What to Watch For - Cavs v. Nuggets
Posted December 19th, 2008 by Michael Curry
Some things to keep an eye on tonight when the Cavs head into Denver to take on the surprising Nuggets, who are 17-8 and 16-5 since the arrival of Chauncey Billups:
1. Like the Cavaliers, the Nuggets don’t have what you would call a “bad” loss on their record since acquiring Chauncey Billups. Those five losses are to Cleveland, New Orleans, San Antonio, Houston and the L.A. Lakers. In that same stretch, the Nuggets have beaten the Celtics in Boston, the Spurs in San Antoinio, the Rockets and Raptors at home, and the Mavericks twice, so it’s not as if the Nuggets are just getting fat on the bad teams. If the Cavaliers find a way to win tonight in Denver, it will be their best win of the season so far.
However, the Cavaliers have come out flat in these tougher road games this season. Say what you will about it being the fourth game in five nights, the Cavs didn’t come out firing on all cylinders against Atlanta on Saturday. In New Orleans at the beginning of the season, the Cavs faced a Hornets team missing Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic, and didn’t come out quickly. Tonight the Cavaliers have the rest and should be ready to go. But they’re going to need to find energy throughout the night if they want to bring home a win.
2. Which Mo Williams will show up? In the first game against Denver, Mo had a whopping 24 points and 6 assists, giving the Cavaliers a much needed spark against the high-octane Nuggets. On Wednesday, however, Mo couldn’t find his spots, and finished with just six points against a Wolves point guard crew that can only be called suspect.
With Z and Bobbie out tonight, the Cavs need to find some extra offense against the Nuggets, who are averaging 103.4 points per game. Williams is one of those players that needs to step up and deliver if the Cavs are going to win tonight.
3. About that LeBron-Carmelo rivalry… I know, I haven’t talked about Carmelo Anthony in like a week, you’re having withdrawal. Melo’s scoring and field goal percentage numbers are down thanks to an elbow injury he’s fighting through, but I’m really impressed by his rebound rate (8.0 rpg, rebound rate of 13.4, good for 5th among small forwards). He seems more comfortable with Billups at the helm (futher proving Iverson’s disruptive nature), as do the rest of the Nuggets.
To be honest, this is looking like one of those games where the two teams battle back and forth, LeBron drops 36 to Anthony’s 24, but Anthony hits a single big bucket and gives Denver the edge. I’m hoping that the Cavs come to play early, but I think this is going to be a back-and-forth contest throughout the night.
Go Cavs.
