Cavs Playoffs: Prefer to play Boston Celtics, or Washington Wizards Next?
Cavs playoffs: The Wine & Gold are rolling through the postseason. Which team would you rather play in the Eastern Conference Finals?
The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to prove the NBA regular season is meaningless when it comes to determing a champion. How else do you explain the eight-game postseason winning streak?
The Cavs looked like a shell of a team compared to the group that entered last season’s postseason. The media worried about LeBron’s minutes. Defense was a rumor. Tristan Thompson was overpaid. Were any of the role players capable of stepping up? Could the switch be flipped. The doubts were warranted.
Eight games into the 2017 NBA playoffs, and all of these narratives have been blown out of Lake Erie. LeBron James looks better than ever and seemingly breaks a record every night. The Cavs defensive efficiency–the number of points allowed per 100 possessions–has improved, too. The Cavs were 22nd in this metric during the regular season, allowing 108 points per 100 possessions. It’s not a huge difference, but that number is down to 105.9 for the postseason.
Thompson is again showing why he’s invaluable during the playoffs, and role players Kyle Korver, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert and Deron Williams have all had their moments.
So, who should Cavs’ fans want to see in the Eastern Conference Finals?
Matchup wise, do you really think it matters? Imagine the Wizards or the Celtics played the role of the Raptors. Would the results would’ve been different? Remember, Many envisioned the Raptors series going six games. Toronto was–at the very least–supposed to make this series competitive.
It wasn’t. And the Eastern Conference Finals won’t be either. Celtics, Wizards, it doesn’t matter.
Who stops LeBron?
LeBron’s coming off a series where he averaged 36 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists. He’s engaged defensively, and he’s taking the life force out of teams by shooting a career playoff best .468 from behind the arc.
Who are the Celtics going to throw at him? Jae Crowder? Please. Crowder’s a nice player, but as LeBron has happily showed, it doesn’t matter who guards him. Last season, the Raptors brought on DeMarre Carroll to be their LeBron stopper. Fail. This year, Toronto went out and acquired P.J. Tucker. Fail.
LeBron poses the same problem Michael Jordan did during this hey day. Teams were constantly looking for a “Jordan Stopper.” The Cavs tried Gerald Wilkins. It didn’t work.
Better Match-Up?
The Cavs would probably fare better against the Celtics. Cleveland succeeded in chasing Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozaon off the 3-point line, and should be able to do the same against Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley.
And if the guards want to drive, LeBorn will be more than happy to swat their “weak stuff outta there!”
If the Celtics want to push the ball inside, the Cavs can concede points to Kelly Olynyck and Al Horford, much like they did to Jonas Valencunas. The Cavs are a 3-point shooting team, who were haply to trade 2’s for 3’s against the Raptors.
From downtown in the Eastern Conference semis, Cleveland hit 34 MORE 3-pointers than the Raptors did in just a four-game.
Bradley Beal, John Wall, and Otto Porter can hit from downtown. Bojan Bogdanovich can be a threat off the bench. Power forward Markieff Morris can go inside and out. There’s simply more shooters to worry about on the Wizards the roster.
The Cavs went 3-1 against the Celtics during the regular season. All games were close, except last one when Cleveland blew Boston out 114-91 April 5. LeBron had 36 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in that contest…very similar to what he’s averaging through the postseason.
Everyone thought that would be the turning point in the Cavs season, because the No. 1 seed was on the line. It wasn’t, and Cleveland went back to bad habits and looking generally disinterested in fishing the regular season on high note.
No denying it though, something about Boston brings out the best in LeBron…not like he needs the motivation.
Bring on the Celtics
If the Celtics weren’t of the Boston variety, they’d actually be likable. They have one of the best, promising young coaches in the game. They play with grit. Depending on how you view Al Horford, they don’t have a true superstar player. Isaiah Thomas is undersized, but plays like a giant. He’s the ultimate underdog. If he played in Cleveland, we’d all have his jersey.
Next: Which Team Is Latest To Pursue Cavs GM David Griffin?
But he doesn’t, and since none of us are over the days of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo sending the Cavs of the first LeBron era home early, these Celtics need a reminder that the LeBron still reigns in the east and everyone else is just waiting their turn.