Game Info

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (3-3) vs. New York Knicks (1-4)

When: 8:00 PM (ET)

Where: Madison Square Garden (New York, New York)

TV/Radio: ESPN, WTAM 1100

Lineups

Knicks: Chris Duhon, Larry Hughes, Danillo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, David Lee

Cavaliers: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, Anderson Varejao, Shaquille O’Neal

Injuries

Knicks: Eddy Curry (Torn Right Plantaris Muscle), Nate Robinson (Sprained Right Ankle)

Cavaliers: Leon Powe (Left Knee Surgery)

Game Notes

* Tonight, the Cavaliers will take on the Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Cleveland has won five consecutive games against New York, including the last three on the road. In this span, the Cavs have outscored the Knicks by an average margin of 112.2-96.6 while shooting .492 from the field compared to .423 from the Knicks. The team has also controlled the paint, 42.8-34.8.

* In 10 career games at the Garden, LeBron James has averaged 30.1 points on .469 shooting, including .455 from behind the arc, 5.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.3 steals. Since 2005-06, James has averaged 35.6 ppg, which ranks 2nd (K. Bryant – 46.7) in the league for visiting opponents scoring (min. of three games).

* In the last game at New York, a 107-102 win, LeBron James recorded 52 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. James became the first player to post at least those numbers in a NBA game since Wilt Chamberlain (53 points, 14 assists, 32 rebounds) on March 18, 1968 and joined Michael Jordan as the only visitors to Madison Square Garden with multiple 50-point games. James also notched 50 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists in a 119-102 win on March 5, 2008.

* Against Chicago last night, LeBron James tallied 25 points on 9-17 (.529) shooting, seven rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block in 38 minutes. For the season, James is averaging 25.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 38.2 minutes.

* On Thursday, Anderson Varejao finished with 12 points on 5-7 (.714) shooting and a season-high 13 rebounds in 35 minutes, marking his second consecutive double-double. Varejao now has three double-doubles on the season, all in the past four games as he has led the team each time in rebounding. It marked the fourth time in his career he recorded back-to-back double-doubles.

* Versus Chicago, Shaquille O’Neal recorded his second double-double of the season with 14 points on 7-13 (.538) shooting and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes. He also set a season high in blocks with five. The last time O’Neal blocked five or more shots in a game was on November 21, 2007 against the Atlanta Hawks. In his last two games, O’Neal is averaging 17.5 points on 14-22
shooting (.636), 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.0 blocks in 30.0 minutes per game.

* In Cleveland’s last four games, the team’s defense has held opponents to just .412 shooting (128-311) from the field and 85.5 points per game. Cleveland’s defense so far on the season ranks 5th in the NBA in opponent points per game (89.7), 4th in defensive field goal percentage (.424) and is tied for 8th in blocks (6.0) per game. The team is allowing 31.3 points in the paint, the 3rd fewest in the NBA and after only giving up two to Chicago, ranks 3rd in second chance points allowed at 9.8 points per game.

* Through the first six games, the team has made 52 three-point field goals, which is eight more than the team’s previous best mark of 44 in 2007-08 and 15 more than the third best marks of 37 in 2005-06, 1996-97 and 1995-96.

* With Anthony Parker, who went 3-3 from three on Thursday, tied for 11th in the NBA in three-point shooting at 12-22, .545 and Daniel Gibson ranking 14th at 14-26, .538 leading the team and Mo Williams shooting 14-30 (.467), the Cavaliers are one of the most improved teams in shooting three-pointers from last season (.393) to this season (.444), which ranks 5th.

* Daniel Gibson continues to lead the Cavaliers bench, scoring eight against the Bulls on 3-4 shooting (.750) in 17 minutes. Gibson has scored in double figures in three of the team’s six games this season.

* The Cavaliers have carried over from last season their skill in taking care of the basketball. Last season, the Cavaliers ranked 6th in te
league at 12.7 turnovers per game and this season, they continue to rank 6th in the NBA for the fewest turnovers at only 13.2.

What 2 Watch 4

1. Strong start – The Cavs seem to get off to slow starts, which builds the opposing teams confidence up and makes it a tougher match than it really should be. The Cavs need to come out of the gate strong for a change.

2. Cohesion – This team doesn’t look comfortable playing together. I understand it was supposed to take awhile but we really haven’t seen too much progress on this front.

3. Intensity – This is probably the biggest key right now. The Cavs just look flat and uninterested throughout most of the game. They only go all out when they need to either get back in the game or when the game is on the line. The Cavs can’t play like zombies the whole game and expect to win. They need to play hard throughout the game.

The Pick: Cavs 108, Knicks 99