Game Info

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (6-3) vs. Utah Jazz (4-5)

When: 7:30 PM (ET)

Where: Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland, Ohio)

TV/Radio: FSOHIO HD, WTAM 1100

Lineups

Jazz: Eric Maynor, Wes Matthews, Ronnie Brewer, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur

Cavaliers: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, JJ Hickson, Shaquille O’Neal

Injuries

Jazz: Matt Harpring (Ankle, Knee), Deron Williams (Personal Issues), Kyle Korver (Left Knee Surgery), CJ Miles (Left Thumb Surgery), Ronnie Price (Sprained Left Big Toe)

Cavaliers: Leon Powe (Left Knee Surgery), Delonte West (Personal Reasons)

Game Notes

* The Cavaliers return home to face the Jazz, winners of six of their last seven games. Since the 2003-04 season, Cleveland is 9-3 (.750) against the Jazz. Only Miami (10-2, 800) has a better record in that span. The team has defeated the Jazz in three consecutive games and five straight (since the 2004-05 season) at The Q, outscoring Utah by an average margin 97.6 – 83.6 while holding the Jazz to only .400 shooting and outrebounding them 45.8-38.2 in that span.

* The Cavaliers and the Jazz are two of the league’s highest scoring teams in the first quarter this season. Cleveland ranks 2nd at 28.2
ppg in the opening period (Orlando – 28.8) while the Jazz are right behind them at 28.0 ppg.

* Cleveland left Florida with a two-game sweep after defeating the Orlando Magic 102-93 on Wednesday and the Miami Heat 111-104 on Thursday. The Cavaliers are now 4-1 (.800) on the road this season, which is tied for fourth best in the NBA, and the first time the team has been 4-1 on the road to begin the season since the 1996-97 season. Cleveland’s season-high 111 points and 36-75 (.480) shooting came against a Miami defense that ranked 3rd in opponent points per game at 88.6 and 2nd in defensive field goal percentage at .415 prior to the game. The Cavaliers’ Florida sweep included the team topping 100 points in each game, scoring 66 points and 62 points in the first halves, respectively, and knocking down a combined 19 three-point field goals.

* After ranking 1st in winning the second game of back-to-backs at 16-3 (.842) last season, Cleveland is now 3-1 (.750) on the season.

* The team has won six of their last seven games and all five games (5-0) that the team has eclipsed the century mark have come during this streak. In Cleveland’s last seven games, the offensive is averaging 99.1 ppg on .478 shooting overall and .492 shooting on three-pointers. The team’s defense in this span has held opponents to just .429 shooting from the field and 90.0 points per game.

* Against Miami, LeBron James scored a team-high 34 points, including 16 points from the free throw line (9-10 in the first quarter and 7-8 in the fourth quarter), to go along with four rebounds, seven assists and two steals. James is now averaging 29.8 points against the HEAT in his 12 games played in Miami (358 total points). Over his last three games, James is averaging 34.3 points on 33-60 (.550) shooting, 6-11 (.545) from behind the arc and 31-36 (.,861) from the stripe, 6.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.0 steals.

* Against the Heat, Mo Williams made a season-high-tying five three-point field goals and scored 25 points on 10-15 (.667) shooting, including 11 points in the second quarter, accompanied by four rebounds and three assists. In his last two games, Williams has scored 53 points and made nine three-pointers. In the six Cavaliers wins, Williams is averaging 20.7 points on .552 shooting.

* On Thursday, J.J. Hickson scored a career-high 18 points on 7-9 (.778) shooting, including 11 points in the third quarter. In his last three games (all starts), Hickson is averaging 11.0 points on .619 shooting in 22.7 minutes.

* The Cavaliers shot a combined 19-33 (.578) in three-pointers against Orlando and Miami. The team leads the league in three point percentage at .467 and is second to Phoenix (.383 to .462, +.079) of the most improved teams in shooting three-pointers from last season (.393 to .467, +.074), Phoenix. Through the first nine games, the team has made 78 three-point field goals, which is 17 more than the team’s previous best mark of 61 in 2007-08.

* Three Cavaliers rank in the Top 20 in three-point shooting: Anthony Parker at 18-31 (.581) ranks 4th, Mo Williams at 23-42 (.548) ranks 6th and Daniel Gibson at 19-40 (.475) is tied for 18th. No other team in the NBA has three players ranked that high. Gibson’s 19 three-point field goals is the second most off the bench this season in the NBA (R. Wallace – 20).

What 2 Watch 4

1. Battle of the big men – When JJ Hickson plays well and Shaq dominates the middle, it’s hard to stop the Cavs frontcourt. They’ll get good looks against a weak defensive frontcourt tonight but the Cavs will also have a tough time defending Okur, Boozer and even Kirilenko at times.

2. Fundamental basketball – Whenever a team faces a Jerry Sloan coached team, in order to win the opposing team needs to play sound fundamentally which means good defense, get to the free throw-line, take good shots, shoot high percentages, don’t get sloppy and play smart.

3. Consistency – The Cavs have done a better job of this lately but need to continue to build on their previous wins and develop consistency in all facets of the game.

The Pick: Cavs 105, Jazz 92