1.  Is the LeBron James - Carmelo Anthony rivalry still a rivalry?

It wasn't that long ago that people wondered who should be the Rookie of the Year in 2004, LeBron or Carmelo Anthony.  LeBron won the award, but there were plenty of people who thought that Anthony deserved to win after leading his team to the playoffs, including Magic Johnson, Tracy McGrady and Michael Wilbon.  As recently as 2006 people wondered if Carmelo rivaled LeBron because of his late-game heroics, something that James had been struggling with that season.  And prior to this Summer in Beijing, it had been Anthony, and not James, who had been Team USA's top scorer in international play, an arena specially suited to Carmelo's skill set.  

Still, despite the comparisons, there is no comparison.  While Carmelo Anthony is a quality player and an All-Star, LeBron James has become the best basketball player on the planet.  While Anthony was putting up an impressive line of 25.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last season, LeBron was leading the league in scoring at 30.0 points per game while adding 7.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists.  LeBron has guided the Cavaliers into the second round of the Playoffs three straight seasons, with one (short) appearance in the NBA Finals, while Anthony's Nuggets have been bounced out of the first round every year Anthony has been in the league.  LeBron is the one who draws comparisons to Michael, Magic and Oscar, while Carmelo seems to draw only controversy with his suspension in 2006 for throwing a punch against the Knicks, and another suspension for his DUI arrest earlier this year that cost him the first two games of the regular season.

But at the very least, Carmelo Anthony will always be the first stick against which LeBron is measured.  The entered the league into similar situations, and have shared many spotlights.  And Anthony is an excellent player, better than most fans realize thanks to his poor decisions and the Nuggets' lack of playoff success.  He is certainly the equal of 2nd-tier superstars like Tracy McGrady, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki.  

But when Anthony and the Nuggets come into Cleveland tonight, there will no longer be any discussion about who is the better player.  We're all living in LeBron's world now, and the young man casts a shadow that Carmelo will never be able to escape.

(Though it must be some consolation that the Nuggets have owned the Cavaliers since Melo's arrival, winning 7-of-8 games over the Wine and Gold.)

2.  Will the Cavaliers be able to keep the Nuggets off the offensive glass?

The Cavaliers' recent rebounding struggles have been well-documented, and while they have been able to survive sizeable rebounding deficits to the Pacers, Bulls and Bucks, there is less room for error against a team with as much talent as the Nuggets.  Denver comes into the game 5th overall in total rebounds at 44.6 per game, but the team is only 24th in offensive rebounds at 10.3 a game.  The overall rebounding number is a bit misleading, however, as the Nuggets play at a pace that generates more possessions, and therefore more rebounding opportunities, than most teams.  While the Nuggets are 5th overall in rebounding, they are still being outrebounded by their opponents by 1.3 rebounds per game.  The Cavs, despite their recent poor showings on the glass, are still outrebounding their opponents by 2 rebounds per game. 

Offensive rebounds allowed the Bucks and Bulls to stay in the game despite shooting around 40% from the field.  The Nuggets are far more efficient in scoring the ball than those teams, and they will absolutely kill the Cavaliers if the home team doesn't do a better job of getting their hands on the ball.  At the same time, the Nuggets have proven that they can be easily frustrated by tough, aggressive defenses, something that Cavs head coach Mike Brown has preached from day one.  How hard the Cavs are willing to work on the defensive end should be the difference in tonight's match-up.

3.  Will the shooters start making some shots?

The Cavs were lucky that LeBron was making his outside shots on Tuesday, because the rim was sealed for the rest of the Cavaliers.  With the exception of the still-smoking Delonte West, the Cavs backcourt of Williams, Gibson and Szczerbiak combined to shoot just 3-of-22 from the field.  After watching the Cavs let the Bucks hang around on Tuesday, many fans were concerned with the defense and the rebounding, and rightfully so.  But if the Cavs had gotten even a respectable 40% (9-of-22) from that trio, they would have won the game with ease.  LeBron's high-scoring performance was more out of necessity than anything else, as the guys being paid big bucks to put the ball in the hoop were doing anything but.  

Go Cavs.