would stop winning....


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Too bad Toronto also blew it against Indiana. We still have a remote chance at even the 5th spot. We do play the Wizards also head up to close the gap against them

Two big wins but they were against depleted teams. Hopefully they can keep this up. Gooden has been awesome along with Bron Bron


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Crunched some quick numbers on the Lebron + Drew combo over the last 3 games. 

Lebron = 36.7ppg 10rpg 7.7apg 4.0spg 49%fg 40%3pt 

Drew = 25.0ppg 11.3rpg 4.3apg 53%fg 

Those are some pretty staggering numbers to say the least.


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## LBJthefuturegoat (Nov 13, 2004)

Benedict_Boozer said:


> Crunched some quick numbers on the Lebron + Drew combo over the last 3 games.
> 
> Lebron = 36.7ppg 10rpg 7.7apg 4.0spg 49%fg 40%3pt
> 
> ...


If Drew was consistant with those numbers :drool:


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

If those numbers are a glimpse of the future with Lebron and Drew...hummina hummina hummina.


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## SamTheMan67 (Jan 4, 2004)

I had a dream that mcginnis , james , gooden , and z caught fire and we won out the season.. mhmm hope it comes true and it has so far


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