Place: The Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI.
Time: 8:30 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: ESPN & WUAB Ch.43/WTAM 1100

Projected Cavaliers Starters:

PG: Mateen Cleaves
SG: LeBron James
SF: Lee Nailon
PF: Carlos Boozer
C:  Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Cavaliers Injury Report: C Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (ankle sprain), SF Jason Kapono (knee tendinitis) and PG Jeff McInnis (shoulder bone bruise) are on the injured list.  SF Eric Williams (bruised wrist) is out for tonight's game.

Projected Bucks Starters:

PG: Damon Jones
SG: Michael Redd
SF: Desmond Mason
PF: Joe Smith
C:  Brian Skinner

Bucks Injury Report: PG T.J. Ford (spinal cord bruise) is on the injured list.  SF Keith Van Horn (calf bruise & sprained ankle) is day-to-day.

Key Matchups:

Desmond Mason vs. Lee Nailon - Mason is one the league's premier 6th men mainly because he is good enough to start.  He is more productive as a starter although less efficient.  With more minutes his FG percentage goes down and turnovers up while point, assists and rebounds increase.  Mason is very athletic, strong and explosive and one of the best finishers on the break in the NBA.  Although his outside shot is improved he lacks consistent three point range shooting under 30% for the season.  The Bucks like to post Mason up where he is very aggressive using his strength and athleticism.  Defensively, Nailon has to hold the point of attack on the perimeter even though Mason is more of a finisher than a creator.  The last thing the Cavaliers need is a guy who is known for going off the dribble to be attacking the basket that way.  Most wing players aren't accustomed to playing post defense and with the way the Cavaliers play Nailon will be on an island by himself in post up situations with Nailon with all the other shooters the Bucks can put on the floor.  Nailon has to hold position in the post if he cannot get Mason off the block and make him go over the top instead of having him drop step or spin around him.  Frankly, Nailon isn't starting for his defensive capabilities but as a starter he will have to be more focused and give a more consistent effort on that end.  Lastly, Nailon must make a concerted to get back defensively when matched up with Mason.  Offensively, Nailon must continue to make midrange shots as he did against Dallas.  He is most likely the guy left open when teams defend the Cavaliers starters.  Mason is the Bucks best perimeter defender and may see a lot of time against James.  When defended by Mason, Nailon has to try and get into his midrange spots where he is effective and not spend too much time pounding the ball.

LeBron James ve. Michael Redd - Redd remains the go-to guy and main option for the Bucks.  He is the Bucks leading scorer and has developed into one of the best shooter/scorers in the league.  He has a lightening quick release and great range on his shot.  He isn't great off the dribble but good enough to get into his midrange spots and shoot over the top.  Redd cannot be left open.  Defensively, it could be a long night for James.  During the Cavaliers recent down turn he has been terrible at fighting through screens and has been going under screens allowing shooters to get wide open shots and be able to curl freely into the lane.  Allowing Redd to do that will be a recipe for disaster and Redd could get 40 plus.  A staple of the Bucks offense is screening to get shots for Redd and that means staggered screens, baselines screens, down screens, etc., and Redd for his part moves well without the ball and sets up his screens well.  It cannot be stressed enough that James absolutely must get through the screens and not led Redd roam free.  The Cavaliers will not win if Redd is allowed to shoot freely all game.  Offensively, James the past few games has come off screens and shot the ball pretty well but he hasn't shot the ball that well against Milwaukee.  He cannot fall in love with his outside and continue to attack the basket and get to the line.  In the first two games of the Cavaliers short three game road trip James has only gotten to the line four times.  The previous three games he had been to the line 28 times.  He is almost unstoppable when focused on aggressively attacking the basket and using the outside shot as a compliment.

When the Cavaliers have the ball: 10 day contract signee Mateen Cleaves may get the start tonight meaning the Cavaliers will have two 10 day contract free agents starting in a must win game in a critical playoff stretch.  Ouch.  Cleaves has done a pretty good job pushing the ball and playing decent on the ball defense but hasn't shown any ability to make outside shots which has been the knock on him.  The Cavaliers have attacked the Bucks inside before with Ilgauskas so expect the Bucks to double team and force someone of the Cavaliers to make an outside shot.  Cleaves has to hit a midrange jumper at some point if he hopes to stick with the Cavaliers.  The Bucks have been a pretty bad defensive team even for their style of play.  The Cavaliers will have plenty transition opportunities if they are able to rebound and Cleaves has shown he can push the ball up the floor.  A key for the Cavaliers will be how with only a practice or so with Cleaves they will be able to execute against the zone the Bucks will likely employ against the Cavaliers.  They were starting to have some success against it with McInnis but have regressed when he went down.  Lastly, the way the Cavaliers are currently constituted their main guns cannot afford to have an off game since they are likely not to get much production from anyone else.

When the Bucks have the ball: Even without T.J. Ford the Bucks remain one of the best offensive teams in the NBA.  They are athletic up and down the roster and have a lot of guys that can score and shoot the ball.  They are one of the few real transition teams in the NBA and will push the ball after makes.  They will run a lot of plays to get Redd shots and expect them to involve Ilgauskas in two man game situations as well as isolate Mason in the post.  The Bucks could be another nightmare match up for the Cavaliers who have been a sieve defensively in their downturn and haven't been to stop anyone on the perimeter.  The Cavaliers will have to make the Bucks make contested outside shots since they do not have a reliable inside game.  With the shooters the Bucks have it could be a long night if they are allowed to cripple shoot open jumpers.  Cleveland must also get back in defensive transition especially the big men.  The Bucks frontcourt; Joe Smith, Brian Skinner and backup Dan Gadzuric all run the floor very well and will leak out after shots or fill the lane on breaks.     

Game outlook: The Bucks are a much better at home than on the road but have lagged since T.J Ford went down.  They want to pick up their play going into the playoffs.  The Cavaliers are entering dire straits where every game could be an elimination game.  Cleveland has to start defending especially on the perimeter or their will be no playoffs.  Also, they must start to get some consistent production from more than James Ilgauskas and Boozer.  3-4 guys can't win every game.