Vitals: Thunder at Cavaliers

Everything you need to know when Oklahoma City visits "The Q" in Cleveland.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:27 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Jan 23, 2010 3:47 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Oklahoma City Thunder (24-19) at Cleveland Cavaliers (33-11)
Satuday, January 23, 2010, 6:30 p.m. CST.
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Game 44 of 82

Anticipated Starting Lineups

	Oklahoma City	Cleveland
PG	Russell Westbrook 15.7 PPG, 7.4 APG	Daniel Gibson 5.6 PPG, 1.1 RPG
SG	Thabo Sefolosha 5.8 PPG, 5.3 APG	Anthony Parker 7.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG
SF	Kevin Durant 29.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG	LeBron James 29.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 7.8 APG
PF	Jeff Green 14.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG	J.J. Hickson 6.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG
C	Nenad Krstic 8.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG	Shaquille O'Neal 10.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG

Injuries...
Oklahoma City: G Kevin Ollie (knee, day-to-day); G/F Kyle Weaver (shoulder, out); F DJ White (thumb, out).
Cleevland: G Delonte West (finger, out); G Mo Williams (shoulder, out); F Jamario Moon (abdominal, out); F Leon Powe (knee, out).

Where to find it?
On TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma
On Radio: Thunder Radio Network

What you need to know?
Oklahoma City is coming off a heart breaking loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, but can’t dwell on it long. The last time the Thunder took on the Cavaliers, it lost by thirteen points and LeBron James dropped his second-highest scoring total of the season.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers are the class of the Eastern Conference and James is arguably the best player in the league. They’re riding a three-game win streak, including a 16-point win over the Los Angeles Lakers. However, they have had a recent run of injuries, specifically at the point guard spot.

Who to watch?
Kevin Durant has more games with 30 or more points than any other player in the league, and will have to score more than if Oklahoma City wants to top the Cavs. Russell Westbrook also needs to do his best to score, matching up with Cleveland’s third option at point guard.

LeBron James is averaging 29.7 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game and 7.8 assists per game. Needless to say, he is the best player not only on his team, but arguably in the league as well. Against the Thunder, look for future hall-of-fame center Shaquille O’Neal to dominate the post. Oklahoma City has no answer for the size in the post.