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**remy23** · 03-10-2006, 06:45 PM

Game 64

Cleveland Cavaliers (36 -27) @ Miami Heat (40-21)

Sunday, March 12, 2006
Time: 10:00am PT, 1:00pm ET
TV: ABC
Radio: WTAM 1100
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida

HEAD COACHES

PROBABLE STARTERS

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS’ BENCH

MIAMI HEAT’S BENCH

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS’ NOTES

• Have a plan to deal with Wade’s penetration. Decide early if you’re going to give up open jumpers or allow penetration.

• Shaq has had some strong games lately. He’s had solid performances against the Cavaliers in the past. Zydrunas needs to give nearly as much as he’ll take from Shaq. The power forwards will need to have strong games to offset trouble at the center position.

MIAMI HEAT'S NOTES

• Let Wade have a field day. He’ll score early, get others involved and go back to mixing up the game plan. All Miami’s players will need to do is convert and finish.

• Eric Snow’s streak of turning back the clock ended last game and the Heat should play off him, showing his offense no respect. Whenever Snow is close to James on the court, double James to make Snow finish the play.

OVERVIEW

The Heat have picked things up, finding their groove en route to winning 10 games in a row. In contrast, Cleveland had their winning streak snapped by the Magic who dominated them the majority of the game. If the Cavs come out slow to the ball, going through the motions and with their heads down, this game will be over after the 1st quarter.

**IbizaXL** · 03-10-2006, 06:50 PM

early game.....uggh, i hate early games.

should be a good game.

again LBJ and Wade will be representing the class of 2003.

futuristxen · 03-11-2006, 04:03 AM

It's early and it's at Miami, and the team has tonight off.

Hmmm....can you say South Beach?

**Pioneer10** · 03-11-2006, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by futuristxen

It's early and it's at Miami, and the team has tonight off.

Hmmm....can you say South Beach?

After they way they played against Orlando, they have nothing worth celebrating in South Beach unless it's drowning their sorrows

KingoftheCourt23 · 03-11-2006, 08:12 PM

I am pretty nervious. This could be one of those games were the whole national audience sees us get man handled and think we totally suck. Gotta bounce back after getting demolished by orlando.

futuristxen · 03-11-2006, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pioneer10

After they way they played against Orlando, they have nothing worth celebrating in South Beach unless it's drowning their sorrows

For some reason Z is the Cavalier that I have the mental picture of when you say drowing their sorrows. For whatever it's worth. I know Lebron wants to win really badly. But I think Z wants it the most of any Cav.

**IbizaXL** · 03-11-2006, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by futuristxen

It's early and it's at Miami, and the team has tonight off.

Hmmm....can you say South Beach?

LOL
yep, going to south beach is inevitable.

"Best home-court advantage in the NBA"

**remy23** · 03-12-2006, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Graham twins' dream is to play on same team

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter

Miami -- This past week, the Cavaliers enjoyed back-to-back victories over the Toronto Raptors.

The matchups were pretty special for two players.

Toronto forward Joey Graham is the twin brother of Cavaliers guard Stephen Graham.

Even though Joey and the Raptors will host Indiana today, and Stephen and the Cavaliers will be in Miami, Joey would one day love for his brother and him to duplicate history and play on the same team.

Dick and Tom Van Arnsdale are the only twins in NBA history to be teammates. The Van Arnsdale brothers played their final season in the league in 1977 with the Phoenix Suns.

"Playing on the same team with my brother would bring back old times like in college and in high school," Joey said. "We played so well together. We'd feed off each other and that would benefit any team to have us both on the floor. If that ever happens, that would be a great day."

The Grahams used to do everything together. They attended Central Florida and then Oklahoma State. They were separated when Joey was selected in the first round of the 2005 draft by the Toronto Raptors. Stephen took another path to the NBA by toiling in the CBA and trying to make his mark with 10-day NBA contracts. He hit the jackpot when he signed for the rest of the season with the Cavaliers last month.

"I'm excited for him because he's been moving around a whole lot," Joey Graham said. "He's a great player, a great shooter and a tremendous athlete. He's found a home in Cleveland."

Earlier in the year, Stephen was called up from the CBA to play with the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets. He didn't get much playing time during the games against the Raptors, but he did get the opportunity to play against his twin. Stephen held Joey scoreless over six minutes.

As for the competitive edge, Stephen owns a 3-1 advantage. But that's where the competition ends.

"He's my best friend," Stephen said. "We talk every day. We're so close. "

The Graham brothers are one of two sets of twins in the NBA along with Utah forward Jarron Collins and New Jersey Nets forward Jason Collins.

Horace and Harvey Grant are the only other twins who have played in the NBA.

Heating up:

The Magic defeated the Cavs by 29 points on Friday and now the Cavs play a tough Heat squad (40-21) that not only has the second-best record in the Eastern Conference but they have won 11 of their last 13 and their streak of 10 straight wins ended following Friday night's loss to Golden State.

Dwyane Wade has picked up steam in his last two games after missing two games with a sore wrist. Wade had 42 points in the loss to Golden State and he dropped 40 in the Heat's win over the Wizards on Wednesday.

Shaquille O'Neal is getting into playoff form. He's averaging 20.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game but he continues to struggle from the free-throw line. He's shooting 42 percent in his last four games.

