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Whereas the Cavs played reasonably well at the beginning of the season, the team around Antawn Jamison has been struggling as of late as they are holding on to the last place in the Eastern Conference and a mediocre 8-24 record. Desperately looking for a win, the Cleveland Cavaliers will host Caron Butler and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday at midnight GMT.

Without any doubts, the absence of Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas’ last two games demonstrated his importance to the franchise from Northern Texas. With Nowitzki sidelined by a sprained knee, the Mavs ended up losing two straight at home versus the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs last week. Most importantly, Dallas was unable to perform offensively as Rick Carlisle’s role players did not manage to fill the hole left in the Mavericks’ offense. Nonetheless, Jason Kidd and company should be able to get a win at home when the Cavs are in town on Monday night.

You can watch all games of the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.

Posted: 29th November 2009

Although the Cavs came slow out of the gates, LeBron James and company quickly bounced back and managed to win seven of their last eight games. Thus, the Cleveland Cavaliers will host Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at 0:30 a.m. GMT.

Despite a tremendous amount of injuries, the Dallas Mavericks got off to a great start and are right at the top of the Western Conference. In fact, the Mavs had to play without All-Star guard-forward Josh Howard and missed Shawn Marion and Erick Dampier for several games as well. Nonetheless, the team around former MVP Dirk Nowitzki performed well and posted an impressive 10-3 record to start the season. Most importantly, the Mavs somehow managed to improve their previously struggling team defense and held their opponents to 95 points per contest. During the absence of Howard and Marion Dallas once again relied on Nowitzki to single-handedly carry the Mavs’ offense. So far, the 7-feet-0 power forward put up 26.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 blocks in 38 minutes per game.

The Cavaliers on the other hand started the season with back-to-back losses versus the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, but managed to get their act together shortly afterwards. Winning 10 out of 14, the Cavs are just one win behind the Orlando Magic and are hoping to make another run at the number one seed in this year’s NBA campaign. That said, one concern has been the integration of Shaquille O’Neal into the Cavaliers pick-and-roll system. Obviously, Shaq is a dominant low-post presence at both ends of the floor and draws more attention to the lane. Therefore, Cleveland found itself driving the ball less to the hoop and relying too much on LeBron to compensate for their lack of ball movement. Given the fact that the Cavs played significantly better since O’Neal suffered a minor injury two weeks ago, it remains to be seen what happens once he returns to the floor. Taking said circumstances into account, the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers might find themselves on a level playing field on Sunday night. One crucial factor could be Shawn Marion who is expected to be a game-time decision by the Mavs’ medical staff. Not only does Rick Carlisle’s squad benefit from his ability to get on the offensive glass but also do they need his perimeter defense versus LeBron James. Ultimately, the Cavaliers’ performance still depends to a great deal on James’ ability to score and find the open teammate.

You can watch all games of the Cleveland Cavaliers v Dallas Mavericks right here on watch live nba, the home of NBA live streaming.

Posted: 21th Oct 2009

After being eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season, the Cavaliers’ front-office was dedicated to improve the team over the summer. Most importantly, the future of the franchise depends to a great extent on whether LeBron James will resign with the Cavs next year. Therefore, GM Danny Ferry brought in some new talent in order to make a run at the championship that could convince LeBron to stay in Ohio.

Similarly, the Dallas Mavericks were very active during the off-season and are hoping to make a major leap in 2009-10. Without any doubts, the most significant pickup was the signing of Shawn Marion who provides Rick Carlisle with a lot options on both ends of the floor. Being able to defend shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards the Mavs are bound to benefit from mismatches down the stretch. Given the fact that Marion is expected to start as small forward, Dallas is planning to move wingman Josh Howard to the two. Moreover, Drew Gooden was signed to a partially guaranteed one year deal and will see significant minutes at the center position, especially versus mobile fives that caused problems for Erick Dampier in the past. Another dark horse on the overhauled Mavericks’ roster could be first-round pick Rodrigue Beaubois who could see minutes at both guard positions.

The Cavaliers on the other hand managed to pick up future Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal from the Phoenix Suns for little more than expiring contracts. Combined with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the center duo will try to give Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat a run for their money. Moreover, the Cavs signed high-flying wingman Jamerio Moon from the Miami Heat and Anthony Parker from the Toronto Raptors.

Considering that preseason games tend to serve as evaluation platform for rotational players and rookies, the outcome of the game between Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers might not be very representative for their actual strength. That said, it will be interesting to see how different looks and game plays work out for both teams. Moreover, starter minutes may increase since the 2009 season tip-off is approaching and both coaches are trying to figure out their rotation for October.

You can watch all games of the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.