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Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 Reasons the Cavs will beat the Celtics

By Nick Dudukovich

Apr 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) works the ball against Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) works the ball against Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 9, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyle Korver (26) shoots the ball against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyle Korver (26) shoots the ball against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cavs are smoking from 3-point land

LeBron James has never had as many weapons as he does with this Cleveland Cavaliers unit. Kyrie Irving. Kevin Love. J.R. Smith. Kyle Korver, Channing Frye, James Jones. That’s firepower, just ask the Toronto Raptors.

Against Toronto in the Eastern semis, the Cavs were content to trade 2’s for 3’s with the Raptors, and it showed in the box score. In the four-game sweep, Cleveland hit 34 MORE 3-pointers than the Raptors did.

The Cavs may not be dominating the pace of the game (98.5 possessions), but Cleveland finds itself No. 1 in offensive efficiency throughout the playoffs (117.0) thanks to the deep ball.

Like James, Korver is having his best postseason from beyond the arc, and he’s one of the most prolific 3-point shooters of this era. Korver is shooting .485 from 3-poitn range, while connecting on an astonishing .667 of 3s taken from the corner. Imagine James and Irving driving the lane against a Celtics team that lacks a dominant rim proctor. Korver will be ready and waiting in the corner for the ball to come his way. He should have a huge series.

Heck, I’ve barely even talked about Love, who matches up extremely well against Boston. Love will be there to hit corner 3’s as well, and he can take his game inside, where he should find success, too, unless Olynyk tries to rip his arm out again.

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