The Cavs are in for a long afternoon if the most recent meeting between these two teams is any indication of what's in store for today. The Cavs shot a horrible 33.7 percent from the field against Miami on Feb. 2 as LeBron James was the team's only double-figure scorer (29 points) in a 101-73 loss. Wade (24 points) led five Heat players who scored in double figures as the team shot 51.8 percent from the field.

**remy23** · 03-12-2006, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Road woes have been improved for Cavs
Team has already posted most away wins since 1997-98 season

MIAMI - This is going to sound a little odd considering that the Cavaliers just got slapped by 29 points in Orlando, Fla., but this has actually been a banner road season.

With their win Wednesday in Toronto, the Cavs have 14 road wins this season. With 17 road losses that doesn't sound impressive until perspective is added. It is the most road victories that the Cavs have had since 1997-98, when they were 20-22. It is not merely coincidental that it was also the most recent time they made the playoffs.

Since losing five consecutive road games at the start of a Western Conference trip in January, the Cavs are 8-5 away from home.

They play this afternoon at the Miami Heat's AmericanAirlines Arena.

"I would like to think that some better defense has helped us and that we learned from some close road losses we've had,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "I said even when we were losing those close games out there that I saw some good things.''

After losing three games by two points or less on that trip, the Cavs are 3-0 in road games decided by five points or less.

To further explain the progress, the Cavs won just two road games after the All-Star break last season. Two seasons ago, they had to fight off a 34-game road losing streak.

Dribbles

• There's another fire to put out regarding LeBron James' future. A northeast Ohio media outlet reported last week that the Orlando Magic are a potential destination for James because, after the Steve Francis trade, the Magic will have salary room in the summer of 2007. If James decides against signing an extension with the Cavs this summer, he'll still be restricted in 2007, meaning the Cavs can match any offer. Also, the idea that James would yearn to play with sensation Dwight Howard is a little off. James and Howard, back-to-back No. 1 overall picks, have virtually no relationship, and matters were not helped when James parted ways with agent Aaron Goodwin, who represents Howard.

• Cavs guard Sasha Pavlovic, a native of Serbia and Montenegro, said he was sad when he heard his former president, Slobodan Milosevic, had passed away Saturday in the Netherlands because "he wasn't allowed to leave and go to Russia to get medical treatment.'' Milosevic was charged and on trial for various war crimes, including genocide and was recently denied leave for treatment. Over the years, many high-profile Serbians, such as Pavlovic, have been vocal about the controversial ex-leader. Pavlovic is staying on the sidelines.

"I don't get into the politics,'' he said. "All I know is he used to be president.''

• Former Cavs assistant and interim coach Brendan Malone is doing pro personnel work for the team from his New York home. After not being retained as an assistant, Malone went to work as a consultant for the Seattle SuperSonics. But the Cavs, who still have him under contract, put a stop to it last November when they thought that he was doing too much. His son, Michael, is an assistant under Brown.

• Despite dips in his shooting percentages and point average, Damon Jones keeps telling media members that he doesn't believe that he's having a bad season. Maybe he's right. "Don't look at Damon's numbers last year in Miami, that's not really him, his true numbers are probably closer to what he did when he was in Milwaukee two years ago,'' one NBA team executive said. "That's a better barometer.''

Last season with the Heat, Jones averaged 11.6 points on 43 percent 3-point shooting in 31 minutes per game. This season with the Cavs, he's averaging 6.8 points on 38 percent 3-point shooting in 26 minutes. During the 2003-04 season in Milwaukee, he averaged 7.0 points, 40 percent on 3-pointers in 25 minutes a game.

• Ira Newble was a starter last season, and this year all expected him to be a key defensive reserve. After two injuries that cost him 36 games, Newble has become an afterthought. He has played just once in the past 21 games, a token two minutes in mop-up time Friday night.

"I've got to try to work my way back in,'' Newble said. "I've been out so long I guess I've been forgotten. I'm hoping to play. I'm not happy just sitting and watching.''

He's not forgotten on the salary cap. Newble, whose Cavs career has been plagued by injuries to his knees, ankles and feet, still has two years and $6.5 million left on his contract. He has an option for $3.5 million for the 2007-08 season which he certainly will pick up.

• Flip Murray is averaging 39 minutes a game for the Cavs since coming over in a trade with the Sonics last month. He is averaging 13.3 points on 40 percent shooting, up from his 10.4 points on 39 percent shooting in 25 minutes per game in Seattle. He's quite pleased with the minutes increase, but it might not be his best role. He's neither a prototypical shooting guard or a point guard, which probably makes him a better combo guard off the bench than a starter. That is the reality that he's going to be faced with if he is considering extending his career with the Cavs, who have Larry Hughes in his spot. In the same vein, the Cavs likely will not offer him starters' money in the offseason. Conclusion: Don't expect Murray will be back.

• It simply must be harped on, so sorry if it is becoming tiresome. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is shooting 68 percent from the field the past three games yet has gotten an average of just seven shots a game. This is not a shot at point guard Eric Snow, whose offense has been much better recently, but the offense has given him two more shots per game than Z over that span. Something's just not right about that.

• Defying the odds, former Cavs great Mark Price did accept a head coaching job in Australia. He will coach the expansion Melbourne South Dragons when they debut later this year.

**remy23** · 03-12-2006, 09:03 AM

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